DIY Novelty Flash Drive
“This isn’t a photo of the final product, but it’s very similar! You’ll need a USB “A” connector. Free, dead cables and peripherals are best, of course, but if all else fails you can also get cheap ones at Goodwill. Try to find “normal” sized connectors. Super compact ones (like Apple USB cables) might work, but you’ll need to be extra careful about what size flash drive you choose. I recommend cutting the cable at least a quarter inch longer than you want it to be at the end.”
“Carefully cut down the side of the connector with an Xacto knife or similar. Try to get a smooth, straight cut to minimize the resulting seam.”
“Don’t stop until you reach about here on the cable. Repeat on the other side.”
“Use a screwdriver to open up the connector housing. It also helps to slot it into the cut you made and twist.”
“You may need to do some more cutting as you find areas that are still attached.”
“Once you reach this point, you can use wire cutters or scissors you don’t care about to cut the exposed cable.”
“After cutting the cable, it should look like this.”
“The flash drive I use is an HP v165w ($10 for 16GB). The casing is fairly easy to take off and the drive is just the right size. There are probably many options that will work.
Sorry I didn’t get any pictures of this part, but use a dremel or snips to remove the casing. Dry fit the drive in the connector housing and trim any interfering material in the housing.”
“I’m not an expert on what adhesives will work here, but I used epoxy which seems to work well.”
“Put the assembly together with the epoxy. Make sure the connector sticks out just the right amount.”
“I used a clamp with popsicle sticks to try to distribute the force.”
“After it sets, remove any excess epoxy.
I like to re-cut the cable at an angle and really expose the inner wires to make the drive as alarming-looking as possible.”
“There you have it! A fun flash drive to use around the office, etc. Just make sure no one throws it away!”
“Here’s how it looks in use.”
Via Reddit.
