Totem mod or how to hide the mouse receiver

 "The result is pleasing for the eyes, although totally unpractical and using more space on my table."

The idea for the following mod came from this picture i saw in the Internet:

It's author had modified it into this:

The object of my attention is the small bear-shaped totem in the lower right end of the picture.

As owner of A4tech wireless mouse i was surprised by the lack of (or should i say by the decision not to use) cradle/receiver/charger for it. The stock receiver/charger had nice look, yet that did not stop me to play with him. So i decided to make a totem just like the one from the picture and hide inside it the  charger/receiver. 

I "stole" appropriate piece of wood from the fireplace supply. Of course it was no goo in it's "raw" state so first i removed the bark and used rough sandpaper (P120) on it. Then based on enlarged printout of the picture i cut a piece that i then made into the ear-cap. I used a simple saw (very simple) for that. For the rough engraving i used mostly the milling drill for my dremel.

After competing this stage i took a set of chisels (Thanks Stef!) with which to shape the body of the bear. As you can see I'm no sculptor. A warning for anyone working with wood an chisels for the first time! Good chisels are very sharp and if you choose a hard wood (like i did) your hand might end up all notched (again  - like mine did).

The insides of the totem were supposed to be hollow so with profound naivety I tried to make them so with a 13 millimeter bore and a drill. After the first three holes i realized that it will not go the way i intend and send the body to Be hollowed out with a lathe. At leas i made a hole for the USB cable that connects it to the PC. Despite my precise instructions for the hollowing, the man operating the lathe gripped  the detail at the worst places ever, ruining my work. I had to deepen the carving more than i wanted to.
After the carving was done i put four coats of stain to get a pleasant, warm brown  hue. At that point i was leased with the completed work, but looking at the body it occurred to me that i want to preserve the blinking function of the receiver (a green led indicating mouse activity). I had just the right idea in order to make it nice. Namely - in the place of the single led i soldered extension cables for two more and placed them in the eyes of the bear (Laugh all you want... in the dark it's quite cool). About the same time i remembered that somewhere in my house there were a few red five pointed stars. Honestly, a bear holding bottle an wearing ear-cap? Not using the stars would be... well... Heresy.

The totem needed only one more thing - 2 coats of clear finish, which not only sealed the wood for protection, but also made it a bit shiny.

(Click on the photos to view them in full size) 

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