If you’ve been paying attention the past few days, you know that I was able to snag a Nintendo Switch last week! I will be carrying this around in portable mode as I commute 45 minutes on the Link twice a day. (Hah! I just realized the “Link” pun given the only game I have is Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild!) I want to have a safe way to carry it around, and while cases exist for purchase… well, I have a laser!

My first thought was just to make a leather pouch, but I decided I wanted to protect the Switch from impacts and such, so I designed a frame which I cut out of 1/8" proofgrade plywood. The bottom and sides of the frame are the same ply, but I included living hinges to make the corners rounded, and maybe a bit springy if I drop it or something.

All cuts were designed in AutoCAD, exported to .DXF and imported to Inkscape where I added the engravings and saved as .SVG (Pro tip: When importing .DXF files into Inkscape, the software assumes the design was done in mm. If your AutoCAD design was in inches, scale it by 25.4 prior to exporting as .DXF)

I decided not to worry about press-fit, and went to town with the wood glue.

And then I died it black.

I also lined the inner portion of the frame (the pieces that actually touch the Switch) with craft foam to protect the Switch screen and finish from scratching.

Leather is 2-3oz Proofgrade. It comes beige, so after I cut and engraved the pieces I died them black, then treated with Carnuba Creme.

The frame fits inside, and the Switch fits inside of that!

I embellished the case with the title of the awesome The Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild.

It wouldn’t be complete without the Nintendo Switch logo!

And I added some runes from Breath of the Wild as well… if the photo I found online is accurate, then the runes spell my name!

This bottom piece would have been too long to cut in one piece in the cutting area of the Forge, so I did it in two pieces and stitched it together. (The frame has this approach as well - it glued nicely and is quite solid!)

And finally, on the tab that holds the lid I added the “Z” from the Zelda title.

Also, to stitch the tab to the lid, as well as on the strap that the tab slips under, the stitching holes form a Triforce… Note, there is no evidence that this version of the game uses the Triforce, but come on… it’s Zelda! No nod to the game would be complete without including the Triforce!

I have exactly two issues with how it came out. First, the lid isn’t long enough. I thought I had 3x the depth of the case and I only had 2x. The tab doesn’t really hold the lid shut either. I might add some velcro or something to keep it shut.

Other than those items, this came together just about exactly as I expected it to, which makes me incredibly happy!

Now, I was up until 3am last night sewing this thing, and I have to pack and get up early to go to Florida tomorrow morning, so I better finish up here.

Enjoy.

P.S. Verify your hole alignments before you stitch more than 1/2 of a section. I had to spend 10 minutes un-stitching and an hour or so re-stitching that segment.