Here's how to make a DIY iPod cradle which fits into a car cupholder, similar in concept to the ones sold by companies such as Belkin and Griffin. Of course you could adapt this design to other devices: handheld GPS, phones, other MP3 players, palmtops etc.
Ajay named it the "iCup".
Start with two 330 ml soft drink cans (or whatever size is available locally - the can just needs to fit in a cupholder, and be wider than an iPod). I've chosen a Coca Cola can and a vanilla Diet Coke can. If you live in a part of the world where Coke is not sold, you could use some other brand of drink.
Please be very careful when cutting the cans and handling them once cut. I once sustained a nasty cut using similar techniques to this, fashioning a mug out of an empty beer can at the Reading festival 1994, so that the nice girls in the next tent could give me a cup of tea. Protective gloves are a good idea, although I don't wear gloves in any of the photographs. Do as I say, not as I do.
Wash the can out with water, and drain it as much as you can.
Make a horizontal knife cut near the closed end of the can, then extend it with scissors until you have removed the bottom of the can.
The bottom of the "U" should also line up with the ringpull hole, since this is where the dock connector will come through.
Make a series of 1mm snips approximately 1.5cm apart along the curved section of the "U".
Carefully fold over the sharp lip to create a more rigid, less pointy and dangerous edge. Start with the top, then fold the tabs you created by snipping.
Use scissors to widen the ringpull hole, so that a dock connector can fit through it. This is difficult to do neatly, but isn't visible when the cradle is in the cupholder. You may choose to file the sharp edges to blunt them.
You have completed the main section. Put it to one side.
In the same way as we cut off the closed end of the first can, cut off the ringpull end of the second can.
Discard the larger section, retaining the ringpull section.
Widen the ringpull hole in the same way as we did the first can.
Place the smaller piece of can outside-up in the larger piece of can. You may glue it in place but this is not essential.
Behold your iPod cradle. If you really like your choice of soft drink and want to keep its logo on your cradle, you can consider the project complete at this point. I chose to paint mine matt black (to match the car interior) with several layers of spray enamel. I bet you raving Jonathan Ives fanboys will be painting yours white though...
