Taking a break from hand work, I wanted to take some time to work on figuring out the distribution/pump section of the central panel. I would not have been able to do this without the videos that Alex Banks made for Bit-Tech. Watching those gave me the knowledge and confidence to try to tackle this kind of thing. I also made many versions of the central panel that holds everything and the distribution/pump section changed a few times. Here is the first version I made to try to wrap my head around what was happening as well as getting the tool path order correct: I used each version to work out the relationships between components too: Testing out the O-ring slots with the 2mm O-flute It wont work unless the other side lines up too: After many iterations I finally settled on something closer to this. I would use the CNC router to cut all the channels and holes but I would still need to tap the smaller holes. For the larger holes I used a thread mill which also took a bit of practice to get used to: The inlet hole on the bottom connects to the GPU and the hole on top allows for easy filling of the loop and acts as a mini reservoir. It took a few tries to get a recipe for the thread cutting but eventually I figured it out and saved the settings for later use. This will accept standard G1/4 watercooling fittings:
Man, I wish I would be able to do these thead milling ops Interesting to see, that despite using CAD you still make prototypes for test fitting/visualization.
The thread milling was a lot harder to get right than I wanted it to be but I'm glad I got it to work. I still need to dial in smaller thread types though so I tapped everything else by hand. You'd be surprised how often I make something in cad that should work and then I made it and it doesn't for whatever reason so I made lots of prototypes to avoid ruining good materials. That and its a lot easier to change something with a prototype in place than just having a drawing for me. Lastly I'm prone to screwing up things in the toolpaths so the prototypes are a nice way to double check I didn't do something silly. That and at the end I have a lot of wood to burn as a celebration of finishing!
Sometimes the toolpaths screw themselves up too. You getting into CNC is great. I really look forward to seeing what you come up with now.
Its been a fun journey so far. Alex’s videos have helped so much too. I don’t think I could’ve made the pump block/distro plate without those.
LoL Those 4 japanese wetstones and the Veritas guide actually represent the value of a gold bar 320, 1000, 4000, 6000 grit? Or even 8000?
Close, the left one is a diamond 400 that I mostly use to flatten the other ones or fix a bevel angle. I don’t actually remember what the right one is but I think 8000 is good guess. The 1000 and 4000 are king/bester stones so pretty reasonable. Keeping them flat is annoying though so in the future I’ll get some glass stones or diamond ones.
Check out the Ha-no-kuromaku stones from Shapton. They are quite tough and the shaping feels kinda different to other wetstones - takes some time to get used to this. But they are holding flatness pretty well. Pricing is about 10% higher than Bester, so not too crazy...
Thanks! I agree about the brass and you may or may not be disappointed. The beauty is I can always add more afterwards.
The design narrative of this case was to combine modern CNC technology with traditional hand tool wood working. Step one was making the dovetail joints but I also wanted to bring in some Japanese Kumiko design work as well. I chose to make a traditional Hemp flower design made from Sitka Spruce, left unfinished. Step one is squaring off the rounded corners left by the CNC router using a sharp chisel. Next I took some Sitka Spruce stock left from another project and ripped it down on the bandsaw to width. After that I used a planer to get them all smooth and to uniform dimensions: Now it was time to start cutting the Kumiko pieces, beginning with a border. The corner joints will be simple mitered half laps: To do most of the joinery and thicknessing of small parts I will be using some angle jigs I built and my trusty Lie Nielson block plane: The angle guide makes trimming the small pieces to length much easier:
Whoa. That Kumiko will be a piece of art. Looking forward to see the process. Is that angle guide of Purple Heart? Man, not only that your tools are exclusive, your self-made jigs are too
Thank you! Its "just" walnut. I've wanted to make those for forever so I figured I'd make them nice-ish.
Kumiko Part II Using a guide I made along with some scraps, I kept the kumiko all lined up when I cut the half lap joints: And divided up the squares with some vertical pieces: Once the main grid was done I started on the diagonal pieces. I used two different sizes of hemp leaf pattern for this: For the second part of the pattern I needed to cut almost all the way through the piece but not enough to cut it in half. This would receive angle cuts on either end then be bent in half at the cut mark. Then, another small piece can be made that locks it all in place: After I finished the big flowers, I moved on to the smaller flowers. I trimmed down the stock to smaller dimensions to better fit the proportions: This involved lots of little pieces: And the finished piece. This got a light sanding but no glue. The joints were tight enough that the friction held it together snugly. And lastly, I routed a groove for the fan and LED cables to get to the main cable section:
I just realized you could go nuts and hide cables under inlays. STILL fantastic work. -Like you would suddenly start half-*ssing something. If I saw you doing that, I'd head for the mountains away from volcanoes and tidal waves.
Don't worry, there won't be too many cables to look at on this one, its definitely my best cabled project ever (which isn't saying too much tbh but still)
That looks beautiful. (And Japanese saws --I love them. Woodwork has not been the same for me since!)
