How To: Steampunk an External Hard Drive Case

There's something about the world of steampunk that fascinates me.

WonderHowTo has plenty of steampunk projects, like the hardware chess set, binocular goggles, and even a lesson on fashion.  But nothing screams steampunk more than nevets_mcd's hard drive case.

This case project turns your modern utilitarian external hard drive into a living, mechanical organism.  With its brass clock heart and leather flesh, it's almost a perfect depiction of the creepy machine-driven Victorian era that first wooed me in The City of Lost Children.

Your external drive will no longer be just an inanimate object for storage.  It feels more like a biotic companion for information exchange.

Materials Needed

• Portable hard drive
• Balsa wood piece (3/32" x 4" x 36")
• Balsa wood piece (1/4" x 4" x 36")
• Medium thin brass (sheet)
• Brass rivets (bag)
• Tooling leather (piece)
• Black heavy thread
• Gilded plastic gears / brass gears
• Leather dye (brown)
• Small digital clock with fake gold setting
• 2" Quartz brass fancy clock

Tools Needed

• Drill (preferably drill press)
• Dremel rotary tool
• Rivet setter
• Sponge
• Rotary leather punch
• Sandpaper
• Superglue
• Sharp utility knife
• Forester bit set
• Black Sharpie marker
• Pencil
• Ziplock bags (2)

Click through for the full tutorial on making a Steampunk Portable Hard Drive Case @ Instructables.