Scratch Build – In Progress Project Stealthlow - Completed - preview of project next

I remember that Lian-Li case, isn't it based on a hotel in Dubai

But no it wasn't inspired by that, this case is a re make of my first scratch build which was based on the Lian-Li x2000 but to keep it so I keep learning new tricks I added the curve .

Thanks k.3nny .

Thanks Attila .

Thanks voigts I just hope when I get around to the acrylic curve all goes well .

 

Those are some solid supports. This is one of the best fabricated scratch builds yet!

 

Thanks KidMod from me it is yeah but from the modding world I doubt it .

 

No I'm serious. Giggles.

 

I started really late today but luckily I seem to be able to do the more technical mounting stuff better & faster late in the day & it's all quiet work so I took another step forward by getting the angle bars mounted for the side panels.





Also I've been looking for alternative ways to colour aluminium without painting or anodising & found alcohol ink, anyone ever tried it, I've ordered 1 bottle of black & 1 blue to test out on some scrap, apparently it comes off if handled regular but to prevent this you can brush a sealer onto it so ordered some matt sealer too, can't wait to try it out, also it is dirt cheap so if it turns out ok then that's a heck of a break through when it comes to finishing for me, reason I'm looking for alternative colouring is I'm having great difficulty finding info on how to mask the mounting holes for if I get everything anodised as the helicoils would be damaged without masking but I suppose I could change all the bolt sizes to m3.5 or m4 if I have no luck in finding out how to properly mask the holes.

 

Looking good.

Nice work

 

Thanks Nicksen .

Found what I'll need for masking the helicoiled holes, they are like ear plugs but made from silicone specially designed for the job .

Been going at a good pace but I think I'll pass on making a physical update today & let my energy build back up , I got the replacement sheet of aluminium ready & waiting but I ordered some better jigsaw blades so hoping they come tomorrow, if not then I might just get started on the final side panels, I should be starting with the fretsaw really to get the pci/io piece made but I'll probably get around to that in less than a week .

I have however thought up a much better looking & way of mounting the fans around the mobo, was going to keep it secret though until I've managed to make at least 1 of them, it's a sweet idea in my head so hopefully it'll work as I imagine it would , ordered 3/16 inch round bar for these.







Also the aluminium case feet I ordered & planned on modding them, I've scrapped that idea because they take m8 bolts & I got some m8 countersunk bolts & they are way too big & blompy so decided to order some 2 inch round bar & I'm going to make them myself sorry Bill for using a rough design of yours hope your ok with that I do plan on adding some forms of detail on it too so it's not just plain, I have a plan of using the drill press like a lathe with long full threaded bolt & nuts lol should be interesting, I have my doubts about this one but it's worth giving a try .

 

Angle bars clearly mean win! I like the feet too.

 

Looking good.

Careful with the drill press lathe trick. It's hell on the machinery.

 

Thanks KidMod yeah I really like bar profiles for many things .

Thanks Cheaps .
Yeah I'll go very gentle & take my time on that, I expect it'll take a long time to do the feet , just wish I asked to have the 2 inch bar cut to 25mm pieces, gonna be hell cutting through that nice & straight lol.

Ugh, my energy & concentration levels peak at the wrong time of day, think it stems back to when I excercised every single day for a few years late in the evening so naturally the best time for modding is evening onwards which is bad if I have any noisy stuff to do so I'm finding it very difficult to progress at the moment, don't want to be going at this with my head not being 100% else I'd probably muck up.

I tested the alcohol ink out though, had trouble applying it nicely with cotton wool, so tried a brush, then tried a sponge but I think some kind of feather would apply it pretty well, but I have an airbrush which I think I should try out with this stuff as I wasn't able to get consistent application, anyway the below pics show the ink applied with sponge & the final 2 pictures show it with a fresh spray of clear lacquer so I'll see what it looks like tomorrow, there are loads of bits on the surface though so it's far from optimal lol.

 

Duddddeeeee this build looks EPIC, defo subscribed xD

 

Thanks mate .
I'll get back onto this tomorrow, 2 days off I'm slacking .

 

About the black ink, someone said it looked copper, someone said brown lol it's supposed to be black , anyway the black turned out pretty naff, 1 of the blues turned out half decent though but I'll stick to the anodising with the case , even tried the ink out in my air brush, it gave a much better finish but I'd need quite a bit of the ink to do the whole case so figure a nice solid protective anodising job would be best.

Here they are once the clear had dried.







Not got my tripod handy.

 

Slacking?



MOAR!

 

Yeah 1 day off lead to days to weeks & so on if I don't kick myself up the rear .

So I want to make the case feet now since I got the 2 inch round bar, I really should have got it cut to size as it took me from 8pm to 1:30am just to get them to size, flat & square wow that was sooo tough & thought I'd never get them simply to size & square lol, was all nice & quiet work though so didn't matter .

Here is the case feet choices I've set for myself & still think the ones modelled on mnpctech look the best lol but I might get a last minute idea like with the fan mounts, suppose I could keep them as they are & add simple grooves into them .








Here is the 2 inch bar next to a 3/4 inch square bar & the daunting task ahead of cutting it straight & to required size, it's by far the thickest stuff I've ever cut through.


Would have used the mitre saw but I find it difficult to clamp in place properly if it's a short length like this 125mm piece which is only just enough for 4 feet .


So I took it to the vice, with it being so thick I put a mark about every 15mm & just used the hacksaw to get the saw line twisting the bar around bit by bit & carrying on until I cut all the way through, if I'd have gone straight though from 1 angle it would have been way off & the end result of the first 1 was spot on, however one of the others came out at 23mm instead of 25mm so had to file them all down to the same length, oh how I wish I had a chop saw lol would have been done in a few minutes, anyway got them all to the required same size & square flatness.














Woooooo almost ready for the drill press lathe trick, just need to drill the bolt hole for mounting it in the drill press.




Sooo just hope I don't balls the next stages up .

 

Nice feet and renders.

 

Thanks KidMod I just designed another alternative, very similar to the ones I designed originally but 100% aluminium .

 

Been messing to try & design my own feet.






Also just used my new jigsaw blades & wow they cut miles faster, got the new side panel cut & filed to size in about half an hour, was easier than cutting cardboard with scissors lol .

 

I've had way too many times where I have spent hours just to look at what I got done and wonder what it actually took me so long just to get "that" done.


I think I vote for the second from the right in the 7 you have pictured.

 

Aww s**t, I don't know which of the feet I like best.

Make them all?