Steampunk Mouse

 I am fascinated by steampunk for quite a while and kept looking at all these great pictures and creations.
Unfortunately nowhere could I find in-detail instructions how to modify a computer mouse in that manner. What I saw was always the finished product. 
Finally I said, I can do that too and help those who are looking for some advice and a guideline, like I did not to long ago.
This said, enjoy my first instructable. Comments, positive criticism and an exchange of ideas is greatly welcome.

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Visit my my Steampunk Keyboard and NEW NEW NEW Steampunk Monitor

I had a few tools, a nice basement to work in and being kind of a packrat should help too. Not to forget a good friend with a full equipped workshop who would help me if everything else would fail.

Unfortunately I didn't have any old mice laying around so I ordered two cheap ones ($5) from the Internet just in case I ruined one.....

Tools used:
My beloved Craftsman mini drill with all kinds of attachments
Set of screwdrivers
Set of sandpaper 120 - 600
Hand-me-down drill press
Vise
Soldering iron
Assorted pliers (needle nose almost a must)
Metal files
Hack and coping saw
Propane torch

Materials used:
1  optical USB mouse with scroll wheel
1/2" copper pipe and assorted fittings and connectors
Brasstubes in different sizes (1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 3/16)
Copper wire remants you may have laying around (gauge 16,14,12,10)
Brass screws (No 6 and 8)
Marbles (Dollar store)
Styrene (1/32" = old poster from the post office)
LED's ( I got 100 white 13.000mcd with matching resistors for 5V for about $6 online , I might not use them all but compared to Radio Shack ....)
Whatever parts and pieces you might find laying around)

Costs, depending on what you have  $20-40

Of course I made several trips to my nearest hardware store and hobby shop and acquired necessary materials and also tools I was missing; that always happens when I tackle a new project ...

Pictures are not always in chronological order, rather to show certain steps in fabricating the mouse.
Manufacturing the steampunk mouse is more conceptual, exact implementation is left to you dear reader.
Read the whole Instructable before you start with your project.
Wear protective equipment, especially safety goggles! Copper and brass parts will become VERY hot when soldering, grinding and polishing so let them cool before you touch them; cutting can/will leave sharp edges so be careful when holding them. Try to find ways to hold these little pieces securely or they will go flying through your workshop and you may spend hours finding a piece you spent hours on fabricating.
Use common sense. (I know that's difficult.)
In case everything goes wrong use it as paper weight or with about 14 oz. it makes a frightening weapon swung on it's cord.

As mentioned, I didn't have any spare mouse laying around so I looked for a cheap one online and ordered 2, just in case or maybe I find the energy to make a second steampunk mouse. I got away using only one.

First find out how to open the mouse. The screws on mine were hidden under the obligatory sticker and the upper part also held by a little plastic hook. Pry it open carefully with a screwdriver or similar.
(Another place to hide the screws is under the feet)

That's what I found after opening the mouse. Two, actually 3, microswitches, the scrollwheel, an additional blue LED to illuminate the scrollwheel and mouse body and the optical assembly. As I also wanted to add additional LED's , I needed to find the 5V + and - wires. Usually they should be red and black but these wires were blue, green, red and golden. With the help of a multimeter I found the right ones, in this case the red and golden ones.

The wheel rotates in a direction detector which I wanted to move in a different place to be used by my thumb. The 3rd microswitch was of no use to me. I desoldered both with the help of some stranded wire to suck up the surplus solder. I used some extra wires to build an extension and moved the direction detector in a new spot. It was very close to the IC so I put some electric tape underneath to prevent possible shorts. Also extra wires were soldered on for additional LED's. (Some pictures taken at a later stage)

Playing around with parts and pieces I found that a 1/2" copper tube fit snugly over the micro switch. Over this went a 1/2" pipe connector. The new buttons would sit nicely in them. I cut off 2 pieces of copper tube and 2 brass squares from the thin brass sheet to cover top and bottom. To be honest, I needed several squares till I got it right as this was my first attempt with the propane torch and such "big" pieces of metal. The trick is to clean all the oxide and dirt off and heat the parts evenly (Do not overheat!). Use liquid flux and silver solder. Finally I got the hang of it. Followed by cutting the extra off, grinding, sanding and polishing..... This and a smooth polished inside of the connector guarantees a nice flawless action.

