wood ipod
wood ipod

wooden ipod by josh d
josh d from australia has taken apart an ipod mini unit and rebuilt the case using
nothing but natural wood and screws. the design uses no glue and the click wheel
is attached to the sensor via double sided tape.

wooden ipod

wooden ipod

making of ipod


wooden ipod

making of wooden ipod

making of ipod

wooden ipod
via ilounge
WHY?
MR.STEVE 06.22.09
Why not? This is hilarious!
Donny Salami 06.22.09
Wonderful piece!
Pedro 06.22.09
What do you mean "why", and what do you mean "hilarious"? Because it looks really neat (Not funny). Why do electronics come in cases that are something more complicated than just a simple shell around the internal parts? Because it looks neat. This project is just a different take on the materials for th iPod design. I can't believe you'd ask "why?". That question is hilarious.
Nic Stage 06.22.09
I can't believe you took something seriously on the internet *gives you a chill pill*
Rhiesa 06.22.09
What's next, a steam powered model?
Peter 06.22.09
Thats truely awesome! Excellent wood working.
Pete 06.22.09
Nice to see out of the box thinking but what about thinking ahead! problems:
1. the clickwheel would not be 'normally' responsive as the default design
2. warping of wood with temperature and humidity causing problems to the clickwheel, LCD display, even possibly the circuit board. Don't leave it in the car for an afternoon...
3. if it gets wet the wood will warp and will splinter
I am sure there is more I am not thinking of such as how heat cannot escape via the case b/c wood is so much more insulating.
Despite lack of true usefullness, it does look nice.
Good craftsmanship - but to quote an earlier writer - why?
1. the clickwheel would not be 'normally' responsive as the default design
2. warping of wood with temperature and humidity causing problems to the clickwheel, LCD display, even possibly the circuit board. Don't leave it in the car for an afternoon...
3. if it gets wet the wood will warp and will splinter
I am sure there is more I am not thinking of such as how heat cannot escape via the case b/c wood is so much more insulating.
Despite lack of true usefullness, it does look nice.
Good craftsmanship - but to quote an earlier writer - why?
Ken 06.22.09
Can you explain to me what a "natural screw" is? Do those grow on screw trees?
kjinx 06.22.09
might not be too long and the above mentioned problems are solved and apple are selling the eco-ipod...
menotu 06.22.09
it's just style , that's all of it. don't think seriously about it. someone love wood design more than plastic case, after all.
introman 06.23.09
is so good
hero chu 06.23.09
i wanna get it
jack 06.23.09
i subscibe to designboom to see cool designs-to see something outside of the square we live in.
this ticks all the box's.
one of the best 'dress ups' for this well known icon.
going by some previous comments,obviously some people are quite happy to miss the point and follow the mass's of boredom and repeditiveness.
this ticks all the box's.
one of the best 'dress ups' for this well known icon.
going by some previous comments,obviously some people are quite happy to miss the point and follow the mass's of boredom and repeditiveness.
mattban 06.23.09
His warranty won't be covering it now! haha lol It is pretty cool though!
Nick Evul 06.23.09
I sense a mild (not made too obvious, as a compliment) conceptual twist, remembering those wooden high-end stereo set popular before pods and mp3's.
Nice.
Nice.
yuko+nagai 06.23.09
I want one for me!!!
larisleme@yahoo.com.br 06.23.09
aparently from all the above. Design is for everyone and anyone. Not all people are the same. Not all people like the same thing. Not all design is made to solve problems or be smart, and I am sure the non-likers of this wooden ipod (including myself) have the occasional not so functional piece in our collection of rubish. Emotive is a way to design and try to get reaction from people. Bottom line anything goes! You like it... Good... U don't then Too Bad. The guy crafted out some fun. Share it or just be indifferent. Its too Fascist to make everyone see things through your own logic. There are more logics than our own
tooBoredofSpecialistsandWiners 06.23.09
wow! how beautiful! if electronics came in such gorgeous cases, I would be far more interested in them.
uhhuhcheckit 06.23.09
Dude, that is just too cool!
RT
www.anon-tools.tk
RT
www.anon-tools.tk
James Jones 06.23.09
Next time, can you make an ipod case out of spam?
MeatSpin 06.23.09
Awesome! This is a business opportunity, this page needs to have a way for people to place orders and buy this!! Act quickly man.
~Rob
http://www.mytextsecret.com
~Rob
http://www.mytextsecret.com
I2OI3 06.23.09
This is art … he has taken a ubiquitous piece of modern culture and turned it into something singular.
Very cool.
Oh, I agree, a Spam iPod would be sweet! And mildly nauseating.
Very cool.
Oh, I agree, a Spam iPod would be sweet! And mildly nauseating.
Dan 06.23.09
now weights as much as a zune
z 06.23.09
I greatly appreciate the out-of-the-box thinking this design represents. It's beautiful, and to those asking "why?" I ask, why not? Because no one told him to? Nothing new and innovative happens when you get permission or approval first.
Most people who can't see value in what is unique have been subject to too many years of public schooling. This limits ones ability to see the value in expressing individuality. I, for one, love it:-)
Most people who can't see value in what is unique have been subject to too many years of public schooling. This limits ones ability to see the value in expressing individuality. I, for one, love it:-)
Tracy 06.23.09
this is cute..^^
mjwon 06.23.09
I think it is lovely. I love the integration of technology and nature. Very cool.
Sunsetgun78 06.23.09
That's amazing
suprsam 06.23.09
Very nice - will you sell this piece?
Eric 06.23.09
That looks nice, and the craftsmanship is good too. :)
One thing that came to mind, though, is that I'd think the click wheel would no longer be sensitive to touch. For the click wheel to be responsive to touch, the wood would have to conduct the skin's capacitance through to the actual click wheel.
One thing that came to mind, though, is that I'd think the click wheel would no longer be sensitive to touch. For the click wheel to be responsive to touch, the wood would have to conduct the skin's capacitance through to the actual click wheel.
Eric 06.23.09
hm does not look to bad, but i would not buy one.
teddytron 06.23.09
OMG I WANT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WOULD TOTALLY BUY ONE!!! TWO.... MAYBE THREE!!!!! I wish they sold them =(
verticaltrailmix@hotmail.com 06.23.09
Don't understand the criticism. I think it's beautiful! nice work!
anon 06.23.09
the answer to everyone's "why?" is so simple! Because he thought out of the box, he saw a different picture, maybe a bigger picture. In my opinion you can't design or be a designer if you let the question "why?" get in your way! so the question is "why not?" and the answer to that is because it would simply sell being different than the rest!
all the other factors that involve more technical diffuculties, such as the heat problem mentioned before or decaying of the wood, or contact with water, etc... leave that to the engineers man!!! that's their job! obviously working together with them, but mostly their job!
other than that i think this model would definetly sell, it's definetly or would mostly be seen as a style, a very especific style that would definetly go with apple, since they always have been looking for out of the box projects!
VERY AWESOME!
all the other factors that involve more technical diffuculties, such as the heat problem mentioned before or decaying of the wood, or contact with water, etc... leave that to the engineers man!!! that's their job! obviously working together with them, but mostly their job!
other than that i think this model would definetly sell, it's definetly or would mostly be seen as a style, a very especific style that would definetly go with apple, since they always have been looking for out of the box projects!
VERY AWESOME!
CHUMAWE 06.23.09
steampunk
google it.
btw. This ipod is great.
google it.
btw. This ipod is great.
jtm 06.23.09
this has been around for years
blah 06.23.09
just plain awsome...laptop next?
ausieboi 06.24.09
AWESOME
bluebeard 06.24.09
Talk about steampunk! this is what abe lincoln would use.
just an observer 06.24.09
looks great !
good work
good work
srikanth 06.24.09
''Next time, can you make an ipod case out of spam?'' MeatSpin....i bet you love a mans spam chunk right up your chuff. Or a big chunk of wood rubbing against your leg. Other than that i love the ipod case.
bfxbfxb 06.24.09
its a good redesign of the case, i like it great job.
toto 06.24.09
good idea, eveything on wood!yeah, fuck the planet!!!!
pansa 06.24.09
Tsuji Ayano FTW
Kim 06.25.09
Do that with an iphone and I'll be impressed ;)
Oh... one last thing 06.26.09
