Make your own Steampunk mouse

Posted at: Wednesday 2nd April 2008

Sheffield-based modder Unklian shows how to bring the age of steam, furnaces and brass to the optical mouse, with stunning results.

My project began almost by accident. After seeing a Steampunk motorcycle on the Web, I Googled the term and found a world of Victorian-styled modern technology. When I saw a Steampunk mouse, I decided to design and build my own version.

I didn't want the mouse to be purely decorative; it also needed to work, so I decided to build my own Steampunk mouse chassis, using the internals from a cheap USB mouse. To get an idea of the size my case needed to be, I traced around my current mouse, a Microsoft scroll wheel model. I then bought a very cheap optical mouse from eBay (picture 1) and began carefully dismantling it. The only parts I needed to keep were the PCB and electronics. However, the bottom of the mouse case contained the prism and sensor, both correctly positioned, and it was obviously important to keep these in place.

I used a fine-tooth saw to remove the edges from the base, using the circuitboard as a template (picture 2). This also helped me to keep the mouse's scroll wheel support, which I discovered was part of the base. Taking the mouse apart revealed the micro-switches, which were in an awkward place for modification. I thought the easiest way would be to relocate the switches where I wanted them to be, so I desoldered them, making a note of which contacts were being used.

I'd decided to use mahogany for the mouse body to give it a satisfyingly rich colour that would go well with the brass I'd be adding later. I bought a 1/4-in sheet of wood (picture 3), measuring 3in wide by 36in from a Hobbies shop. Using what was left of the mouse base and PCB as a template, I cut a hole in the wood with a fretsaw, and then sanded it for a snug fit.

Sorting out the scroll wheel came next. It was constructed from clear plastic and illuminated by a blue LED (picture 4), which wasn't exactly appropriate for a Steampunk-themed design. I desoldered the LED and used 22mm copper heating pipe to fashion a new wheel. I cut a very short length of the pipe (around 7mm) and carefully smoothed the edges using emery cloth on a flat surface. The 'wheel' had to be gradually reduced in diameter until it was a snug fit, before using Araldite to glue the two parts together. I used a Dremel for most of this work, before sandpapering it to finish it off.

Using the approximate height and width of my current mouse, as well as a little guesswork, I made a box from the 1/4in wood to enclose the innards. With hindsight, I was a little optimistic about my soldering skills and the box should have been slightly larger. I temporarily fitted the wheel back onto the PCB to check that it was the correct height, and then filed the side walls so that the wheel would stand proud of the top of the mouse when it was finished.