Case Mod - In Progress Project: J. Le. Quickie Mod

Before people kill me, I assure you I'm still working on Gearbox just been busy with school and getting into college (going to UC Berkeley this fall ) . But I got some raw materials the other day so Gearbox will be updated over my spring break (Starting next week).

Ok now on to the mod. This is a quickie mod for my girlfriend who's birthday is coming up in a couple weeks. She needs a computer and I have some old parts lying around so I decided to build her one. The only thing I bought was a Coolermaster Centurion real cheap from the local shop.
Im shooting for simplicity and elegance here.
On the top panel is going to be a cutout of a tribal flower with her initials. then I'm going to back it with frosted plexi and light it with a few LEDs. Simple and elegant no? Here are the pics:


Popped off the top panel:


This is the design I'm going to be using:


Drawn onto the panel (reversed so I can cut from the inside out):



Now I gotta dremel or scroll saw it really.. carefully.... starting tomorrow hopefully.

Stay tuned for updates

 

The scroll saw will totally mangle the line in the center of the petals. -In fact, you might need to dremel MOST of it. That's a really delicate pattern.

 

Thanks for the tip, I was having doubts about the scrollsaw too. I'll keep that in mind

 

wow man good luck cutting it out, how bit is it? u cant really tell in the picture, maybe like 2 widths of tape, not sure

 

That's a neat design, it should look great if you take it slow and easy with cutting. No doubt she'll love it.

 

Nice design. Almost like a tat. Cool
John

 

coaping saw might be a better and safer option, looks intricate.

 

+1 if its aluminum.
If its steel, well, hope its thin steel.

Design looks nice, intricate, but still small and simple.

 

the design is about as large as my clenched fist and I cut 13 of it with the dremel. It didnt come out perfectly clean but it wasnt bad either (I'll upload the picture later because Im not home right now) I might have to invest in a coping saw for the even smaller sections.

 

Files will work better than a coping saw. You don't have to take them apart every 30 seconds.

 

@ jhanlon303:
haha, it's because it is a tat: google search = tribal flower > links to a tatoo shop

@500mph:
It is steel but I beat it . Btw I'm going to take your hat and you cant come after me because there is not submarine sized body of water near me. Eat it

@Cheapskate:
Figured that out through trial and error haha. Thanks for the tip anyways, helpful and always

Update:
I took to the pannel with the dremel and standard cutting disks. 20 disks and a crapload of dust later I have something like this:


I didn't bother attempting the smaller curly things because were insanely hard to cut to begin with.
(NOTE: if you are planning to do this with a dremel like me, save the disks once they get small, those are very useful for tight turns and corners.)

I filed the edges (took freaking forever as the panel turns out to be steel and not aluminum as I thought). Then I cut a rectangular sheet of plexi real quick, frosted it with 150 > 400 grit paper and masking taped it to the back to see what it looked like:




Not too bad

Things left to do:
-Wire up LEDs
-Instal a switch for the LEDs
-Stealth the CD drive

Oh and if you are wondering about the specs, its an old P4 machine that I had received as payment for a system assembly (from a friend) with parts scavenged from and old HP PC and other used parts:
3.0 Intel P4 processor + Zalman CPU cooler
512 MB of DDR RAM
2x 80 GB hard drives
CD-RW drive
Coolermaster Centurion case
420W Foxconn PSU

Total cost of mod: ~$60

 

You might need to put the plexi on top to keep the points from snagging clothes/stabbing your GF. Don't give her a reason to be pissed at you.

 

Those cuts look great. I must say you pulled it off quite well.
Cheapskate has the right idea. Mad girlfriends are no fun.

Sudo give me my hat back

 

@Cheapskate and 500mph:
Shiet! you guys are so right but im an idiot and already riveted the panel back on. Oh well.. I guess Ill just tell her to be realyl careful and hope for the best.

Btw wheres what it looks like with LEDs in the dark: