Having headphone wires that constantly tangle and snag can be incredibly annoying. But fortunately, with a few common materials and some basic soldering skills, you can build a simple device to organize your headphone wires and keep them from tangling. This straightforward project will allow you to finally fix those frustrating wires for good.
Gather the Necessary Materials
To build the headphone wire organizing device, you will need:
- A small plastic container with a lid - something like a round mint or pill container works perfectly
- A keyring - should be fairly small to fit inside the container
- Soldering iron and solder
- Wire strippers
- Heat shrink tubing
- Super glue
These are all very common items that can be purchased affordably at most hardware stores or online.
Prepare the Keyring
The keyring will be anchored inside the container and used to wrap up the headphone wires.
First, pry open the keyring so that it forms a continuous loop. Then, use the soldering iron to adhere a 1-2 inch piece of heat shrink tubing over each end of the keyring, sealing it back into a closed loop. This will prevent the keyring from snagging on the inside of the container.
Next, use the wire strippers to remove about 1/2 inch of plastic coating from the ends of your headphone wires. Tin the exposed copper wires by heating them briefly with the soldering iron and flowing a small amount of solder onto each one. This prepares them to be soldered to the keyring.
Attach Wires to Keyring
With the ends of the headphone wires tinned, thread them through the keyring from opposite sides. Position the wires so that the exposed copper sections overlap slightly in the middle of the ring.
Apply heat to the overlap point with the soldering iron, allowing the existing solder to melt and fuse the two wires together. Hold them in place for 30 seconds while the solder cools and hardens.
Test the joint by gently tugging on the wires to ensure they are firmly attached. Repeat this process to solder the other side of the headphone wires to the opposite side of the keyring.
Mount Keyring Inside Container
Put a small dab of super glue on the bottom inside edge of the plastic container. Press the keyring into the glue so that it sticks.
Allow the glue several minutes to fully cure and anchor the keyring in place. The device can then be closed up and the headphone wires wrapped around the keyring for organized storage.
Use Your New Headphone Wire Holder
To put your new wire organizing device to use:
- Separate the headphone earbuds and unwrap any tangled wiring between them.
- Coil the wires neatly around the keyring inside the container.
- Close the lid tightly and throw the container in your pocket, bag, drawer, etc.
- Whenever you need your headphones again, simply unwrap desired length.
The keyring will keep the headphone wires neatly coiled up instead of tangling chaotically. This should help eliminate much of the frustration of constantly untangling wires!
This simple headphone wire organizing device can be built in less than an hour with common tools and materials. And it provides an inexpensive yet effective way to tame unruly headphone wires so you can finally use your headphones hassle-free. Give it a try and fix those frustrating wires for good!