| Project by scottb | posted 614 days ago | 735 views | 0 times favorited | 15 comments | ![]() |
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Rob and I started exchanging home made gifts last Christmas, you may remember my problems with prototyping a new project as a gift (6-in-one screwdriver I started on before kits were available) – well this year, I threw caution to the wind and tried something new.
But just in case things really turned south, we allowed ourselves a little extra time… And on the 66th Day of Christmas, my BIL gave to me… (like the Magi took a left turn at Albuquerque and showed up on Leap Year Day.)
I had this idea on the back burner for a while, and it wasn’t until after I started making it, that I came across these: http://www.oooms.nl/usb/ same idea, only considerably costlier than mine. I guess there is something to be said for the collective unconsciousness… but I digress. I had a couple other ideas, but this one really appealed to me, for its usefulness, cleverness, and punnyness. (Robs a punny guy.)
The how to – crack open a branch, scoop out enough space for the flash drive to fit.

Epoxy both sides together. (as soon as I glued it, it occurred to me I should have put the sides together, and then did the sanding and finishing BEFORE glueing the flash drive within. So I had to be really careful not to damage the usb adapter from this point forward.

Luckily, having no moving parts, I could still be a little rough – break out the orbital sander to make this nice and smooth. Unf. the glue line showed more than I thought it would, staining didn’t do anthing to hide it. Sanded again, and chiseled out the epoxy line a bit, applied wood glue and sanded more. This did more to hide the glue line – but as I overcut the hole for the flash drive I needed to pack in some wood filler.
Mental note – If I make another one, just drill out a hole large enough to put a flash drive into, then pack in some wood filler (or that play-doh like epoxy stick) around the usb port, no cracks, holes or such to take care of – that, OR add some decorative carving to the sides to downplay the joinery. I wanted this to look as natural as possible, so the attempt at carving was also sanded off.
I also cut this a bit too short, and it left a hole at the bottom – which I filled and turned into a feature. ;)

The wood is maple off my property, the finish is the family favorite, Howards orange wax and feed.
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/






























15 comments so far
GaryK
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9496 posts in 866 days
posted 614 days ago
Pretty cool! No mistaking who that belongs to.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
darryl
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1368 posts in 1204 days
posted 614 days ago
I wonder if a mortising jig with a small bit could be a useful way to create a rectangular hole to insert the drive? of course I don’t have a mortiser to try it out…
the USB kits I’ve seen through Penn State Industries are just too pricey, so I like your take!
-- ~ www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.darrylmasterson.etsy.com ~ www.woodworkingdungeon.blogspot.com ~
teenagewoodworker
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2470 posts in 646 days
posted 614 days ago
oh man that is so cool. I’m getting a flash drive for school sometime soon and i just know that I’m gonna try that out. that has to be one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while. thanks for the post and the great idea.
scottb
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3391 posts in 1205 days
posted 614 days ago
hmmm…. would saving a couple bucks on a flash drive offset a new domino? that might do the trick.
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/
MsDebbieP
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14089 posts in 1038 days
posted 614 days ago
ha.. leave it up to you to create a U-S-Tree card.. awesome.
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
RobS
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1231 posts in 1184 days
posted 614 days ago
Punny thing happened on the way to the mailbox…. Once I opened it I couldn’t beleaf it!
Thanks for the memories, Scott! Nice to see your ventures are branching out to new areas.
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
Zuki
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1218 posts in 955 days
posted 614 days ago
Man oh man. Give a guy a memory stick, a hunk of branch and waaaaaaay to much time . . . what do you get?
What’s next . . . a “memory” box to keep all your digital images ???
Good creativeness there Scott. :-)
-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them
DAN
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6396 posts in 861 days
posted 614 days ago
cool idea !
what next ? a wooden steampunk laptop ?
-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever
Karson
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25271 posts in 1278 days
posted 614 days ago
Scott. I guess thats called seeing something outside the box. I very unique gift.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
itsme_timd
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675 posts in 709 days
posted 614 days ago
Scott, very cool idea! -- WARNING! PUN AHEAD!-- I hear these are great for storing your LOG files. :-)
I took a look at your other post as well – and enjoyed recognizing the “those responsible have just been sacked” comment!
-- Tim D. - Woodstock, GA
Muzhik
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128 posts in 1016 days
posted 614 days ago
Cool project!
Note to self – consider a SawStop to minimize the “opportunity” to make a ‘thumb drive’ similar to this.
Dadoo
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1724 posts in 868 days
posted 607 days ago
Too cool!
-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!
rikkor
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11338 posts in 752 days
posted 607 days ago
That is really clever
cajunpen
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5970 posts in 943 days
posted 606 days ago
Now that is something that I will gaurantee that he won’t get two of.
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
mcoyfrog
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735 posts in 472 days
posted 200 days ago
great geek idea, i love it
-- Wood and Glass they kick (well you know) Have a great day - Dug