2.5 to 3.5 Drive Adaptor

I recently replaced two 3.5" hard disk drives with 2.5" solid state drives. I had only one adaptor for mounting the SSDs in an internal bay designed for the larger HDDs, and I didn't find any at the local stores. Many are offered online, but I decided to build my own.

Tools include: tin snips, drill and bits, vise, clamp, hammer

I used a piece of aluminum siding (0.025" thick, relatively soft, possibly 3003). The design is shown in the attached PDF, which should print at close to full size, though you may have to adjust the scaling a bit. The most critical dimensions are the lengthwise distances between the mounting holes (6 mm for the HDD, and 3" for the SSD). You should check these against your drives and drive bays. I suggest cutting out just a rectangle first, then marking and drilling the holes, then cutting the slots.

I used a pair of wooden blocks to guide the bends - 2 3/4" wide for the inner tabs, and 3 7/8" for the outer ones. (The outer tabs, including two thicknesses of metal and relief for the bends, must fit within the 4" drive bays.) Bend the outer tabs first (unlike the photos). I bent the inner ones first, and they interfered with the block for the outer tabs.