Phone holder keyring

Having made lots of phone holders for other people, I wanted to make something small and simple that I could use myself to hold my phone for watching videos while I’m washing up or for keeping my phone at the right angle when video calling people – something I’ve done quite a bit over the past year in the various lockdowns! Although I have made a few different animal-themed phone holder designs previously (see my cat, elephant and dog phone holders), this time I designed something much more minimalistic; small and simple so I can then put it in my pocket and take it with me around the house to wherever I need to use it.

I decided on a basic hook-type idea, with a notch for the phone to slot into and then a leg or foot extending out behind the phone to prop it up in place. As phones can vary quite a bit in size, coupled with the fact that I have a protective plastic case on mine, I made the notch larger than just the thickness of the phone. This then allows for some flexibility in the positioning and angling of the holder.

I selected a small piece of scrap wood from some pallet slats I deconstructed previously and worked out the rough size and shape, cutting out the piece by hand. I used my jigsaw to cut out the notch and then drilled a small hole at the other end so I could fit a split ring in it if needed, to turn the holder into a keyring. I did get a little bit of tearout on the back of the drilled hole, but as this is a functional tool rather than anything decorative, I just sanded the surface smooth around it.

I used some medium grit sandpaper to round over all the edges of the holder slightly and to smooth the surfaces. This made it much more comfortable to hold while positioning behind my phone and also made it less likely to snag any fibres if put it in my pocket.

As I wanted to use the holder straight away, I didn’t use any finish on the wood and settled for wiping it down with some damp kitchen roll to raise the grain and then re-sanding with increasing grits to get a nice smooth finish, especially for the larger flat side surfaces.

And then this quick phone holder was finished! It was really quick to make and could be easily adapted for different sizes of phone if required. And would make a fun little home-made gift for someone too.

My brother pointed out it looks a bit like a whale, with the hole for the keyring being the eye. I can’t unsee that now, so my wife and I just call this “The Whale”! I still haven’t put a split ring in it to make it into a keyring, as it’s really useful where it is now – our “whale” now lives most of the time on the dining table. Although as my wife has also been using it when she is cooking/baking in the kitchen or video chatting in the living room, the whale frequently wanders (swims?) around the house. I feel I may need to make more phone holders to go in other rooms! 🔨