Wood and Aluminum Note Pad - Featured Maker: Giaco Whatever

Hi Instructables Community,

here is another collaboration Instructable between Giaco Whatever and me.

This time we are presenting a relatively simple yet elegant addition to your desktop or workshop.

Users of the mobile app can use this link to get to the video.

If you like this project please show us your support by subscribing to Giaco Whatever and Let's Prep!

Cheers Alex

Most of you take notes whilst working on their projects. Some of you may use their hands as temporary notepads but that will only get you so far. A simple piece of paper might do the job but is impractical if you try to write on it with only one hand.

For Materials you will need:

1. Thin wood board (it should be approx. 1cm/ 1/2" thick and at least 4cm (1 1/2") wider than the till roll you will use) - The length is really up to you and hw much writing area you would like to have
2. 1 Paper Till Roll
3. 3mm (9-10AWG) Steel wire
4. 1mm aluminum sheet
5. 4 Short wood screws

Tools:

1. Pencil & straight edge measuring device
2. Saw (Handsaw, chop saw or table saw)
3. Electric drill with 3mm drill bit
4. Tool to cut sheet metal (Shear press, metal bandsaw etc.)
5. Pliers
6. Side Cutters
7. Tin snips
8. Permanent marker

1. Use your till roll to get the rough measurements for your base board
2. I left 2cm on each side of the till roll and made some marks for cutting
3. Using the straight edge I marked the width of the board for sawing

1. I used my chop saw to cut the width of the board according to my previous measurements
2. You could use a table saw to rip it to size or use a handsaw for this task
3. You can then use some sandpaper to sand the cut edges

1. To hold the till roll I decided to use some simple steel wire
2. Cut a length of wire that is approx. 3 1/2 - 4 times the width of the board long
3. Use your hands to bend the wire as straight as possible
4. Using a wooden board you can roll the wire of a solid surface to get it even straighter
5. Now place the wire on top of the board and use the permanent marker to mark width onto the wire

1. Use your pliers and hands to bend the wire 90° at the marks you just made
2. After the first bend you should insert the till roll and
3. Bend the wire on the other side of the till roll to a U-shape

1. Place till roll & wire on the base board where you would like it to be when finished
2. Use the permanent marker to make marks where the wire would meet the board
3. With your side cutters cut approx. 1,5-2cm below the mark as shown in the second picture

1. With the till roll in place use your marker to make marks for drilling in middle of the board - use the wire as a guide for this
2. With an electric drill and a 3mm drill bit I drilled 2cm holes on each side
3. Using the pliers I bent the wire inward at the marks I made earlier

1. The wire is flexible enough for me to bend it slightly open to place the two wire ends in the holes
2. This already looks nice but we are not quite done yet

1. I used a shear press to prepare a thin aluminum strip that is approx. 2cm wide
2. Using the base board I marked its width on the metal strip

1. You can use tin snips to cut the strips at the marks
2. Double check that the strips are as wide as the board and
3. Trim off any excess if necessary

1. Using a metal drill bit I drilled two holes in each of the metal strips
2. They should be placed at the end of each strip
3. I placed the strips on the base board with one just behind the wire for the till roll and the other approx. one inch before the other end of the board
4. Now I used the small wood screws to fasten the strips to the boards

Pull on the till roll and thread the paper under the two metal strips. The area between the strips can be used for writing and if you need some more space or a fresh piece simply pull the paper down and rip it of at the outermost metal strip.

Exchanging the till roll when it is empty is also quite easy. Simply bend the wire carefully open at the corner. Remove the cardboard/plastic tube from the old roll and replace it with a fresh one.

You can win one of three Let's Prep "Tinder" Skill Builder Kits including a 3-Month Instructables Pro Account.

The kit shown is the current work in progress of the Skill Builder kit which includes a number of natural and synthetic materials. The whole concept is still very much in development and I will publish Instructables & videos accordingly once I know where I really want to go with this.

All you have to do is to subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave me a comment at this video and include "I want to go out and learn something new!" & your Instructables username. You have until the 15th May 2016 1800 GMT to participate after which I will announce the winners on my FB, Twitter & Blog. (Only entries from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, USA & Canada are eligible to get the full package mailed (please understand that I pay for this myself), residents of other countries may only receive the Pro-Account).