http://www.instructables.

com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Food Living Outside Play Technology Workshop
Easy paracord USB flash drive case
by Deslivres on April 5, 2010
Table of Contents
Easy paracord USB flash drive case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Intro: Easy paracord USB flash drive case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Step 1: What you'll need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Step 2: Remove the casing (or what's left of it) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 3: Measure your paracord and cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 4: Make a loop... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 5: ...Then start (and keep) braiding ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Step 6: Trim and burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Step 7: You're done ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Author:Deslivres Thomas Maillioux
I'm a French librarian, four years into his trade and learning something every day - or at least trying to. And when I learn something really neat, I love to share
it with people around me :)
Intro: Easy paracord USB flash drive case
[UPDATE]
The finalists for the Paracord Contest have been selected ! Congratulations to everyone who got picked, and thanks to all those who submitted an Instructable - there's
some awesome creativity going on out there :)
[/UPDATE]
Welcome to this paracord Instructable !
I first discovered this awesome material through stormdrane's Instructables and quickly got hooked - lanyards, bracelets, handles, I even went so far as to knit it (great
result by the way, you should try it) ! The paracord contest I'm entering with this Instructable has shown me how much people around the world are doing awesome,
elaborate stuff with their paracord but I thought I'd go a different route and offer you guys something geeky, easy and that can be done on the side of a table :)
I use a lot of flash drives, if only to try out Linux live CDs thanks to Unetbootin or to move my pupils' data from one computer to the other and over time, the glue that
holds the case together tends to give up on me. So I came up with what I thought would be a quick fix until I get to make a set of USB chess pieces for my father...And
for the last 2 years, these paracord-adorned babies have never shown a sign of wear, so I kept them that way.
Interested ? Then...On to the next step !
Image Notes
1. 2 USB flash drives braided with black paracord
2. A USB flash drive braided with desert camo paracord
Step 1:What you'll need
For this project, we'll need :
- Paracord, obviously ! For 1 flash drive, 80 to 90 centimeters (about 3 feet) are necessary ;
- A pair of scissors (gnawing paracord with your teeth won't work) ;
- A USB flash drive, yup ;
- A lighter to melt the ends of the paracord and seal it.
All green ? Let's get started !
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Step 2:Remove the casing (or what's left of it)
Depending on how weak the glue that holds your flash drive has become, that might be more or less easy. Usually you can do that with your fingers and nails, but a
Swiss army knife or a precision screwdriver can do the trick if need be. Just make sure you don't damage the actual drive !
Once this is done, on to the next step : measuring and cutting your cord !
Image Notes
1. The flash drive itself ! Complete with USB plug and memory chip (on the other side)
2. The discarded casing, now completely unable to hold together because of the glue that no longer keeps it in one piece.
Step 3:Measure your paracord and cut
As I said earlier, braiding paracord around a flash drive with the snake knot takes 80 to 90 centimeters (or about 3 feet) of cord. Measure that out, measure that again,
and cut - you're done with this step ! Let's hop to the next step, which is equally easy.
Image Notes
1. 40 centimeters x 2
Step 4:Make a loop...
It's always convenient to have something to attach your flash drive to something like a key-ring or a , so let's give this little guy a loop. fold the cord in two equal parts, and
set the flash drive on top of it. You can easily decide how big the loop will be at that stage but don't go too crazy ! You might end up a few inches short on paracord for
your snake knot.
And now for the braiding...On to the next step !
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Step 5:...Then start (and keep) braiding !
The knot we're going to use is the easy, famous snake knot you can see in Stormdrane's paracord bracelet Instructable and in so many others.
- Take the flash drive on top of the folded paracord, and make a loop to the left with the right-side half of paracord. It should then come under the flash drive and to its
right (see picture 1) ;
- Take the left-side thread of paracord, make it go in a loop to the right, under the thread that went out to the right, and then over the drive into the loop (see picture 2) ;
- Tighten it all up together (picture 3), then repeat the steps from picture 1 and 2 on the other side of the flash drive (picture 4) ;
- Keep going alternating left and right and left and right, until you reach the end of the flash drive (see picture 5) !
It might be difficult at first, and the first knots will look ugly - but don't worry, it'll look better as you train and as you keep braiding ! Once you're done, time to cut, trim and
seal the cord - in the next step !
Image Notes
1. The loop made from the right-side thread of paracord, moving to the left...
2. And coming out under and back to the right.
Image Notes
1. Left-side thread goes out to the right, under the thread that came out from the
loop we created to the left...
2. ...And into the loop !
