# Wood iphone case. Tutorial.



## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Well I got a few request to do an iPhone case. So I'll try to explain as best as I can,
Considering I had a couple mess up's prior to this. Remember the case is in the rough
But I can assure you at the end it will look 
Clean. 











The piece of wood I'm using is dalmata 
From peru. This piece was 3/4 thick then planed down to the thickness indicated by the digital caliper. 











This is a template I made out of Masonite. 
I first placed it on the wood. The side you see will be the back. I'll flip the template over and stick it with carpet tape. So I can router out the bulk. 



















These pics show the width & length after I routed out the center. But before that I had to figure out how deep to route, so I had a scrap piece of wood the thickness I wanted & set router to that depth, marked with a pencil. When I routed out the center I did it in a couple passes. 































Once I was done routing, I cut my piece to my final with & length, drew a line around towards the bottom. This will be two pieces, because this is a slider case, I have to cut it now so I can carve out the channel/groove with a small chisel. 




















Here I cut it with a thin dovetail saw. And a cheesy mitre box. Nothing fancy here, just a square cut. Nice and smooth. This will come together when done so you want to take your time here. 











Time to start chiseling out the groove so iPhone can slide in between. The calipers are set at 3/8.the thickness of phone. Mark with pencil at two locations, the use small straight edge connect lines, score with a razor and using a sharp chisel gouge out channel, little at a time. (This tutorial is harder the the project) lol. 






























This photo is carved on both sides. It takes a lot of time getting it even on both sides.using my phone as a guide checking & arcing until phone slides down, this is the top of case. I'll go back and do some more touch ups here later. 











Now I have to cut the channel on the top of case, doing the same as before, marking at 3/8 draw a line. Because its to hard to get a chisel in here I'll use a dremel
With a round bit and carve it down, working it down the the same as the sides. 
Gosh this is a lot harder to explain than I thought. Switching off to different bits to get in there,whatever it takes. Sliding phone in and checking, repeat this till it fits snugly into grooves on sides and top.
That's all I got done today. Got a late start and. Couple of mess ups. So I'll get back at it tomorrow. 
Thanks for looking.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Okay, I'm diggin' this one. Looking forward to the rest. Thanks very much for sharing this one with us.


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

I'm liking this one.

...GEAUX KNICKS...


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Got my pop corn. Watching this one.


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## ArmedFerret (Aug 24, 2011)

In for more...don't suppose you have a tutorial for 3GS? :laughing:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

I'm liking this as well... can't wait to see the end product.

:thumbsup:


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Well I'm finished with no catastrophes. 
Everything went well. Except the two halves weren't lining up with the grain pattern, but I managed to get it. 
Hope you like. 































In these two pics I cut a piece of cardboard the shape of my phone, so I can use it as a template inside the case, to find spots that needed to be carved (it's easier to see what's going on with this, than using phone. As you can see it fits just nice.now I'm done with the groove for top. 











Now to do the same thing for the bottom. 
It's rough. 











Here I've got it started. 











Done with the groove. Lots of sanding to do. 

































Here I have both halves of the case together. I also made all my cutouts for power,volume controls,camera, earphones,& charger. 
More sanding. Here's the final case. 
I put a finish on it tonight, so I'll post pics when it's dry. 
Sorry I couldn't show pics on how I marked the locations for the cutouts.i used the phone with tape in the cutout locations & used phone for pics. Glad it's done 
Thanks to all who have followed this build.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Ah ha, this tutorial was a waste of time.


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## gstanfield (Dec 23, 2011)

Why, did it not work out?


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

gstanfield said:


> Why, did it not work out?


No it worked out fine. 
Had a couple request to do this. With a lack of responses. Oh well


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

That is so cool! The wood is magnificent.

One question, what holds the two halves together? Friction? Magnets?

...GEAUX KNICKS...


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Brink said:


> That is so cool! The wood is magnificent.
> 
> One question, what holds the two halves together? Friction? Magnets?
> 
> ...GEAUX KNICKS...


No magnets. Its just a snug fit so they don't just fall apart. 
I'm waiting for the finish to dry. To post pics with phone in it. But I use my phone to take pics. I'll have to wait for wife to give me her phone to take pic. 
Thanks brink.
Cutting that wood smells good, smells like hot chocolate. Lol


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## lawrence (Nov 14, 2009)

awsome job there man...I dont use a phone myself but my daughter would love it...wonder if I can do it non electric....would be a feat with handtools


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

lawrence said:


> awsome job there man...I dont use a phone myself but my daughter would love it...wonder if I can do it non electric....would be a feat with handtools


Thanks a lot. It would be hard to hog out the center by hand. Besides that dalmata wood is hard.


