Scratch Build – In Progress * r e f l e X i o n *

Is there anyway to remove the little decal/etch on the bitspower fittings? Sure it would probably be painful but with your attention to detail the little symbol or whatever (i've always hated them!) somewhat detracts from the clean lines of this build.

 

Thanks much, Beast!

I'm not sure, but it's a good thought. I'm not crazy about the decal either, to be honest.

Great, now I can see nothing but that decal...

Time to break out the...


I kid, I kid..

 

Haha sorry, im trying to think about how you can take it off, i don't have any bitspowers atm and cant remember if its etched or painted...
either way its a razor blade with a paint dissolver or sand paper (which would be awfully long)

Can you get the 45 degree bitspower without the decal?

 

Nah, the decals come on all their fittings.

It's not too bad. I'd prefer it not be there, but I don't think it'll detract from the build too much. I think a lot of focus will be given to the reflective quality of the shining silver finish.

 

Project Update (3/7): More framework

*Phew*. I'm tired.

Been spending a lot of hours in the shop lately.

First, some more fun with the unibits. I have a few different ones, and they all seem to cut different into this plexi. The fatter one has a better cut and gives me edges that are as smooth as a baby's behind. The skinnier ones with more depth leave a little roughness behind to sand away.






I'll have some pictures of the actual Zero Gravity shelves drilled with these in the next update.

Pieces laid out for cutting. I'll be cutting two 22.5 x 8" panels, one for the roof of the case and one for the floor.



Out comes the trusty (?) jigsaw.






So the jig cuts came out "ok" as they always do and were filed down. And one of these pieces served for the new floor in my case to cover those ugly vents. Remember this?



Now, with the improved look.





And into the Zero-G Chamber.



I'll be cutting vents in this new floor only where they are needed.


*Takes a breather and a swig of bottled water*

Ok.. then I went to work on the roof of the case.




Ugly mesh vents.. and more than are needed...



Out you come, ugly mesh vents. Mr. Dremel, get to work.




That's looking better. And since I hate jigsaws (I guess hate would be a strong word, but I dislike them for their inaccurate nature) I will clear these out with the routing table, instead.



Important safety tip: Whenever placing your piece on your routing table, always make sure that you are holding it securely as above before flipping the switch. That bit will grab into it easily and fling it across your table if you don't.

And at all times, if not using a miter guide, make sure you are holding the piece securely with both hands to minimize kickback and keep your hands and fingers as far away from the bit as possible.



Clearing out the right side.



A very clean cut, even before filing.



Now for the other side.



And the short sides.




And then we have the completed piece.








The new piece for the roof will overlay from the inside. Since the Cosmos has a shell, you won't be able to see the top/outside roof of the frame, but I wanted it to look nice, anyway.

Both the floor and roof will have to be cut in certain places for the shell to fit back on properly. But.. let's save that one for another day, shall we!?

Well I think that's about enough for now. Thanks again for following the making of refleXion.

:up:

 

I know that many of you are probably tiring of shop pictures, so I put a short collage together of previously unreleased shots. refleXion has been in the works for awhile, but I'm doing my best to ensure that the long wait will be worth it.. both for me and for those who have followed the project since its inception.

-Michael

 

I love this mod, very clean and precise, I can't wait for more.

 

Thanks, bud.

Some new photos of all the blocks on the new board. I've been held up waiting on some raw materials to get here. I ordered some Lexan for a new idea that I'm hoping to incorporate into the build. More to share on this soon.

 

Your pictures are as impeccable as always. I really can't wait to build my next PC after seeing your awesome hardware.

 

Project Update -- 3/29 -- Dovetail Lexan

Thanks, bud.

So now I'm going to share with you what I've been working on for the past two weeks.

Often when modding, you feel as if you've encroached on a new idea, but being able to put it into practice isn't as easy as it often seems it will be. So when you're able to make something work as you've imagined it, it brings a special sense of content.

I present to you a new way of shelving Lexan and Plexi, the Dovetail.

This is an ancient practice, actually, but I have never seen it done on plastics or glass before. It's often used as a method of bonding two pieces of wood together and is used in dressers and desks commonly. But could I get it to work on Lexan.. could I get it to look clean and bond securely without adhesive. That was the question and was my goal. I wanted to discover a way of bonding two or more pieces of Lexan together without using adhesive such as Weld-on or epoxy. That's fine for many, but I just don't like using adhesives on glass because it always leaves a residue behind that's visible to the eye.

For those who aren't familiar, this is what is called a "Dado" or half of a sliding dovetail--



In the most basic terms, it's an angled groove that serves as a keyhole of sorts for an adjacent piece to slide in and bond. Here's how it bonds together--





Notice how, when cut accurately, it bonds nice and clean. A perfect fit--like a key into a keyhole. And it's a snug fit.. no adhesive of any sort needed as long as you cut the key or what is technically called the "Tenon" correctly.

To cut the dovetails, I use dovetail bit at 4mm depth--



But-- you've seen how it looks on wood already, so let's view it on glass.









You can see how I can hold it, and it hangs firmly in place. In fact, chances are you could not force it apart with your bare hands; it would take a rubber mallet to separate these two pieces.






The edges of this Lexan had not been sanded since these were just used as test pieces. To sand out the saw marks, I use my power sander--



--and to get the finer imperfections out I sand by hand with 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 grit and then finally aluminum/metal polish to get to perfect transparency like on the flat side of the glass/Lexan.

More to come in the next update on this. I'll show the actual shelves which will be going into the Zero-G Chamber being fit together by this method.

Thanks for checking in.

 

The dovetails was a really nice idea and it looks great.

 

Did you cut the dovetail with the same router that you used on the wood?

How did it not chip?

Excellent mod.

 

Thanks.

Same router/bit. Lexan is very strong.. much stronger than acrylic. No problems with it chipping at all.

Thanks for the compliment.

 

Excellent idea with the dovetails. I get it how you use the dovetail router bit to make the grooves in the Lexan plates, but how do you make the corresponding ends that fit into the grooves?

 

Two cuts with another router bit its essentially just the opposite bit, i.e facing upwards instead of downwards and you just to two cuts, one for each side of the join.

 

Wow, you are the man! Very very impressed!

 

Slick. The fact that you got the dovetail perfect deserves some rep.

 

Simply position your piece vertically instead of horizontally and cut along the ends.

Thanks, magzarelli!

Thanks, Cheapskate!

 

Alright, here are some more photos, as promised. My sleeving came in as I mentioned, along with my fans.

Love Nils' drawings. The space theme brought a smile to my face.

 

Nice gear, fantastic pics as always.