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Image Notes
1. That was our first loop...
2. And the second loop and knot in progress !
Image Notes
1. The first loop we created...
2. And the second one. Good job !
Step 6:Trim and burn
No need to keep the excess paracord : we're just going to cut it close to the body of the drive, and burn and seal it with the lighter. The strands of cord inside, as well as
the outer sheath, will melt : once it does, press it against the strands of paracord with the flat side of the scissors so that it all binds together as the paracord cools off.
Repeat on the other side, and you're good to go !
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Image Notes
1. Cut...
Image Notes
1. Melt and burn !
Step 7:You're done !
Congratulations, you've replaced your flash drive's case with a nifty paracord case ! It's cheap, it's pretty original and you can do a lot of variations thanks to the knots
and patterns of paracord available. The desert camo paracord flash drive you can see below is one of my favourites, and I wish I has more of this cord. If only it hadn't
looked so good as bracelets... ;)
That's about it for today - I hope this little Instructable will have given you a taste for continuing to explore all the things you can do with paracord. Good luck to everyone
entering the contest and happy braiding !
Image Notes
1. 2 USB flash drives braided with black paracord
2. A USB flash drive braided with desert camo paracord
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Comments
37 comments Add Comment
rana19 says: Jun 15, 2011. 4:36 PM REPLY
hi I would like to thank you about the nice and simple idea I like it
and i will tray it soon thanx
evil ernie says: Mar 1, 2011. 3:44 AM REPLY
I find a good way to not get burnt ends is to use a windproof lighter and not just a plain Bic lighter. I think the windproof creates more heat at a faster speed
and if done carefuly leaves no black marks.
Deslivres says: Mar 5, 2011. 8:43 AM REPLY
Good to know - I'll have to see about that and try myself. Could you post pictures or a video of your technique somewhere so we can see, ernie ? Or
maybe an Instructables of your own ? Thanks for your comment !
evil ernie says: Mar 5, 2011. 12:09 PM REPLY
I posted a Instructable. Take a look and see if it works for you.
Deslivres says: Mar 5, 2011. 1:10 PM REPLY
Awesome, thanks ! I'll give it a shot as soon as I have a new batch of keys in the making.
DonB! says: Jan 25, 2011. 7:59 AM REPLY
Thanks for sharing such a simple, but good idea.
Deslivres says: Jan 26, 2011. 2:39 AM REPLY
Hi Don,
Thanks for your comment ! I'm glad if it helped.
krunal800 says: Jan 5, 2011. 6:50 AM REPLY
Tried this but without any knots. Basically just wound the paracord round the edges and burnt the tips to the flash drive. Great instructable!
Deslivres says: Jan 8, 2011. 1:57 AM REPLY
Looking good, too ! Good job krunal800 :)
brutalboy909 says: Aug 18, 2010. 12:46 AM REPLY
Well I tore apart my USB and now I cant figure out how to do the knot lol. Any more instruction, videos or photos on this USB wrap would be greatly
appreciated..
Deslivres says: Nov 21, 2010. 3:19 AM REPLY
Sorry it took so long to get back to you ! Taking a look at other Instructables specifically about this type of knot could help : this woven paracord bracelet
by Stormdrane might be a lot of help and got me started with paracord braiding in the first place.
Keep us updated !
emerett says: Nov 20, 2010. 9:38 PM REPLY
This guide should really be removed, seems easy, people tear apart their usb sticks, and then the pictures are directions are awful.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Deslivres says: Nov 21, 2010. 3:16 AM REPLY
Hey Emerett,
Thanks for the reminder - I haven't had the time to sit down and take new pictures or revamp this Instructable as I thought I could. I'll try to take care of
that over the course of the next few weeks, as the paracord USB flash drives is one of the projects my middle-school students are interested in :)
Cheers !
martinl538 says: Oct 27, 2010. 7:42 PM REPLY
can u make a video doing this please
Deslivres says: Oct 28, 2010. 2:06 AM REPLY
Hey, I'd love to - that would actually be a great addition to the Instructable ! - but I'm all out of paracord and all out of broken flash drives these days I'm
afraid. Next time I'm making one though, I'll totally film it !
martinl538 says: Oct 28, 2010. 9:56 PM REPLY
ok thanks i didnt unerstood the pictures that good
DrCarterM says: Aug 2, 2010. 10:38 PM REPLY
I had trouble at first and I found two things that help... 1- Tape your cord to the back of your USB then start the braiding 2- braid it TIGHT. I tried it with a
regular size usb, that was rather thick, and it didn't work at all. So I switched to a stream line one and it worked great. I left the case on because I was
worried about the drive over heating and melting the cord. Anyone else not do this and have good experiences?