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## jstange2 (Dec 5, 2010)

Very cool. Mine will more than likely stay in the otterbox most of the time, but you may have convinced me to make one for special occasions. Good work.


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## slicksqueegie (Feb 9, 2011)

I'm looking forward to the wife getting home. I want to see this finished.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

slicksqueegie said:


> I'm looking forward to the wife getting home. I want to see this finished.


+1... I bet that is going to look sweet with the finish on it. Good job.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the good comments. 
But sorry gonna have to wait till tomorrow. 
I'm really happy on how this came out. I've done about 5 of them & I think this is my favorite.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Dominick said:


> But sorry gonna have to wait till tomorrow.


Oh man, reading this thread was a complete waste of time. 

:laughing:

Looks great, Dominic, I might surprise the wife with one of these. Looking forward to the finished pics.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Very cool. Can't wait to see it finished. Thanks for running us through the how-to! :smile:


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Well I'm all done with the finish. 
Hope you all like it as much as I do.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Nicely done Dominick, thanks for taking the time to illustrate, in pictures, how you went about creating this. :thumbsup:


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I am sure that the case is going to look very pretty when you get through.

But, let me ask a question. Is not an iphone something that a person would carry in their pocket? If so, why would you want to carry a wooden box?

Please exuse me as I am not familar with these modern phones and their uses. 

George


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Thanks a whole lot. I'm happy with it. 
Hope you try one as well. I'd like to see it 
Maybe I'll learn something from it.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

GeorgeC said:


> I am sure that the case is going to look very pretty when you get through.
> 
> But, let me ask a question. Is not an iphone something that a person would carry in their pocket? If so, why would you want to carry a wooden box?
> 
> ...


:laughing: yes an iPhone you carry in your pocket. It's no different than anything else. 
It's not just a box it's a case.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Dominick, too cool man. Thanks for posting. Now I'm going to try it. Not sure what wood I'll use. You have inspired me to try it though. Thanks so much.

Ray

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

rayking49 said:


> Dominick, too cool man. Thanks for posting. Now I'm going to try it. Not sure what wood I'll use. You have inspired me to try it though. Thanks so much.
> 
> Ray
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


Thanks rayking. Give it a try. It took me 3 times to perfect it. Hope you get it. I would use a good hard wood with straight grain. I've done others in walnut, teak & this one in dalmata. So go for it you'll soon realize what I went threw. Good luck & happy new year.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Also,there's nothing like having your wood in your hand :laughing:


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

GeorgeC said:


> If so, why would you want to carry a wooden box?
> George


These things cost an arm and a leg to replace if you drop and break them. The (good) cases are pretty expensive and this is just darned cool. I made some for ipads awhile back... really wish I'd taken pics, d'oh! :wallbash:


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Taylormade said:


> These things cost an arm and a leg to replace if you drop and break them. The (good) cases are pretty expensive and this is just darned cool. I made some for ipads awhile back... really wish I'd taken pics, d'oh! :wallbash:


Yea you don't want to drop it. It could break. It'll take a little abuse. Dropping any 
Phone may break. I made 3 for my wife & she's dropped all of them and broke. Just have to be careful. When she saw this one, she wants this now. Ugh. 
I get a lot of compliments when I'm out & with friend. Good feeling. 
I saw these on the Internet and some are expensive, so I did my own. I just wanted to see if I could do it.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Slick.
I can't make that with a chainsaw.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Thanks Dan. Sure you can give it a try :laughing:


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

I was just perusing my old emails and came across this post..... That case turned out awesome! I really like the color on it, and that grain just pops. 

If I ever get a smartphone, I will definitely try something like this.

Very nice job!

Fabian


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

thegrgyle said:


> I was just perusing my old emails and came across this post..... That case turned out awesome! I really like the color on it, and that grain just pops.
> 
> If I ever get a smartphone, I will definitely try something like this.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the kind words Fabian.


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## Firewalker (Jan 3, 2011)

Dominick, very well done. I was reading this post thinking ... "hmmmmm how in the world is he gonna..... Holy smokes you've done it Jimmy!!!"

Love it!:thumbsup:


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Thanks jimmy. My wife wants me to do another for her. This will be her 3rd one 
She brakes hers a lot. 
But gotta make Momma happy.


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