Recently, the remote fob for my truck cracked. The plastic case lasted about 14 years, and gave out pretty catastrophically. So I took it apart and looked at how the case was constructed and figured I could make one out of wood that would probably outlast the truck, which is getting some rust spots from its time in Minnesota.
I carved holes for the remote buttons, removing the “alarm now” button that has always annoyed me, and started to rough-shape the front of the outside.
The back got a hole where the battery goes, and I turned a cover, thinking maybe I would run a brad through it or something so I could lock in place.
After gluing the front to the back, I thought about how long batteries have lasted me, and since that’s been four years or more, I figured I’d just tack the battery cover in place with some glue, and if the battery dies before the truck does, I can probably pop it out. And if not, oh well, I’ll have another project for the list.
It’s a scrap of something that came from the smalls bin at the Rockler in Maplewood, MN. Been staring at it for five or six years, wondering what it was supposed to be.
Petey, I carved out the inside to make room for the rubber switch bit and the circuit board. Drilled tiny holes where the buttons needed to poke through, and enlarged them with diamond needle files. Then put a back on, and drilled a hole in it where the battery would fit. Then put a 20mm indent (using a forstner bit) in the (turned) cap for the battery hole to hold the battery where it belonged. Then glued the front and back together, inserted the battery and made sure it all worked, then tack-glued the battery cap into the back. Done.
Thanks, folks! If I were to sell them, I’d probably have to charge close to a thousand bucks per, but as a project to fiddle with while I was waiting for glue or finish to dry on other things (rather than sweeping up the shop), it was a fun diversion.
Jim, it’s simple enough to do… I think I’m going to start on another one using oak I will partially ebonize to replace the other remote, which is also cracked (but still usable). Bet you could knock one out pretty quickly, too.
That could be, Mike, but I do have another. And worse case, my truck can still be opened with a key even if both remote fobs die. And maybe my next one gets a threaded battery cover.
