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Custom USB Drive - Project: Enter the USB

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
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Aug. 1, 2007

Specifications

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The Practice Run

As I mentioned, I started with the Backspace key for a test-run. My plan of attack was as follows:

Dremel a notch into the side of the key.
Sand edges smooth.
Place the USB drive into the key.
Pour clear silicone into the key to secure USB drive into place and to allow the back side to be see-thru. However, for the practice run, I actually skipped steps 1 thru 3 because I was mainly concerned with how well the silicone would work as a filler material.

Step 4:

I was really glad I did a practice run. The day after I finished applying it, I was not happy with the clarity of the silicone; it was too cloudy. It was also a bit softer than I wanted.

So, I decided to use something else for the real thing: an industrial strength adhesive called E6000, which Brian has used in the past and recommended. That being said, about a week later I checked the silicone again and found it to be much harder. Apparently, it just needed more time to set. Still, the clarity wasn't quite as good as I wanted so I still planned to use E6000 in place of the silicone for the real run.

The Real Run

After the practice run, my plan of attack remained mostly the same, except for the first and last steps:

Remove clutter from inside the Enter key.
Dremel a notch into the side of the key.
Sand edges smooth.
Place the USB drive into the key.
Pour E6000 industrial strength epoxy into the key to secure USB drive into place and allow the back side to be see-thru.

Before pulling out the Dremel, I donned my protective gear. Kids, don't try this at home. I'm a trained, erm... heh... professional. Yeah.

Step 1:

The first thing I needed to do was get the little stub in the middle of the enter key out of my way, as well as the little pieces of plastic jutting out that supported that bar I removed earlier. For the stub, I bashed the key with a large stone. No... why would I do that? Safety in mind, I proceeded with my Dremel and fingerless gloves. The cutting wheel was used to cut in some notches first and then the grinding stone was used to actually remove pieces. Using only the grinding stone on plastic tends to melt it all into one big sticky mess. By cutting notches first, I was able to use the grinding stone pretty much exclusively to remove the little plastic pieces that supported the bar.

Step 2:

Before cutting a notch into the side of the Enter key, I grabbed a pencil and the USB drive to mark approximately how far I needed to cut. Once again I used the notch-then-grind method with the cutting wheel and grinding stone for the side of the Enter key.

Step 3:

I was able to clean it up pretty well with the Dremel, and then put on the finishing touches with some fine grit sandpaper. Care had to be taken with the sandpaper to not round any corners or edges, though.

Step 4:

With all the necessary cuts having been made, it was time to place the USB drive inside the Enter key. Fit was perfect, with a little bit of wiggle room.

Step 5:

Now for the fun: pouring in the epoxy. The tricky thing was that this part had to be done a bit at a time, rather than all at once, to keep the epoxy from flowing out of the notch we just cut. So I started by filling the key up to the notch and then setting the USB drive back in place on top of it. I let it set for 24 hours, then added a bit more, and so on, until silicone was up to the top. Once I was completely finished, I let it set for another few days before messing with it, since I used a good bit more epoxy than your typical application.

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Page 2 of 3

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Page 1: Introduction & Getting Started
Page 2: The Practice Run & The Real Run
Page 3: Conclusion & Enter The USB - Photoshoot

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3 User Comments

1 - Posted by handrail on August 1, 2007 - 9:12 am

heh, clever mod, K. love the safety gear. very important.

2 - Posted by gamerguy24 on August 15, 2007 - 8:19 am

This is the worst article I've ever read on techlounge. There's too much bias and it's not that interesting or cool. A whole article on a USB stick mod? Just maybe if it was even slightly interesting, but it's just an enter key, really not that clever. Three pages of coverage and photos about himself and documentation of his thinking "hmm but it's just a keyboard, hmmm" Sounds like a kid writing in his diary.

Mean or not, my aim is honesty. And honestly, I wouldn't keep checking this site if there were more articles like this. I started visiting when I read a few reviews on mp3 players years ago. Unbiased detailed tech reviews. Not "look what I made, hee hee." +Funny pics.

So, it looks cool and all, but it's not an article. At best you could have just written a single line caption under a single photo of the stick mod (without your hilarious self in it), and uploaded it on an appropriate website. (Cool stuff / cool pics / Cool gadgets or mods sites)

3 - Posted by Kurtis on August 15, 2007 - 3:31 pm

Ha... First of all, I can't help but be a bit offended that you're so harsh. To be honest, you're the first one who has really complained about the article at all. Can't make everyone happy, I guess.

That being said... no, TheTechLounge's direction has not changed. We are not going to specialize in dumb USB mod articles. It was a fun little project, and a fun article to write (and fun for -most- people to read, based on the feedback I've gotten). The whole point of the article was to give people an idea for a silly little mod that doesn't require a lot of skill or time.

I should mention, I also had my article posted on Bit-Tech.net, since they are more focused on modding articles. Their readers liked it as well. And I also posted it on Instructables.com - and they liked it, too!

/me goes to the corner and cries

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