dude?!? its not serious till you make wooden headphones...
and wooden wires to match the wooden headphones.
and wooden wires to match the wooden headphones.
likeomgitstotallywood 06.27.09
Hiya all!
I'm glad some of you enjoyed my little wooden ipod. You seem to appreciate the exact same reasons why I wanted to make the mod in the first place. As I said, I love wood, making things and just having fun with little projects. For the others who asked 'why?', that's totally understandable. Some things simply aren't to everyone's taste. As for a few questions that were asked, I'll do my best to answer them:
The click wheel -
It actually works really well now, pretty much as perfectly as the original click wheel did. The wooden clickwheel I shaved down from a block of wood ended up being aroun 2mm thick (the original plastic wheel cover is around 1mm thick), and I was happily surprised when I placed the wood wheel on the sensor and it picked up my finger just fine. The whole capacaitive process works totally fine. I guess it's the same principle as how you can often operate your ipod through a layer of denim while the ipod is in your jeans pocket.
Heat -
I actually didn't even think of the heat factor while I was making the wood mod for the mini. But I haven't had any troubles with the wood ipod so far. And I knew I was making it with a sensitive material from the beginning, so I treat it like a wooden guitar or other wood instrument, eg: not leaving it in a hot car or letting it get wet.
Use -
When I decided to make the wooden mod, I didn't want to make some prop that didn't work perfectly, or something that you never actualy use for fear of damaging it (like fine china that paranoid grandmas never even take out of the cabinet). I did this mod SO I would enjoy using my old Ipod mini again. So I made the wood shell a little thicker than I would have liked purely for structural strength, brass ends caps instead of wooden end caps for durability, and kept it all dismantleable so I could service or replace parts in the future. I keep it in a nice soft felt case now too and I use the little guy every day.
Buisness -
Ah yes, some people I've showed have immediately shouted that I need to market the wood cases. It's not really my mindset to make money off the mods, but I'm going to investigate it a bit further. If only to be able to offer the chance to get a wood ipod mod for their trusty fave ipod to those who like the idea. I'd need to streamline the making process though, because it would take me forever to make them by hand again!
Sale -
Sorry! The piece isn't up for sale, I'd probably cry with despair if I let it go after all the time I've spent on it. But the above mentions that I'm looking into possibly making them available down the track, so there's hope.
Steampunk -
Ahhh steampunk. I suspected that my ipod wood mod might get that association from some, but I actually made it from brass and wood simply because I love both of those materials themselves and together. There's no association to steampunk, and I sort of feel sorry for wood and brass that now when they're seen together they get labelled as such. Boo hoo!
Wood headphones -
I stopped myself at the point of making wooden heapdphones even though I still REALLY want to make some. I just have to roadblock my tiny ocd tendencies and move onto other projects. So this is all the wood ipod paraphenalia I'll make for now.
Thanks again for all the comments and constructive critisisms everyone, I'm glad some of you appreciated it and enjoyed checking it out.
See ya!
Josh D, (australia)
I'm glad some of you enjoyed my little wooden ipod. You seem to appreciate the exact same reasons why I wanted to make the mod in the first place. As I said, I love wood, making things and just having fun with little projects. For the others who asked 'why?', that's totally understandable. Some things simply aren't to everyone's taste. As for a few questions that were asked, I'll do my best to answer them:
The click wheel -
It actually works really well now, pretty much as perfectly as the original click wheel did. The wooden clickwheel I shaved down from a block of wood ended up being aroun 2mm thick (the original plastic wheel cover is around 1mm thick), and I was happily surprised when I placed the wood wheel on the sensor and it picked up my finger just fine. The whole capacaitive process works totally fine. I guess it's the same principle as how you can often operate your ipod through a layer of denim while the ipod is in your jeans pocket.