Of course I had seen all these awesome Steampunk mice doing a picture search and I had a general idea how to make one but I wasn't sure how it would work out . So I arranged spare parts around and over the mouse circuit board. One first attempt looked like this. Others I liked better and you can see that I can't do without copper pipes. (Some pictures were taken at a later point of construction)

Once I had a general idea how my new steampunk mouse would look, I needed a new base. In this case a 1/4" plywood piece that was left from some renovation project. I traced the outline of the circuit board on the plywood, making sure I left 3 'ledges' for the board to sit on. I cut the opening with a coping saw. The ledges were sanded down with my Craftsman and a grinding wheel to accommodate the thickness of the circuit board to make sure it sat nice and snug in the opening.

This part is not so well documented and should you tackle your own steampunk mouse, I assume you will find your own methods anyway. I have a knack for copper pipe, which should be obvious. It's just like LEGO. Adding a piece here, a part there and my mouse took shape. On the left side I needed to make a new bearing for the thumb wheel. The bottom built up with additional styrene sheet. The direction detector glued on, on top a brass support for the built up axle. On the right side I made a 'cage from gauge 10 copper wire (where did that come from?) which works fine as palm rest. At this point of time the copper pipe and fittings were already soldered together. I tried to drill the holes as evenly spaced as possible, more or less eyeballing it. (Also visible my attempt on a new key for the soon to come steampunk keyboard).

I wound a few coils from #14 copper wire. The screwdriver had the same diameter than the brass tube I wanted to insert in the coil. Winding goes easier if you hold a piece of wood against the wire. To straighten a crooked piece of wire fasten it in a vise and draw it repeatedly between 2 pieces of wood.

Marbles I had in a dish as decoration fit perfectly in the copper pipe and would make a 'magical eye'. An old halogen bulb would be lit by the original blue LED of the mouse and fit, with some shimming, into a 1/2" pipe. I also added the self-made copper and brass scroll wheel.

I have to admit, I hate soldering. I had gotten me a 'Third Hand' for a few bucks at Harbor Freight which helped a lot but it still is a pain in the neck. To prevent any shorts, I used shrink tubing and electrical tape. Once assembled, a makeshift 'reflector' from aluminum foil holds one of the LED's in place.

After determining the final shape and cutting it out I added the new bottom made from 1/32" styrene sheet. That slides quite well but I decided to reuse the original feet of the old mouse bottom. I also covered the edge of the plywood with 3/8" wide copper foil.

The top is held firmly to the baseplate by 3 screws. A spring prevents the buttons from sliding out. A mesh covered styrene sheet hides the innards. The wires got tucked nicely underneath the cover.

This and the next steps need to be done before you solder the cord back on the circuit board!
To give the mouse cord that 'old time' feel I got the longest boot lace I could find and removed the inner string. The outer sleeve would cover the 4 wires coming from the USB plug. I attached the 4 wires to a stiff and straight piece of #14 and pulled them through the sleeve.

Of course there are several ways to do this, but my plug should match the mouse. If I would squeeze a 1/2" copper pipe along with 2 pieces of a connector and shave off the corners of the plastic USB plug it would work out nicely. (Also a way to make a matching memory stick...sounds like a project...) Cut the copper pipe to the desired length for the plug. Slide the connector pieces over it and squeeze it to an oval shape in the vise.

Now to the tricky part. Cutting out the opening for the plug and centering it perfectly. The measurements of an USB plug are about 3/16" x 7/16" So I tried to get the opening as exactly as possible, first drilling 2 holes with a 3/16" drill and then using files. Once it fit I marked the outline of the plug on the brass sheet and soldered it to the copper sleeve. Easier said than done, at least for me, as my only experience in that field was making silver jewelry.

The other end needed a round opening for the cord and a whatchamacallit. Mark, these are 2 separate parts that will be connected once the plug is inserted and held there with a screw or any other way you might devise.  I guess gluing might be just as good.

Thread the USB wires through the cable release and solder them back on the circuit board of the mouse. Put everything together, plug it in and voila there you have your Steampunk Mouse.