Introduction: Polymer Clay Thumb Drive

An oven, some time, some artistic talent (more than I have, anyway) and some polymer clay are all you need to have a cool, unique thumdrive....Er...I suppose you need a thumbdrive too.

I don't think that these are instructions that anyone really needs. I just wanted to tell the world that it could be done.

Step 1: Remove the Case From Your Thumbdrive.

I suppose I could have taken pictures of this process but there are many manufacturers of thumb drives and the steps probably wouldn't apply to yours.

It's pretty simple. Just find the seam and poke and pry.

Step 2: Cover All But the USB Connector With Polymer Clay.

This is where design considerations come in. It's all a matter of taste.

Step 3: Bake

The brand I use says to bake 15 minutes for every 6mm (1/4in) of thickness at 130C (275F). I think they are all pretty much the same.

Step 4: Some Thoughts That Aren't Really Steps

The only down side is that you wind up covering the LED. On the ones where the led flashes whenever the drive is being accessed this could be a minor problem. You just have to make sure it is unmounted before pulling the drive.

On the ones I have the LED is useless. It is lit whenever the drive has power. I don't know why they even bothered with it.

They do make translucent versions of the clay but they aren't really clear. I may try just using a glass shard as a window in future attempts.

One last thing. I doubt anyone who uses a thumb drive needs this warning needs to hear this but.........Don't try this on a drive that has the only copy of data you need...Duh.