Don't you hate it when you're having a drink with a friend and you can't hold their attention because their cell phone keeps going off? Me too! Cell phones are the real pests! I was watching an episode of Soul Pancake and they showed me the answer! A cell phone jail. They made theirs out of Legos. I don't have Legos and when I priced it out, the thing was going to cost $50! Here's my answer to the Lego Cell Phone Jail.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

Tools

Metal cutting saw
Files
Automatic Center Punch
Drill & Bits
Wrench
Razor knife
Compass

Materials

Sheet metal (I'm using ¼" aluminum diamond plate)
Long machine screws (I'm using 8-32 x 5" Carriage bolts)
Nuts
Plastic tubing of suitable size to cover the machine screws

Step 2: Cut and Mark the Sheet Metal

The largest cell phone I've seen is the Samsung Mega with a massive 3.5" x 6.5" display. Take this into account and make sure to cut the sheet metal large enough to enclose the largest phone you may encounter.

Cut two plates of sheet metal to the same size. These will be the floor and ceiling of the jail. Mark a line around three sides of the perimeter. On this project, I marked 1 cm from the edge. Next measure off and mark the locations for the bars using a compass. This makes it real easy to get precise spacing. On this jail, the bars are spaced at 2 cm.

Step 3: Center Punch and Drill

Using a center punch (I like the automatic kind), punch a hole for each bar and drill the plates. If you use flat plates, you can clamp them together in a vise and drill both at the same time. Since I used diamond plate, I had to countersink with a larger drill bit to provide a landing place for the bolt heads.

Step 4: Install the Bars

Once both plates are drilled, install the bars. First, lock them into place on the ceiling with a nut. Next cut the plastic tubing to an appropriate length and slide the pieces over the screws. This will protect the cell phones from the threads of the screws. You could also use aluminum or copper tubing for a nice color effect instead and save on nuts. Do what expresses your style best.

Step 5: Make the Door

Cut two pieces of sheet metal to the same width as the door opening. Drill these two pieces to mate with the two bars at the open end of the jail. One bar will be the hinge, the other bar will be the latch. Next, drill for the bars in the door. This is best done in a vise with the two pieces stacked so both are drilled at once. Cut the sheet metal to create a notch that will slide onto one of the stationary bars. Using a file, you can create a small detent that will use friction to hold the door closed. Install the bars into the door.

Step 6: Install the Door

Had I thought this far ahead, I would have installed this bar first. But I didn't, so I had to painstakingly inch the nuts up the bolt, add the tubing, and move it all another ¼" at a time till the bolt was through both the ceiling and the floor.

Your cell phone jail is now ready to use. You can use it for yourself, make people lock up their phones in order to join you or just conduct social experiments like they did in this video from Soul Pancake.