How to Make a Morton Salt iPod Nano Speaker Dock

By eHow Electronics Editor

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The Morton Salt Company introduced the round blue box with the little girl and the umbrella in 1914. "When it rains, it pours," appeared that year in a series of ads in Good Housekeeping Magazine. Since then the round blue box has become synonymous with table salt. You can convert the iconic container into a whimsical speaker dock for your iPod.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

iPod Nano, 2nd generation
iPod dock adapter
Mini-speaker
Round Morton salt container
Ear buds or headphones
Hot glue gun
Electric drill and #6 bit
Scissors
Craft knife
Soldering iron
Cardboard or poster board
Wire strippers

Step1

Remove the salt from the Morton container. Invert the container and give it a few good shakes to loosen any crystals clinging to the bottom.

Step2

Remove the label from the salt box in one piece. Set it aside. Use a sharp knife and cut through the glue that holds the top of the container in place. Set the container aside.

Step3

Cut the wire on a pair of headphones leaving only the audio plug (jack) and about 12 inches of wire. Strip the wire. Solder the green to the speaker's negative contact. Solder the red and gold wire to the positive contact.

Step4

Drill a 1.5 mm hole into the right side of the dock adapter where the iPod sits. Fit the audio plug into this hole so that the iPod connects to it when inserted into the dock.

Step5

Pull up the spout on the salt box. Cut a circle of cardboard or poster board to fit inside the top of the container to reinforce it. Use a craft knife to cut a rectangle in the top of the container that is about 1/16 inch smaller than the dock adapter.

Step6

Set the wired speaker facing up into the bottom of the container. Glue it in place to the bottom of the container. Pull the audio plug in through the top of the container. Replace the top of the container and glue it in place.

Step7

Fit the audio plug in and glue it in place. Glue the dock adapter over the rectangular opening. Drill a variety of holes around the dock and the spout to let sounds out. Glue the label back on the carton.