First project for many years and first time using acrylic so we will see how this ends up! This project shouldn't really take that long but I pretty much only have Saturdays to work on it so it may take a few weeks to complete. I am in the process of building a FreeNAS box but need it to take up as little space as possible. After some rough brain storming, the only idea I could come up with that I liked that was basically PC shaped was the VW Campervan. This also happens to be one of the girlfriend's favourite cars! We discussed colour schemes and came up with . After some playing around with Sketchup I came up with I should point out that originally I was going to have a friend use her laser cutter to cut all the acrylic but her machine couldn't handle anything bigger than A4. Unfortunately that fell through but I decided to keep the design the same size. So onto the worklog. I ordered the acrylic I hadn't realised there were so many pieces! Quick question. Since Weld On seems to be impossible to buy in the UK, what do people recommend? Is Tensol 12 or 70 ok or do people recommend something else? Since I currently have no cement I have to start off by cutting all the pieces so the order of this worklog may be a little odd. I decided to start with the side windows. becomes Still needs sanding/filing. Then moved on to the front. I was absolutely sure that I hadn't managed to get the 2 curves cut the same so I placed it on a piece of A4 and drew the curve onto the paper then turned the piece over and did it again. The 2 lines where pretty much bang on identical! Not bad for a jigsaw! Next came the red section of the front. Again, once it has been sanded it is pretty accurate bit of cutting! Next I moved onto the drive cage. Everything so far has been 3mm Acrylic, but the drive cage is 5mm. It may only be 2mm thicker but you can really feel the difference when cutting it! Sides: Cutting this into 5mm wide strips was a true test of patience! Or so I thought. This is a 10x10x140mm bar. I needed to cut it into 12 10x10x10 pieces. As you can see in the following picture (on the second cube, top row), it was a little too think for the jigsaw to cut through without it starting to melt so I had to resort to using a hacksaw! Again, a fair few of the need sanding down as cutting straight seems to be a skill I lack. That pretty much sums up day 1. Here's a quick preview of day 2
Hey! If you for various reasons can't get a hold on any of the professional glueing solvents, you can dissolve a few scraps of the acrylic in acetone. It dissolves the acrylic, and once you glue things together, the acetone will vaporize, and you'll be left with a solid fuse. That's what I do at least Cool mod by the way. Love people making DIY-stuff with acrylics
i'd like to see more 'bout HDD cage. i have to rebuild my NAS and stuck with HDD placement/cooling/dampering...
