Protector for Your MP3 Player

Why are these ear buds plugged into the Altoids box? Well it turns out that said Altoids box is just the right size to become a protector for the Sansa e200R Rhapsody MP3 player.

It all started when my daughter had a cracked screen on her MP3 player. She likes to carry the player around anywhere she goes. Who doesn’t, right? Well, she is generally very careful about not carrying any sharp objects in the same pocket as the MP3 player. But between the tight jeans and probably the ear buds, what happened was probably inevitable.


One day she discovered a crack in the screen of the player. Being an inventive dad (read: cheap dad), I was not going to go out and buy her a new MP3 player, nor was I going to let this keep happening until the glass window was totally busted so that I would have no choice but to get her a new one.

After some searching around the basement and eventually the local CVS drug store, I discovered that the Altoids box was a perfect fit. All I need was to find some pieces of foam, cut them to size, and double-sided-sticky-tape them on for cushioning. I did have to cut out a small slot for the ear phone plug, but the metal was very thin and easy to cut.


 I marked where the slot needed to be first before drilling out a couple of holes for the two ends and then cutting out the slot with a pair of metal shears (scissors might also have worked). Finally, to prevent wounded fingers courtesy of the sharp edge, I filed the sides of the hole down until they were not as sharp.