Case Mod - In Progress Project: Mission

What is this "Overclocking" you speak of? Isn't that alchemy or work of the devil? LOL

I was CPU limited in Far Cry 2 before the upgrade. I got a 10 FPS bump even while temporarily running old DDR2 667. I'm looking forward to seeing what this 1066 gives me. I know it's not in the right spirit to not overclock but I'm pretty freaking happy with the improvement.



I found a tiny plug that let me disconnect the fan's speed controller so we'll see if it works as a "normal" fan now. The verdict isn't in yet on the white fan but I do know that I would rather paint a white fan than a black fan.

Sponsorship sounds a lot more formal than it really is. I've known these people for a long time and consider them good friends. I remember when Silverstone was an unknown company set up near me at CES 2004 peddling some mini-ITX cases.

TRIVIA: The recently resurrected Cooler Master ATCS line actually goes back to 1999. The ATCS team disappeared in 2003 because they left and formed their own company...Silverstone.

 

Never expected anything less from you!

into.....i have no idea but im sure it will be something wooden

 

That would be a safe bet.

Materials are coming in slowly but I've still been able to get some work done. This is the largest mod I have done yet so I've had to go shopping for some big boy tools. Mostly large clamps...lots of them. No new power tools. I'm still sticking to my cordless drill and Dremel.




Removed the side cover handle and fan duct to get a perfectly smooth panel surface. Taped up the raw aluminum backside with painters tape to protect it from damage during the build.






Fit up some 1" wide 3/16" thick basswood strips that I call waster pieces. Their whole purpose in life is to take up space (kinda like some people I know ). The actual framework will be built up against these pieces. The wasters will later be removed leaving a convenient space to put something else in later.






The side pieces are attached using double-sided tape while the front wasters are secured using small sheet metal screws. The wasters don't have to be pretty or even provide complete coverage.

Stay tuned.

 

Got the proper width cut out for the top 1/4" Birch plywood panel. Here it is being marked up for the length cut.






Trimmed up the panel length with my make shift panel cutting rig.






Seriously low tech. My new fine-toothed laminate/veneer saw made short work of it while still keeping a clean edge.






The boss showed up to inspect the test fitting.






The glue blocks were cut out of some scrap 3/8" stock and test fit to each corner. This whole setup will be duplicated for the bottom panel.

Thanks for looking.

 

I'm very interested in seeing how this turns out.

 

So far so good. Looks promising.

Those spring clamps look really nice. Where'd you find them?

 

yeah...me too.

Thanks. Four clamps for $15 at Lowes. They turned out better than I expected.




This is the part that drives real woodworkers crazy. I suggest you look away if you are one. Instead of taking a large piece of stock and cutting it down, I form a board by gluing multiple pieces together. Here I need a 3/8" x 7/8 board so I match up these three pieces.

Photo tip: I often conveniently leave my straightedge in photos because it allows me to judge a photo's focus by reading the quality of the numbers.






The pieces are glued together and set to dry while "pinched" between my straightedge and a laser-cut piece of stock. All of my basswood stock is laser cut. Sometimes I even get to use scraps while "building" lumber. The result is very strong and still laser cut.






Two subsections are glued together at right angles. I use small temporary square blocks to keep the angle honest during clamping.






Test fitting...always fun. The case is laid out on its back.






The partially-built leg sections are placed where they will eventually be permanent. The plywood showing is the case's bottom. It will have to have some inlet ventilation work done on it soon.






The cross members are all still temporary spacers.

Hmmm. It's starting to look like something. Unfortuneatly I have to end this part of the fun while I wait for materials. I also can't continue without permanently affixing pieces to the upper and lower plywood panels. I need to have these panels free while I figure out the ventilation scheme.

I'll probably make my own vent grills but I have been liking a couple of radiator grills on the market.

FrozenCPU_Mesh_Radgard_240_Dual_120mm_Radiator_Filter_Grill_-

and this one...

AC Ryan Radgrillz Stripes 2 x 120

Anyone own these or have an opinion? No, I'm not going to use space aliens riding dragons in UV orange. Maybe next time.

 

Since it's for the wife, how about a UV pink Hello! Kitty skull?

What about a decorative ducted cover to block the fan noise? You could mount the fan from the inside with those little rubber knobs.

 

The top vents will have a cover, of sorts. Notice how the "legs"extend above the case? Hmmm. I wonder what that is for?

