DATE: 2018-07-10
AUTHOR: John L. Godlee
I have been looking for a long long time for a better alternative to the bulky leather or canvas wallets that are mostly available for men. I've found lots of examples online, the most notable one being the N-Wallet by Elephant Wallet[1], but I couldn't bring myself to buy one, because it's frivolous.
1: https://elephantwallet.com/collections/n-wallet/products/n-wallet-aluminium
Finally I spent enough time at my Mum and Dad's house to have access to lots of scrap materials and a pretty good workshop, so I set about trying to make my own version.
The template I drew can be downloaded here as a .dxf[2], a .layout[3], a .skp[4], and printed as an A4 .pdf[5], which should preserve the size so long as there are no borders on the print. Each piece should be 90 mm (W) x 58 mm (H).
2: /files/wallet/wallet_template.dxf
3: /files/wallet/wallet_template.layout
4: /files/wallet/wallet_template.skp
5: /files/wallet/wallet_template.pdf
I used a piece of corrugated steel that had previously been used for a barn roof. I used a hacksaw to cut the pieces to approximate size, usign the template as a guide, then used a bench grinder to shape the fine detail. To smooth everything off I used a file and then finally sandpaper.
For the elastic band I used a piece of trouser elastic from the sewing box, which I superglued together. But eventually I might switch this to a thicker piece, or I might even buy one of the stylised bands from Elephant Wallet[6], as they only cost a couple of dollars and look pretty nice.
This is the finished product:
