Scratch Build – In Progress Homemade Alu case /w copper highlights. FINISHED.

Update 8!

Been working on and off this week on the case.

I got a few more packages this week!


I finally got my copper. It's more flexible than I thought.


Also got a hawt package! Contains Intel G0 SLACR Q6600, 2x 2gb DDR2 1000 and a Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4.


Close up of the X38 sweetness.


Cut out a triangle of copper for the front of the case. I've been trying to figure out how to attach it to the aluminum without screwing it. The best I came up with is to use epoxy. I tried to solder it and super glue, but neither of them held.


Since the copper is so soft, I was afraid that I would put a dent in it while drilling the holes for the buttons. So when drilling, I put a 1/4" piece of wood on top of it and drill through that first, then through the copper, then the aluminum. It drilled perfectly with the wood on top. Buttons in place.


Front with the upper copper bit placed.


Here's the dvd drive. It's a slim slot loading drive. Got it cheap off Ebay. also had to buy 2 adapters; one to go from the 50 pin JAE to normal IDE + 3 pin power connector and another to convert to USB.


Made a little jig type device to facilitate the bending of the Aluminum for the drive case.


All nice and bent. I did some more work on it... but I seemed to have forgotten to take pics. I'll toss them up with the next update.


I cut and sized all of the pieces for the mobo "tray"


All put together.


Using an old Dell mobo as a template for where to drill the holes for the standoffs.


Mobo tray in place, but not attached to the frame yet.


I finished the reservoir. I bought two pieces of 1/16" thick rubber at the hardware store, cut them out in a circle, then super glued them to the aluminum top and bottom. Then I drilled two holes on the top of the reservoir for the for the barbs. The reason they're both on the top is because the reservoir will sit on its side. I still need to make the stand out of plexi.


Leak testing the res, seems to work great. No leaks!

And that's where I stopped tonight. More work to be done this weekend!

Comments, questions, suggestions?

 

that reservoir is stupendously exquisite, it looks store bought

 

The new res looks great!
I walk by those gasket sheets at least once a week. I wonder why I never thought to use them anywhere?

 

Update 9!

Thanks for the kind words about the reservoir!

Did some more work today, nothing too major but I thought I'd post an update anyway.

It's time for Cooking with Legoman!

Delicious.
1. Fry up some left over chicken
2. Add some gravy
3. add some pepper
4. toast some bread
5. put a slice of pepperjack cheese on the toast
6. dump chicken/gravy mix onto toast
7. pour a glass of mountain dew
8. Enjoy!

And thus concludes cooking with Legoman.


I connected the mobo tray to the rest of the frame with 2 "L" joints.


I masked off a piece of aluminum for the lower case "cover"


Cut it out on the bandsaw.


Almost fit after the first try...


And it fits like a glove after a few minutes of filing.


I used some old cd drive - > sound card audio connectors for the power switch, power LED, and reset switch. I cut them in half, removed two of the leads and ground off the excess crap.


Got my power button all wired up.


Then I drilled a hole in the lower cover for the wires to come up through. There will be several more holes drilled in it, I just don't know their exact location yet.

And that's where I stopped today. Comments? Suggestions?

 

Oh, and here are the pics of the DVD drive like I said I'd post.


held together by tape.


back of the drive, I cut out for the USB and molex connector


I used a 1" pipe to bend the copper here. I'll epoxy it on once I take all of the masking tape off.


Top of the drive case.


Being epoxied together.

 

Sweet! Good job! The res looks beautiful.

 

nice work so far!

One question though, why did you solder all four of the leads on the bulgin power switch, don't only two of them need to be connected to act as power?

 

there were 6 leads. 2 for the LED ring and the other 4 for the button. If i use pins 1 and 2, the switch is closed unless the button is pressed. if i use pins 3 and 4 the switched is open unless i press the button.

 

Oh, i see. So you used 3,4 and the LED leads went to the mobo's PWR led?

 

correct. I was a bit confused when I got the switch and there were 6 leads on the back. But a few minutes with the multimeter cleared it all up.

 

Update 10!

So apparently, even epoxy doesn't hold aluminum together well. I was sanding my DVD drive case and the thing just fell apart in my hands. I might need to pick up some JB Weld...

Anyway, I did a few hours of work before the GF came and made me quit.



Started work on the HDD mounting. I forgot to take pics earlier Each mount will be able to hold two drives.


Each side is held to the frame by 2 screws to prevent them from just falling down.


Hard drives will be mounted like this. I might have some aluminum tubing or copper piping going from behind the drives to the motherboard to hide the sata and power cables.


Marked and drilled the holes for mounting the drives. Invariably, some of the holes don't match up. The drill bit travels a little before it starts digging in.


I cut a couple of strips of the rubber to prevent vibrations from the drives from traveling to the frame.


And here they are in their current state. I plan to put a little decoration on the "shelf" side closest to the door. Or something...

Anyway, thats where I stopped when the GF came over and made me leave the workroom.

Until next time...

 

i like those hdd shelves you made. the only thing i would be worried about is the say of the drives. but i think that metal is thick enough to not bend if the hdd's sway(if you moved it, etc)

 

Yea I was a little worried at first, so I stuck both of my template drives (the two in the pic, old pieces of crap) on the same shelf and rocked the case around a little bit and it's very sturdy. I also made sure the screws were extra tight and the shelfs aren't 100% perpindicular to the frame, they tilt a little towards the front of the case so that if they do sag a little under the load, they'll just sag to perpindicular. (if that makes sense)

Also, I was planning on doing something similar to this pic with some scraps of 1/4" thick aluminum:

 

Bravo my friend, truly first class fabrication

 

nice work bro loving the work u do so far and the res is sweet

 

cool work & worklog! Good to see i'm not the only one making an index for the log

Also, i read the little discussion at the start of this thread, i couldn't agree more when you said:

That's exactly how i'm building my own case (well, case... desk ) right now. It's also the whole point of modding, to personalize your PC.

Keep this up, good read

 

doing a fine job and dont let the idiots get to you do what makes you happy

 

Update 11!

Thanks for the kind words everyone! And don't forgot to vote for me in the mod of the month contest! Anyway, to the pics!


Made the rough cuts for the HDD mounting supports on the band saw and clamped them together.


After a long time with the belt sander, disc sander and 2 files, they are identical (or as close as they're getting). I wonder if breathing in that much aluminum dust is bad for me?


Then I drilled and tapped holes in the HDD racks for the supports.


I countersunk the holes in the supports themselves and used my stainless steel screws that I bought for the front of the case to attach it.


I marked and cut off the little bit of the shelf that the support didn't cover.

And thats where I stopped today. Working with 1/4" thick aluminum is a pain (and takes forever). Don't forget to vote for me in the mod of the month! Comments? Suggestions?

 

Woah! now thats what i am talking about!
(and I know what you were talking about when you said "if they do sag a little under the load, they'll just sag to perpendicular"
that is a good idea.

 

Hey legoman666 congrats on being picked in mod of the month you have some real nice work going on here.

I saw this in your post and thought of some drilling I have done in the past and let me suggest this tip that is if you are not already doing it. Take a center punch and ping the mark for the hole before drilling. That will help keep the drill bit from walking so much. Well that is what I do for metal when I have to drill it to fit something exactly with something else. Well good luck and keep up the nice work.