The Real Wood iPod -by ZapWizard

ZapWizard

Ok this has been a fun side project for me.

I have had a 20GB 4th gen iPod since they came out, but I have never liked the white finish.

As part of Project Redwood (Check my website) I am also applying a wood finish to just about everything on my desk to have a matching set. And the iPod was not excluded.

To view a gallery of all these images click the link below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zapwiza...s/476089/show/

Please read the thread before posting questions.

ZapWizard

First off the original iPod:

Note the white click wheel that was made to replace the gray wheel.
The dock was painted black, as it will sit inside a wooden cover. (not yet made)

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First the iPod was taken apart.
To do this; follow a guide on a battery replacement website.

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Once I had the shell seperated I could start to work on the new faceplate.

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I did not want to simply apply a wood veneer, or a fake finish to the iPod. I wanted to use real wood. To do this I needed to carefully carve out a duplicate faceplate out of a raw piece of wood.

The wood I am using is African Padauk. It is a high quality hardwood that is very easy to work with, and naturaly red in color.

ZapWizard

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This entire project was done by hand using a Dremel rotary tool.

First the edges of the wood were curved using a router attachement.

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Next, the wheel was traced out in the proper place and cut out.

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Then the hole for the screen was measured and cut out.
I did this by first drilling holes to remove the bulk of the material.

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An exact duplicate. (well as exact as can be done by hand)

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By far the hardest part was carving out the back of the faceplate.
The final thickness was only 2mm thick.
During this process the wood split four times, and was glued back using gorilla glue.
The thick piece at the top of the wood is actualy just done drying in this photograph.

ZapWizard

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The iPod was the carefully fitted back together. It is still fully functional.
Hot-glue was used to hold the LCD and Click-wheel PCB onto the wood.

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The iPod fits together nearly as perfect as before.
A little hot-glue was used to fill any gaps.

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I used a very thin and strong double-sided tape to hold the click wheel and select button in place.
Also a good air-less contact is nessicary to ensure that the touch-sensativity of the click wheel is preserved though the thicker coating on top.

ZapWizard

Originally posted by podder60gb

thats amazing... how long did it take you to finish?

i give you lots of credit for that mod... good job, good job...

A little over a week on-and-off in my spare time.
Everything was done slowly and carefully as any screw up would mean starting over.

Originally posted by broken spoke

I wish I had one - that's so original.
Is the click wheel still really responsive? Just wondering...

Yes, there seems to be one spot about 1/8" that doesn't respond. I think it's due to a gap in the pieces of tape.

Originally posted by gdw2121

You ar eth eman, I bow down to you with this one, wanna sell the kits ?
Geo

I don't plan on making kits or whole units, but I reserve the right to.
They would not be cheap by any means.

Originally posted by podder60gb

now im beginning to wonder how the clickwheel works, lol... if it can sense through that thick wood, and double sided tape, then im stuck to how it works... lol...

The click wheel, or the actual touch-sensative part is a capacitace sensor. Basicly the chip charges up the plastic above the circuit with electricity. (A tiny amount) when you touch the plastic some of that electricity passes into you. (like touching a door-knob and getting a shock). The chip can then sense that the power dropped. It detects where by using a series of resistors to determine which part of the circuit was touched.
Check out www.Qprox.com for a similar chip that I will be using for the parent project of the wood iPod: Redwood 3.0
(Check www.zapwizard.com for that)