MagSafe Monkeyfist Keyring and Holder

I was given this MacBook by my father when I turned 18 years old. It saw me though the end of my A levels, two degrees and my first two jobs. Its battery cycled 2,472 times, far exceeding its use case. But eventually it gave up working and had become too clunky even for word processing. There is something nostalgic about this machine which means I’ve yet to part with it, 15 years after I received it. The Kickstarter contest for unusual uses gave me the opportunity to harvest the tactile charger, the visceral sound of the magnetic ‘click’ can still serve me in years to come with this key ring & holder. 

1 small Philips screwdriver. I used one intended for repairing glasses, but a specialist tech screwdriver would be better.

An old MacBook which is no longer serviceable which features MagSafe.

A magsafe charger

Scissors/pliers with cutting edge

heat shrink loop/metal band/ cable tie to secure - any one will suffice.

Split ring

Nails or small screws for a attaching to the wall.

Detach the back cover and remove the battery from the unit.

Remove all the screws and take out the main circuit board, in the top right hand corner there are two screws that hold in the MagSafe charging port.

Remove the wires from the MagSafe charging board. Plucking each wire from the solder individually works.

Cut the charging cable at the wall outlet. Obviously this isn't the be connected to any wall outlet. You want to have as much cable to play with as possible.

Allow two inches of cable from the magnetic end (insert the heat shrink band flush with the magnetic end if using it here), and wrap around two or three fingers three times. You are creating a Monkey's fist knot, so do please search this knot if you'd rather follow a digram rather than photographic instructions.

Now orbit three times around the cross section with the cable as shown. The cable will want to spring out so keep it pinched with your subordinate hand.

Loop the cable three more times, this time going over the three loops you just made and under the three loops you started with. This is more akin to weaving and again is quite fiddly. Feel free to keep the knot loose, you tighten it in the next step.

Pull on the long length and follow the loop backwards, at each bend pull it tighter and work your way around the knot. After two rounds of this you will have a tight knot as shown. If you want to make the length longer or shorter, you can move the knot, it does take some time, but keep repeating the pulling of a loop, then following its path till you reach the other end of the cable. The texture of the cable is such that it will slide on its own, but the repeated layers of the cable will cause friction thus fixing the knot in place.

Poke the cable through the knot as shown, leading it to come through next to the start of the cable.

Crimp the cable with a metal band or use a heat constricting band if this was the option you chose. Alternatively thread a cable tie on and tighten it and trim off the lead. make sure your free loop is long enough to attach a split ring. Cut the long end of the remaining cable.

Using screws or small picture hanging nails, attach the computer component to the wall. This needs to be horizontal so that the magnet faces the ground.

Add the split ring and your keys to the keyring and you're done! You have your very own MacBook MagSafe keyholder, that has that beautiful 'snap' sound that lets you know your keys are secure.