Introduction: Geeky Valentine's Name Sign

By Portfolio
About: t•j cos•grove /tí dʒé kɑ́sgrəv/ Noun: 1. 20 something quasi-creative with a penchant for Fedoras,Vintage Goods and Caffeine.

Valentine's Day is Fast approaching, and what to get that special someone? Make it personal and craft this Geeky Name Sign which is sure to have your Valentine smitten.

This instructable should take no more than 30 minutes and will cost next to nothing (or nothing if you happen to have the parts lying around, Which I did =])

Step 1: Collecting the Components

For this Project you are going to Need:

1x Donor Keyboard

1x Stick of old RAM (Preferably with one Flat Side)

Some Electrical Wire

Hot Glue + Gun

Dremel/Hacksaw

Step 2: Preparing Your Keys

You are going to want to Pop out the keys of your choice, on the particular keyboard I used this was remarkable easy, but every one will be different.

Next, You will need to cut off the tabs on the underside of the Keys, this is best done with a Dremel/Hacksaw, you are aiming for a nice flush finish on the underside of each key, to ensure a tight seal against the RAM stick.

NOTE: Extreme care must be taken when cutting the keys, as they are small and difficult to Hold, I suggest a "Helping Hand" if you have one, we all still want to be able to count to ten.

Step 3: Glue on the Keys

It's best to have a clean and secure surface with which to work from, My desk is used for drawing among other things, and I didn't want Glue etc all over it, So an old Packaging Envelope will do nicely as a surrogate desktop.

Although the Hot Glue provides a strong fixture, I did notice it could be removed with some force, so don't worry too much if your keys are not aligned exactly right, you can always redo them.

Make sure the RAM stick is clean, this will make for a better fixture

I found that lining the Keys up in the order they are being glued tends to simplify things and ensure "Megan" is not inadvertantly changed to "Mgena"

Once all the Keys are glued, Leave the stick for a few minutes just to make sure each key is firmly glued down.

Step 4: Making the Hanging Wire

Ok, This bit is easy, For our hanging wire we are going to use simply Electrical Wire, I took two lengths of wire (Black and Red for aesthetics) which we attach into the two holes in each end of the RAM Stick, the stick I was using had these on either side, I'm not sure if this is a generic thing on all sticks, but you can always just drill some holes if you are lacking them. Once each end is secured I used a pair of pliers to tighten the knot to ensure each end of the wire held firm.

Step 5: Voila, Instant Geek Points

And You're done! Go hide your gift in anticipation of the Big Day, Your significant other Will Love it!

Some Possible Hanging Locations Include:

Fridge (Assisted By a Magnet)
Door
Wall
Car

Until Next Time, Cosgrove


[This is my first Instructable, so any feedback would be greatly apreciated]