Heat -
I actually didn't even think of the heat factor while I was making the wood mod for the mini. But I haven't had any troubles with the wood ipod so far. And I knew I was making it with a sensitive material from the beginning, so I treat it like a wooden guitar or other wood instrument, eg: not leaving it in a hot car or letting it get wet.
Use -
When I decided to make the wooden mod, I didn't want to make some prop that didn't work perfectly, or something that you never actualy use for fear of damaging it (like fine china that paranoid grandmas never even take out of the cabinet). I did this mod SO I would enjoy using my old Ipod mini again. So I made the wood shell a little thicker than I would have liked purely for structural strength, brass ends caps instead of wooden end caps for durability, and kept it all dismantleable so I could service or replace parts in the future. I keep it in a nice soft felt case now too and I use the little guy every day.
Buisness -
Ah yes, some people I've showed have immediately shouted that I need to market the wood cases. It's not really my mindset to make money off the mods, but I'm going to investigate it a bit further. If only to be able to offer the chance to get a wood ipod mod for their trusty fave ipod to those who like the idea. I'd need to streamline the making process though, because it would take me forever to make them by hand again!
Sale -
Sorry! The piece isn't up for sale, I'd probably cry with despair if I let it go after all the time I've spent on it. But the above mentions that I'm looking into possibly making them available down the track, so there's hope.
Steampunk -
Ahhh steampunk. I suspected that my ipod wood mod might get that association from some, but I actually made it from brass and wood simply because I love both of those materials themselves and together. There's no association to steampunk, and I sort of feel sorry for wood and brass that now when they're seen together they get labelled as such. Boo hoo!
Wood headphones -
I stopped myself at the point of making wooden heapdphones even though I still REALLY want to make some. I just have to roadblock my tiny ocd tendencies and move onto other projects. So this is all the wood ipod paraphenalia I'll make for now.
Thanks again for all the comments and constructive critisisms everyone, I'm glad some of you appreciated it and enjoyed checking it out.
See ya!
Josh D, (australia)
josh D 06.27.09
too bulky eww.
facepalm 06.27.09
everyone takes the non-functionality too serious... pretty sure everyone has newer ipods than that!!!
... 06.27.09
Forget the warranty folks...this will bring a ton of money from a collector, and why not? Human design ingenuity at it's best. I wish I had Josh's talent to re-think the iPod, not to just CG it but actually doing the job. Kudos.
Ricardo 06.28.09
Can termites eat that?
poof! 06.29.09
No... the wood is treated
termite 06.29.09
Oh dear: it's IRONIC!!!! Duh!
Bizarre, sad, but predictable that some people ask "Why?".
Think of recreating Stonehenge from recycled plastic, or sculpting a Bugatti Veyron from pasta... this is not particularly athletic, conceptually speaking, but nonetheless proves too challenging for some who consider themselves party to a design sensibility. *sigh*
Thank you Josh D for demonstrating a delightfully Australian larrikin sense of humour. Sorry to the humourless denizens of elsewhere who "just don't get it".
Bizarre, sad, but predictable that some people ask "Why?".
Think of recreating Stonehenge from recycled plastic, or sculpting a Bugatti Veyron from pasta... this is not particularly athletic, conceptually speaking, but nonetheless proves too challenging for some who consider themselves party to a design sensibility. *sigh*
Thank you Josh D for demonstrating a delightfully Australian larrikin sense of humour. Sorry to the humourless denizens of elsewhere who "just don't get it".
Michael Skidmark 06.30.09
omg i would totally buy this!!!!!!!
awesome wood ipod lover:DD 06.30.09
This is a beautiful piece of work Josh.
Marni 07.03.09
beautiful! also, it rocks that you're from australia :P
jaychra 07.08.09
There is no point to this, it is just another gimmick. What foolish people you are who have fallen for yet another stupid idea!
Common Sense 07.20.09
If they sold theses as kits I think folks would purchase them. I would!
Can you discuss the brass plates?
Can you discuss the brass plates?
scenicthom.com 07.20.09
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