Around the House

#35 · Headphone holder

Stand a chopstick upright (blu-tac to the desk) and drape headphones over it to keep them untangled and accessible.

A chopstick fixed under the front lip of a desk makes a hook to hang headphones from, which keeps them off the desk and stops the cable being dragged under a chair wheel.

How to do it

1. Clean and degrease the underside of the desk lip - this is where these mountings usually fail.
2. Cut a chopstick to about 10cm.
3. Fix it flat against the underside, perpendicular to the desk edge, so about 6cm projects. Strong double-sided foam tape holds a headset comfortably.
4. Wrap the projecting part in felt or heat-shrink so it doesn't dent the headband.
5. Leave the tape to cure for the time on the packet before you hang anything on it.

Why it works

The load on a headphone hook is almost entirely downward shear rather than pull-away, and foam tape is much stronger in shear than in tension. Mounting the stick flat against the underside is what converts the weight into shear - a hook glued to the vertical face of the desk edge would be in tension and would peel off within a week.

If it isn't working

• The tape lets go after a few days: the desk was not degreased, or it is a textured melamine surface that foam tape struggles with. Isopropyl alcohol and a fresh strip.
• The headband dents where it rests: the projecting end is too narrow. Wrap it in felt or foam.

Tips & warnings

• Round the projecting end so the headband rests on a curve rather than a corner.
• Heavy over-ear cans deserve a proper screw-fixed hook.