Magnetic Insulated Can Holder

I was at a going away party last night and a friend of mine, Simon, had with him an adult beverage in an insulated sleeve.  There was nothing out of the ordinary in its appearance until he stuck it to the side of a metal cabinet.  He had recently purchased it and I knew I had to have one, so I set out to make one myself.

Step 1:

I ran several scenarios through my head.  I could sew or glue magnets to the sleeve.  Maybe create an inner and outer cover or some other attachment device.  Regardless, I needed magnets - powerful ones.  As luck would have it, I had a pile of old hard drives that I had planned to destroy.  I also have a bunch of these insulated can holders that I had purchased for my side business.  First off, I had to dismantle these drives.

Step 2:

With screwdriver in hand I begin to break down the drives.  I ran into mostly Torx screws and just happened to have just the right tool for the job.  Typically there are two very flat, very strong magnets within the case.  These are used to activate and move the read/write heads.  I've always found them glued to a fairly stout bracket.  They can break, so try to be careful when you pry them off.  Once you have the two extracted it's time to move on.

Step 3:

As I said earlier, I was not sure yet how I wanted to attach the magnets, but I knew I wanted them concealed.  After looking around my cluttered desk I realized I had a roll of black duct tape.  Perfect!  I laid out the two magnets on top of the sleeve making sure they were connected.  Next, I tore off a piece of the tape and placed the array on the sticky side.

Step 4:

Once the magnets are placed on the tape, the only tricky part is adhering the tape to the inside of the sleeve.  Voila!  I now have an insulated beverage holder that can be attached to any ferrous surface.  I hope you enjoyed this, my first project ever posted to Instructables!  Thanks for the inspiration, Simon!  I'm looking forward to the next time you and Rebecca are in the U.S.

Post Instructable revelation: I just realized it's much easier to apply the tape-laden magnets with the sleeve turned inside out.  Once lined up and applied, flip right-side out and start to use!

Post Instructable revelation 2: after extensive field testing, it would appear this design does not entirely accommodate bottles very well.  I'm thinking the Magnetic Insulated BOTTLE Holder might be in my future!