I'll probably just cut out some mesh and make a wooden frame. I don't want to spend the money on bling that will be mostly hidden. The AC Ryan Stripes looks fragile.

Hello Kitty Skull? How about Hello Kitty Zombie? Left For Dead 9 themed case anyone? Takes place in Miami.

 

I thought it might be wise to actually install the computer equipment into the case. LOL. I was pondering a ventilation scheme and wanted to see what obstacles might be an issue. Other problems might show up like....



The heatsink fit on the motherboard in only one direction. In this position it took up some of the space for the rear exhaust fan.






Not a problem because I wasn't going to use either the front or the rear fan anyway. I like the idea of an open vent close to the CPU fan. The case's primary ventilation flow will be from the bottom to the top not the front to the back.






Lots of space in the bottom for just about anything. I actually considered using the case upside down so I could utilize all this potential fan real estate. Issues with the placement of the optical drive put an end to that.






The case is upside down so I can envision placement of fans. The big issue at the top of the case is interference from the PSU's modular cables. These two shots show two 120mm fans scouting out new homes. The fans fit perfectly but I will need some friendlier cable routing.






Finally, back to some woodworking. Vent openings for the top and bottom panels are measured and drawn out. The left panel cutout has been "power scored" with a Dremel cutout wheel. The back of the panel is also penciled in and scored. I do this because plywood is notorious for surface chipping caused by saw blades and drills. I'm very anal about having sharp edges and clean cuts and this method usually gets me there as you will see.

Those are excess pencil marks not over-cuts. The scoring is a perfect rectangle.






The drill bit used for the pilot holes caused the predicted damage but notice it didn't travel beyond the score marks.






A power tool! Yikes! I broke down and bought the cheapest jigsaw available just in case I decide to float test it later. I hate using them but they do save time for larger projects like this one.






Of course I can't use a power tool like a normal person does. I don't make any attempt to cut along the line. Instead I leave a small amount of material that I will later hand rasp and rough sand down to the measurement line. Old habits....






Ta-da!






The jigsaw ripped up the plywood surface but the damage remained within the scored boundary.






Two identical panels with rough-cut openings. The top panel will hide two 120mm exhaust fans but look like it might be a 3 x 120. I have decided that the bottom panel will be an open vent with filters instead of fans. Both openings will have identical mesh covers with thin wooden frames.






After a couple of hours of relaxing rasping, filing and sanding I get these.

Thanks for looking.

 

I'm watching.

 

I'm storing that trick for later use. Thanks!

 

yeah I like that idea, too. stored

I feel sorry for your pet... he/she must end up with sawdust in his/her bed and food from the pics! I'm calling the SPCA!

 

Cool

I just taught Cheaps how to score....hmmm....maybe not.

Just a small payback for all the shedding fur she inflicts on me.



Her name is Jade and you don't want to be a squirrel on the other end of that glare.





I'm using a motorcycle bungie cord to hold in all four corners while I glue things up.






Breaking out the big boy clamps for this one.






I'm keeping the project elevated until it can support its own weight. I like to break out my old vintage 1941 straightedge now and then to keep the young new tools in line.






Scaffolding. I like to think this part of the build is somewhat like building a Roman arch. Everything is unstable and delicate until you drive in that keystone. Large chance for major fail here.






A small, thin spacer being glued up over th edge of the top plywood panel. I'm showing this because getting wood glue on the wrong surface can be a huge problem here. I applied a piece of Scotch tape across the underlying waster piece to protect it from any glue excess.






Clamping scheme for a leg support. Water-skiing jazz musicians in the background.






A 1/2" square board starts to fill in the leg and locks the plywood panels into the structure. The legs will eventually be built up until they are 1 3/8" square.






I started work on the optical drive bezel. Measured the opening and scored it with an X-acto knife. Tore out a bunch of the material by drilling a series of holes. Took it closer to the lines with my round wood file. I'll take it the rest of the way with some 60 grit sandpaper wrapped around a sanding block.






The back of the DVD bezel showing where I glued up a thin spacer.

This work was accompanied by The Cure - Greatest Hits

Thanks for looking.

 

I find that hard to believe coming from you...

 

I appreciate the vote of confidence.



Clampage for segments of the rear legs.






DVD bezel dry fit. Again, a lot of the cross member wood in this photo is temporary.






I need to do some factory work. Here I'm lining up all four side rails to be measured at the same time. Consistency wiil keep help keep things square.









Cut some spacers.






Dry fitting some spacers.






Gluing operation. Keeping everything square.












