At Home with John and Debbie

Nowadays if you buy an iPod, you don’t get a case, and if you want one you need to buy one separately. I happened to buy my iPod at a time when a case came bundled. An official Apple one like this.

I got used to it (even though it necessitates either the Apple remote control or that Nyko iTop).

One day, I had the iPod in the case, clipped to my belt at the back of my left hip, when I sat down heavily in the passenger seat of Gary’s car, caught it on something (the seatbelt?), and wrenched the case from its clip. I didn’t fancy paying £30 for a replacement, and the cheaper third-party cases all differed from this one in ways that didn’t appeal to me.

So, here is how to repair a broken iPod carry case — without photos because I didn’t think to document it at the time.

The clip is backed with nodules to prevent transverse movement. A piece of double-sided tape is all that prevents the clip detaching from strain. Some of my nodules had sheared, but some were intact. The tape had lost some of its sticking power, and I didn’t consider replacing the tape to be sufficiently secure.

The clip is made of two pieces, held together with a pin. Remove the pin by pushing it through with a pointy object, then pulling it out with pliers. The spring mechanism is constructed such that you won’t lose the spring or have problems reassembling.

Put the outer part of the clip, and the pin, to one side. Place the inner part of the clip in position on the case. Find a vaguely iPod sized piece of wood, and slide it into the case. Using a small wood bit and an electric drill, drill two holes through the clip, through the case fabric, but not all the way through the wood.

Thread some strong, thick thread through the holes, ensuring that the loose ends are on the outside of the case. You may detach the clip from the case to make this process easier (but if you do this, still thread through all four holes).

Apply some strong glue between the case and the clip (belt and braces), reattach, tie the thread tightly, then cut off any loose ends. Replace the outer part of the clip and push the pin back through until flush.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 25th, 2005 at 09:43 and is filed under Apple. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.