word sketching about media, design, whatever else comes to mind

OK, the stylus backstory — why I decided to “roll my own” — is out of the way. Now . . .

DIY stylus prototype #1

Making Your Own Stylus

The videos from Crabfu ArtWorks and Make Magazine are worth watching. Start there.

Next, you’ll need supplies.

• A new barrel of some sort
• Super glue
• A shaft of some sort
• Scissors
• Conductive foam

The barrel

The videos show the use of a pen barrel or a drafting pencil. I chose the Staedtler Mars 980 drafting pencil (see slide 3 below) because I had one handy and it also has a great gripping claw to hold the pencil lead (this will come in handy later)

Cost: The Staedtler is available at most office supply stores for as little as $12, including additional lead.

Super glue and scissors

Cost: Super glue: $2.50-$4, readily available; scissors: you should have a pair somewhere around the house.

Shaft

DIY stylus supplies, minus scissors

Crabfu’s video showed the use of a plastic Q-Tip, trimmed at one end to create a point to push into the foam. I didn’t have a Q-Tip handy, so I looked around the house and decided on the thin “straws” that come with a can of compressed air. Later I tried an old Dremel tool bit, which provided excellent stability but was a bit too long (don’t worry: the end was dull and wouldn’t have scratched the iPad’s surface).

After prototyping the compressed air “straws,” I tried  using the lead that comes with the Staedtler. It’s thicker than most mechanical pencil lead — and you get 10 or 12 sticks when you buy the drafting pencil. It worked well, although it can snap just like regular pencil lead if abused or stored haphazardly.

Cost: negligible

Conductive foam

When I started, my first thought was, “What the hell is conductive foam?” and “Where do I get some?” The videos say  you may use the foam that comes with computer parts like RAM upgrades or hard drives, but I recently had thrown away those boxes — and the foam.

Depending on where you live, look around for a computer store like Fry’s. Luckily for me, one is nearby and I bought a sheet of conductive foam for $8 (minus tax and gas, see slide 2 below). What a deal.

Note: There are various grades and grits of conductive foam. Fry’s carried only one. It worked for me and I stopped there.

Assembly

Prototype and experiment with tip sizes and shapes

It took me about five minutes to make my first stylus. I cut a piece of foam, super glued it to the compressed air “straw”, trimmed the foam with the scissors, inserted it into the drafting pencil and . . .

. . . it didn’t work (see slides 4 and 5 below).

My advice: Prototype early, often, and try different styles and approaches. You’ll have plenty of conductive foam, so supply is not a problem.

Also: The super glue bonds quickly; use a small amount. If you use too much the foam hardens and is more difficult to write with on the iPad screen. I’m not sure, but it seems like hard glue messed with the foam’s conductivity.

In the end, I crafted maybe 20 tips.

Some were horizontal — these had the required depth and surface for conductivity but were a bit too bulbous to write with (and see what you were writing).

This led to a more vertical approach, which allowed me to taper the the surface so I could write on the tip or the side of the stylus. Also, this orientation led me to “smush” or taper the sides of the tip downward so the pencil’s “claw” not only grasped the shaft but also a bit of foam for added stability.

I even crafted one tip of just foam, no shaft, and it worked great, although it seemed to wear out faster.

The end result

For about $8 to $25 I have a stylus (see slide 6 below) that I can . . .

• clip to the side of the iPad in the Apple case without fear of breaking the clip (it’s metal)
• clip into a pencil holder in a computer bag without fear of breaking the clip
• mold tips that suit varied writing or illustration needs (almost like brushes)
• write comfortably with because I am used to the drafting pencil weight and form factor.

Hope this helps. If you have a better stylus, let me know.

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