Result of the first stage.






My micro-miter box setup that I use to cut spacers.









Sixteen more spacers for stage two.






This is not a solid block of wood. I loosely assembled all sixteen spacers together and sanded each end down until they were all even.






More gluing.









Result of stage two.






Finally some assembly. Here I have pulled back the the bottom bracket to show how stuff interlocks.






The top bracket is ser into position.






Both brackets being dry fit.






Finally, all three center strips set into place for a test fitting and photo op.









Thanks for looking.

 

Some more test fitting. I almost glued this stuff up but decided that it was too much of a risk. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to extract the case from its cocoon the way it was.






In anticipation of prying the case out I decided to take one last shot in case it was the last.






I only had to break up two of the waster pieces to free it up. It's fairly fragile so I need to drive in the keystone(s).






Action shots of glue drying.






The three vertical stanchions on each side are not glued in yet. They can be pulled straight up and out of the frame rails. I'll need access to the top vent for my grillwork and removing these pieces will help with that. Also, veneering around the stanchion holes will be much neater and easier with them being removable.






Now that the frame is free from the case I can really lay on the glue without having to worry about welding the two together accidentally.






I took this photo especially for the Cooler Master case mod contest worklog.






Some of the intact waster pieces that had been attached to the case with double-sided tape are now recycled into building up the frame.

This work was accompanied by Steely Dan: Katy Lied

Thanks for looking!

 

Project: Mission is named after the Mission style of furniture.

"type of furniture popular in the United States during the turn of the 20th century. The furniture, distinguished by its simplicity of materials and design, arose out of the Arts and Crafts-inspired movement led in the United States by Gustav Stickley. Makers of this type of furniture shared a belief in the social virtues of good design and handcraftmanship.

... inspired by the wood furniture of Spanish missions in California. However, the major impetus for the style was the British Arts and Crafts movement." - Encyclopedia Britannica.

One of the characteristics of the style is its mortise and tenon construction method that I am simulating with my crazy methods. I don't have the tools or skillz to do that kind of joinery so I'm just faking it.

This computer will become my new HTPC and big screen gaming rig. In my setup, the computer sits next to my Laz-E-Boy recliner and by default becomes a table top. The premium placement for exhaust fans in a computer is at the top but this interfers with imy premium pilsner lager placement scheme. My solution: Create a double topped case with a working table top mounted directly over, and protecting, a case exhaust deck.

The design is loosely inspired by a mission-style entertainment stand sold by LL Bean.

My idea is to conceal the entire case except for the back of it . This "internal computer housing" would be self-contained and be withdrawn when needed by simply pulling it out the back of the shell as if it were a large cartridge.

The design of the black walnut framework was set but I couldn't decide what the actual covering panels would be. Different options were bird's eye maple, brushed aluminum, vintage speaker fabric, acrylic, modder's mesh, on and on. What I decided was to defer the decision by designing in a removable panel system that could be swapped out for different styles of panel materials. The whole purpose of the "waster pieces" was to reserve space during construction for later installation of these panels. My intention is to build at least two different styles of panel for this project. One of them will probably be some sort of fabric covered panel.

Blah, blah, blah

Back to it.



I slipped the cover back over the case to finish up the DVD bezel work.






I needed to shave a 1/16" off one end so I setup this simple jig to run the bezel back-and-forth across. That's a 60-grit sandpaper block clamped to a working surface.






When inserting the case into its shell the DVD drive will have to slip through this bezel. To help with any minor alignment issues I have rounded off the bezel's backside opening.






The bezel is placed and tested by raising and lowering the shell. A clearance issue on the near side was fixed.






After all that work and the case is stiil intact. LOL






Glued up and clamped the filler pieces on the face using the rest of the leftover waster pieces.






To prove that I actually do make mistakes here is the bezel that wasn't cut wide enough to extend the width of the frame. LOL. Not a big deal as another layer of wood strips is going across all the legs which will cover it up....but....






I still can't stand it. I used scrap wood to fill in the spaces and sanded it down to hide the shame of my error.






Arriving via FedEx today is the stuff I use for my veneer. Thirty 1/32" thick pieces of American black walnut in 3" x 24" sheets. This is the same material I used on Ingraham and it was requested for this project by my wife. It is very expensive and very difficult to work with relative to my favorite wood, mahogany.

Thanks for looking.

 

very very cool!

 

In the 2 weeks I have been away you have made some amazing progress, very nice work my friend, keep it up.