Deslivres says: Aug 2, 2010. 11:54 PM REPLY
My drives have never had a case on (the reason I came up with this Instructable being that some of them were actually broken) and I never had any
issues with the cord melting or the board overheating. I've been doing this for about 2 years now without problems :)
DrCarterM says: Aug 3, 2010. 10:32 AM REPLY
Nice! i'll give that a shot! BTW, I was looking at the drive you made with the cammo cord. The loop and weave looks pretty flat, did you take the inner
cord out before you wove it?
Deslivres says: Sep 5, 2010. 6:33 AM REPLY
I tried both empty and full cord, and full cord gave a better esthetic result in the end. On the pictures though, the cord is full. Maybe it's something
about the cord I use !
fatcatcog says: Jul 26, 2010. 12:06 PM REPLY
Can I make a suggestion and say its probably best to give your usb stick a small cover up somehow before you apply the paracord - just so the little
electronic bits dont get dammaged. Apart from great instructable! Im gonna paracord some of my sticks :D
Deslivres says: Aug 2, 2010. 11:52 PM REPLY
That's something I was concerned about when I first had that idea, so I tried it on a very cheap flash drive. And somehow it worked ! Still does with flash
drives with electronics very close to the board, but a thin layer of epoxy could indeed do wonders. Glad you liked the Instructable, fatcatcog !
paracord junky says: Jul 2, 2010. 6:41 PM REPLY
anyone having trouble with thew braid: google "cobra stitch." that's what's being used here.
Oxyjin says: Jun 5, 2010. 7:27 PM REPLY
I'm having trouble with the initial 2 steps of the braiding =\
d3monhax0r says: May 7, 2010. 2:00 PM REPLY
can't do this =(
Deslivres says: May 8, 2010. 1:10 AM REPLY
I'm sure you can do it :) Keep training ! I'll make sure to uploads better pictures soon for reference, that might help.
tevers94 says: Apr 5, 2010. 3:16 PM REPLY
You should trim a little more of the excess so that when you melting it, it won't leave a big burnt/melted spot. I guess with black it doesn't matter but for
colors the melted ends will be the same color as the rest if you dont burn it to much. nice post by the way.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-paracord-USB-flash-drive-case/
Deslivres says: Apr 5, 2010. 10:09 PM REPLY
Thanks tevers94 ! Paracord is a harsh mistress when it comes to melting and trimming, I'll try to get better at that.
tevers94 says: Apr 6, 2010. 5:19 PM REPLY
also i wanted to mention that i have started using nail clippers to get extra close
tevers94 says: Apr 6, 2010. 5:18 PM REPLY
half of the paracord bracelets or key fobs or whatever end up having burnt ends, but they are getting better.
Jake22 says: Apr 5, 2010. 4:40 PM REPLY
Great Idea! Ihave been wanted to pull apart some flash drives so that I could cover them with epoxy and make them waterprooof but always thought that I
would have a big ugly glob of glue so I hadn't bothered. With your technique I should be good to go.
Deslivres says: Apr 5, 2010. 10:07 PM REPLY
Glad that could help, Jake22. The epoxy approach is a very good idea and as some Instructables show, can give very good results. Give it a shot ! I've
been very tempted to make a paracord case then give it an epoxy soak on top to get a nice, polished smooth look to the whole thing but haven't had the
occasion yet. Let us know if you try, and post pictures !
TechnoGeek95 says: Apr 5, 2010. 5:23 PM REPLY
I was totally thinking this idea! I was just to lazy to execute it... Anyway, what as was thinking was to first encase the flash drive in JB-Weld to waterproof it.
Then, once it's dry, to do the paracord wrapping. The end product will be rugged and versatile. However, since I'm lazy, feel free to do this.
Deslivres says: Apr 5, 2010. 10:04 PM REPLY
Or you could do it and post about it, or take pictures or share them with us in the comments section :)
Kryptonite says: Apr 5, 2010. 8:48 PM REPLY
Damn it I was about to post mine when Ifound this, which is a very similar idea to mine. *humph*
Deslivres says: Apr 5, 2010. 10:03 PM REPLY
Kryptonite, I'm sure you have plenty of other grand ideas with paracord that deserve posting as an Instructable. Go for it, there are a few days left for you
to enter the contest !
plane phanatic says: Apr 5, 2010. 2:16 PM REPLY
This is pretty darn cool. I too learned about this awesome material through stormdrane's Instructables. I have a bit left over and am tempted to try this. I just
need to find the rest of the cord....