you know, that is an awesome idea. and i had not thought of it. however, the problem being that the mesh will be painted and with it attached to the internal chassis, moving it would make it get scratched all to hell. i love that idea though. kick ass.
For the mesh, I definately reccommend JBweld. And I don't think the paint on the mesh would be a problem if you let the JBweld squish through the holes a little bit when you apply it. Just out of curiosity, how long did you spend sanding and polishing that paint? It looks terrific.
ok, sorry for not being to update much, i have been actually doing a lot of work on it. but i have not been posting. i will try to get a lot of picture posting done soon! i went back and re-did a lot of things, and smoothed out some ideas. i loved the plexi chassis that i made for the hardware, but it was so rough around the edges, it just did not work for me. i had to make it better, it felt as if i was trying to cover up too many "mess-ups" on it. it was my first time working with plexi that extensively and i wanted it to look nice. so, back to the basics. i have chalked up the first chassis as practice! good practice at that. i have already pre-planned and reworked the layout of the chassis. this second revision will fit better and be way better suited for this setup. i have already cut and prepped the pieces for assembly. i am still waiting on a piece of plexi rod that i need for the construction. i have also, done a few things that will be a direct nod to a few of the top/pro modders of the forums. in all everything is starting to come together. i would say it is about 45% done right now, being that i have to still have a few major things to be done: -cut out the back mobo tray opening -construct a mounting bracket for that mobo tray -clean up the top blow-holes -construct a few fan-guards -assemble the chassis -wire the chassis -make a bottom stand with feet so as you can see, that is a laundry list of things to do, and those are just the big ones! well, sorry for the long read of an update. i promise pictures soon.
Well, I said, I would have an update finally. Been really busy with work and I have not been able to upload pictures. The largest thing is the chassis. I built it then I destroyed it! Haha. Read on to see what I mean. I finally got the chassis completed but did not like the whole design and construction. It was kind of sloppy being my first time doing something like this, and it was not up to my standards, so I made it my practice prototype! So, all was not lost! Check it out now… 1” plexi rod for support colums in the chassis. Nice! how high I want the mobo piece. Then I decided, it did not look right, and the set up was all wrong. I was doing too much to make it look right. So I did what needed to be done: HULK SMASH!!!!
I then planned out the chassis a lot better and made a smoother, slimmed down and smaller version that would do everything I needed without extra crap. Sooooooo, this new one came… its not completed yet, but it fits a lot better and looks Waaaayyyyy better. If you notice, different placement of the RCA power plugs size and color. new colored rods. I still have to polish and clean up some. After this, all the parts have to be put together and cemented. Also, there is a small part that I have yet to reveal on the chassis, I will tomorrow.
took a piece of plexi and cut out the inside for a bracket for the rear mobo opening. then I did something stupid… and forced the plexi too much before it was hot enough… boooooooo well that sucked. So I made another and did it right this time. good to go! Also got a new cooler for my vid card since the one on the card sounds like a damn huey helicopter! First thing to do is take off the sticker. Next will be make a red plexi cover to match or just add red LEDs to match the overall theme. and one final shot of my room now that I did all that stuff! Holy crap, I need a work area! My wife was going to kill me! Haha! Don’t worry, I cleaned it up!
Sorry to see the destruction of the original base you built. It was looking pretty good, but I do understand the need/desire to build it right. I like the use of the clear and colored plexi rod. You must have a very understanding wife to left you run a band saw and dremel in a carpeted room. Mine relegates me to the basement for all my modding. Keep up the good work. MatrixOps
like I promised, the chassis has gotten re-done and it looks ten times better and is a lot more functional for my needs! Here is a quick mock up of what you will see… But, I wanted more as I was doing this chassis. It needed something else to make it a HAL special! So I made some side walls and a rear PSU adapter plate for the PSU to mount to! It all came out really really awesome! PSU plate
I also went to work on the red plexi rods and sanded and flame polished them. You can see on the bottom of the rods that I did not finish polishing them and the rough and clear finish of them! I think they look great! After this, I was putting everything together and I still did not like the layout! So, I took away 2 of the rods and instead moved the placement of the rods. Then it was what I wanted! While I was doing this, I realized that I could not cement the top of the rods and side walls because if I did that, I could not get the PSU in or out! So, I decided that I would make the two rods screw anchors so that I could take off the top MOBO plate as needed giving it a modular use as well! I did not have a tap set on hand, so I made my own by heating up the drilled holes and then screwing in the screw to make threads! It worked just fine! So here it is with a bit of the tape and plastic still on it. It is ALMOST done! I have to wire some LEDs in and wire the modular power hub, but after that, its going into the case for final testing! I put the mobo tray on it to see how it looks. Awesome.
tool block buster What's up, Hal? Way to make a target waste basket into a computer, man . Nice build, really nice build . Dude, I have an ulterior motive to posting a reply, albeit a small one. On your work log page, pic #20 fourth and fifth one down I spied with my one eye, then I put it back in my pants, a catalog underneath your project, if I'm not mistaken it says TOOL BLOCK BUSTERS do you happen to have a website or a phone number to that company? If so may I have it? I am a machinist and I am always looking for new tool catalogs, wood working catalogs, too. I usually have a few on hand just to get the better bargain, I would appreciate it. Keep up the good work . I think you would fair well if you took up machining even as a novice hobbyist, what with your imagination and handy work you would fit right in. I am not knocking working with hand tools. drills, dremels and the like. I am just saying. the machine tools are relatively cheap, depending on your budget of course. Just wanted to put that in If you are interested contact me and I can walk you through it, sans the purchase of any machine tool.
sure! its an Amazon tool special catalog, some real good prices and some not so great, but i will send one your way, or i think you can get them at www.amazon.com in the tool section! PM me
Are you still going to place a fan in the base? And if yes how is it going to get air? It looks like the base is firm against the ground. If I missed an explanation in your post - sorry, anyway - great job for a lefty. lol
I have a small update that is a big one for me! So far I have been having trouble trying to figure out how I was going to mount the DVD drive inside the chassis. Since I wanted it to stand on end it was going to be a tough job to fit inside the case period. I had to make sure it would not interfere with the vid card or the CPU, so, I had to place it very high in the chassis. So, to fit with the whole chassis theme, I took some red plexi and a clear rod. And put them together to make a bracket type mount. Now, I think I will make another rod to add to the security and strength of this mount. So, the pics only show one in the middle, but there will be two posts holding the DVD up. The top piece still needs to be bent more inwards and flat.
I also got some feets done! Well, almost done. What I did, was take some clear plexi rod, cut it up into rough proper length, drill holes, heat, then screw in nut for the stainless foot, then attach the foot. Clean up the top for mounting and then a bit of flame polish. Good to go! Oh, one more thing…I finished the wiring for the RCA power plate.
