Driggs' wooden iPod

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Tired of everyone swooning over Apple's designs?

Well, ditch that polished, ultra-modern veneer and customize your own iPod cover the "old-fashioned" way -- out of wood.

That's what Joshua Driggs, also know as the ZapWizard, did, according to a story published on the online hardware journal Bit-tech.net.

"I have never liked the white finish," Driggs wrote in an online description of how he pulled it off. "I am also applying a wood finish to just about everything on my desk to have a matching set. And the iPod was not excluded."

To make the cover, Driggs used a solid piece of African Padauk wood, which he said was high quality and easy to work with.

He first removed the iPod's original cover, then rounded the wooden block's edges with a Dremel rotary tool, which he used for the entire project.

Then he made the holes for the wheel and screen, removing the wood in the center with a regular drill to get rid of as much material as possible before using the rotary tool to finish it off.

Next came hollowing out the back, which he said was the hardest part.

"The final thickness was only 2mm thick," he wrote. "During this process the wood split four times, and was glued back using gorilla glue."

Finally he cut a new plastic screen, a new wheel and play button from a slightly lighter piece of wood and applied three coats of high-gloss finish.

Now all Driggs needs is the wooden dock for charging and connecting to other media, which he says is forthcoming.

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