Smartphone Case Upgrade

A while back I made a case to hold my phone while using an app for setting angles. As you can see in the photo below, it works great for that. The case was made to protect my smartphone while checking angles on the table saw. But recently, I made a simple modification to the case to make it even more useful. By adding a nut to the bottom of the case, I can attach it to a tripod. As you can see in the first photo, this lets me record the building process. I do this because over the years I’ve developed some great friendships with guys who, like me, love spending time in the shop. Recently, several of the fellows from the group have moved across the country and are out of the “loop” of our shop talks. This problem was solved by recording the steps along the way with our smartphones and posting the videos on social media. build the case. The drawings shown above give a pretty good overview of how the smart phone case is put together. First, cut four strips of wood the same thickness as the phone. Using the phone as a template, glue the strips to a 1⁄4" hardboard bottom that is slightly oversize. Cut another piece of hardboard for the top and cut the openings for the screen and the phone’s buttons. Dowels hold the top in place. Trim the hardboard edges with a flush-trim bit and then drill the holes for the magnets. To finish the case, I epoxied a nut in the bottom that lets you attach the holder to a quick-release plate that mounts to your tripod (detail ‘b’). The case attaches to the tripod via a quick-release plate that locks into the base of the tripod.