TITLE: Making a minimal wallet DATE: 2018-07-10 AUTHOR: John L. Godlee ==================================================================== I have been looking for a long long time for a better alternative to the bulky leather or canvas wallets that are mostly available for men. I've found lots of examples online, the most notable one being the N-Wallet by Elephant Wallet, but I couldn't bring myself to buy one, because it's frivolous. [N-Wallet by Elephant Wallet]: https://elephantwallet.com/collections/n-wallet/products/n-wallet-al uminium Finally I spent enough time at my Mum and Dad's house to have access to lots of scrap materials and a pretty good workshop, so I set about trying to make my own version. The template I drew can be downloaded here as a .dxf, a .layout, a .skp, and printed as an A4 .pdf, which should preserve the size so long as there are no borders on the print. Each piece should be 90 mm (W) x 58 mm (H). [.dxf](https://johngodlee.xyz/files/wallet/wallet_template.dxf) [.layout](https://johngodlee.xyz/files/wallet/wallet_template.layout ) [.skp](https://johngodlee.xyz/files/wallet/wallet_template.skp) [A4 .pdf](https://johngodlee.xyz/files/wallet/wallet_template.pdf) ![Wallet piece template](https://johngodlee.xyz/img_full/wallet/template.png) I used a piece of corrugated steel that had previously been used for a barn roof. I used a hacksaw to cut the pieces to approximate size, usign the template as a guide, then used a bench grinder to shape the fine detail. To smooth everything off I used a file and then finally sandpaper. For the elastic band I used a piece of trouser elastic from the sewing box, which I superglued together. But eventually I might switch this to a thicker piece, or I might even buy one of the stylised bands from Elephant Wallet, as they only cost a couple of dollars and look pretty nice. [stylised bands from Elephant Wallet]: https://elephantwallet.com/collections/accessories/products/addition al-elastic-band-n-wallet-wood-metal-carbon-fiber This is the finished product: ![Finished wallet](https://johngodlee.xyz/img_full/wallet/wallet.jpg)