After the my cover broke off my Cruzer 512 MB USB drive, I decided to fashion my own case. I saw several ideas floating around on the internet such as cases made of Lego, pez dispensers, and and even a Barbie doll. I cast the USB stick in clear casting resin used to make paperweights out of scorpions or flowers. I picked it up at my local Hobby Store for about $15. It comes it two parts: the resin and the catalyst. If you're making a cast, test it out on some scrap bits and pieces to make sure your ratios are correct.
Click the images for large versions.
Very Stylish Duct tape case
Case no more!
Molding rig. Created with scrap pine wood and clamps. The pine was covered with clear packaging tape to prevent the resin from sticking to the wood.
Another shot of the clamping rig
USB Stick ready to be cast in resin.
The resin that I used.
The long part. The casting was done is several parts. Everything was done in about two days time.
USB Stick in see-through glory.
Back Side
I drilled a small hole to fit the rope back on so I could still hang it on the lanyard that I got with it. A small bit of J-B Weld attached the rope back to the clip. This picture was taken after about a month of use. I don't think I got the ratio of catalyst to resin quite right. This caused the top surface to become mottled. Otherwise, there have been no problems as a result of the casting.
Shot of my Antec P180 Case with drive
Night-time