DIY Life

This is a fairly simple project to make customized luggage tags. Recycling part of a circuit board into a one-of-a-kind identifier for your bag. You probably have orphaned remote controls from electronics that were adopted by a universal remote. The nice thing about many of these small circuit boards is that they do not have many components soldered on and they have large flat areas with circuitry so you probably won't even need to do any soldering to make these!

What you will need:

• Old remote controls (check the cushions or the thrift store)
• Screwdrivers to open the remotes
• Diagonal pliers
  
• Hacksaw and miter box
• Rotary tool and small drill bit
• Utility knife or file
• Key chain ring
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Permanent marker
• Polyurethane
  

Break into that old remote using the screwdrivers. Marvel at the designs on both sides and start imagining what part of the board you want to use. Take the diagonal pliers and nip off any components that will prevent you from having one side of the circuit board flat against the bottom of the miter box.

Cut a piece out using the saw in the miter box. Cut slowly and be careful with the dust. Printed circuit boards have some nasty metals in them like lead. Once you have a nice rectangle cut out use the utility knife to shave down any rough edges. Using the drill bit in a rotary tool allows you to easily set the speed low so that you won't fling toxic dust all over and so that the bit will not rip into the board and leave a rough opening. If you would like you can practice drilling a hole in a piece of the scrap that you removed. Consider seeking a proper recycling facility for scrap circuit board pieces after you're done.

Use the pencil and ruler to lay out your name and contact information then go over it with the marker. If you need to, use a piece of white contact paper stuck on one side to make your information more visible. Finally, coat the tag with polyurethane to seal in the toxins and give the tag a nice gloss.