Saturday, November 12, 2005
My Apple iWipe
The new Apple iWipe in action
One of my co-workers was giving away and old Atari 800XL and Macintosh SE case. He had been planning to do a mini-ITX project, but had never gotten around to it. Always wanting an excuse to tinker with something, I decided to take them off of his hands.
Well, as soon as I saw the Mac SE case, I realized that this one had the most potential. So this weekend, I bought a few things at Home Depot and got started making my Apple-powered, wireless, portable toilet paper dispenser -- the iWipe.
The whole project took a couple of hours and cost about $15.
Step 1: Remove the metal brackets in the SE
There were still some metal brackets inside the case, so I had to get those out first. Using a T15 and a Philips head screwdriver, I removed the 7 or 8 screws holding the brackets in place.
Step 2: Clean the case
The case still pretty grimy, so I soaked it in some warm soapy water for about 10 minutes. This loosened up all of the dirt and I was able to rinse it clean
Step 3: Paint the case
Because Apple has gotten all glossy white on us lately, I figured the SE needed a new paint job. So I painted the inside a metallic silver (to match the toilet paper holder) and the outside a gloss white.
Step 4: Mount the toilet paper holder
Once the paint had dried, I used a heavy-duty Super Glue gel to mount the toilet paper holder to the case.
Step 5: Create a faux screen
I used a transluscent binder that I picked up at Target ($1.39) to create a screen for the SE. After I cut it to size, I super glued it into place.
Step 6: Installing the first roll
I inserted a roll of toilet paper into the iWipe and slid the front of the case closed.
Voila! The new Apple iWipe!
Check out more photos
UPDATE: Check out a clip of the iWipe in action over at Vimeo.
UPDATE #2: Check out the photo gallery on TechRepublic.
The new Apple iWipe in action
One of my co-workers was giving away and old Atari 800XL and Macintosh SE case. He had been planning to do a mini-ITX project, but had never gotten around to it. Always wanting an excuse to tinker with something, I decided to take them off of his hands.
Well, as soon as I saw the Mac SE case, I realized that this one had the most potential. So this weekend, I bought a few things at Home Depot and got started making my Apple-powered, wireless, portable toilet paper dispenser -- the iWipe.
The whole project took a couple of hours and cost about $15.
Step 1: Remove the metal brackets in the SE
There were still some metal brackets inside the case, so I had to get those out first. Using a T15 and a Philips head screwdriver, I removed the 7 or 8 screws holding the brackets in place.
Step 2: Clean the case
The case still pretty grimy, so I soaked it in some warm soapy water for about 10 minutes. This loosened up all of the dirt and I was able to rinse it clean
Step 3: Paint the case
Because Apple has gotten all glossy white on us lately, I figured the SE needed a new paint job. So I painted the inside a metallic silver (to match the toilet paper holder) and the outside a gloss white.
Step 4: Mount the toilet paper holder
Once the paint had dried, I used a heavy-duty Super Glue gel to mount the toilet paper holder to the case.
Step 5: Create a faux screen
I used a transluscent binder that I picked up at Target ($1.39) to create a screen for the SE. After I cut it to size, I super glued it into place.
Step 6: Installing the first roll
I inserted a roll of toilet paper into the iWipe and slid the front of the case closed.
Voila! The new Apple iWipe!
Check out more photos
UPDATE: Check out a clip of the iWipe in action over at Vimeo.
UPDATE #2: Check out the photo gallery on TechRepublic.
¶ 3:57 PM 
Comments:
It's gorgeous. Love the "screen."
posted by 
Twinkie : 10:27 PM
Twinkie : 10:27 PM I actually thought about coming up with a way to project the word "Refill" from the back of the case. The word would be hidden when the roll was full, but would be visible when it got low.
I got lazy, though.
I got lazy, though.
posted by sMoRTy71 : 11:24 AM
sMoRTy71 : 11:24 AM I suppose if you had black ink, or a sharpie, you could mark the middle side of the toilet paper(about 1/6th inch worth) and with red ink, mark the same amount of the very end of the roll, but on both sides.
posted by Sutton Systems : 5:53 PM
Sutton Systems : 5:53 PM
Post a Comment
About Shawn Morton
Married father of 4, startup entrepreneur, social media specialist, consumer electronics enthusiast, hair metal aficionado. View complete bio.
Recent Blog Posts 
May have secured an XBOX 360 Coldplay + Fiona Apple = Feb 23rd Great review of the DirecTV R15 DVR Arrested Development canceled! XBOX 360 Zero Hour & Gamer Card Can XBOX 360 replace an HTPC? Two dumb media moves this week CNET's new community features DirecTV to add portability GMA in HDBlog Archive
June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008