Scratch Build – In Progress RTX scratchlog: done, but not final update

looks a LOT better in my opinion. Definatly am NOT g oing to redo this, i thought i was going to, as before i was not happy with the wavy lines.

While c-clamping the ruler, there was no way i couldn't scratch it, so i am going to to some light sanding aroudn the edges of teh grill, and rebuff... but tell me wath you think!

 

Redo that grill. Seriously, I hope you don't think we've all been on your case (okay, maybe a little...and no pun intended) but not because we want to rip into you, we just want you to do better as we all know you can. You really have to ask yourself "do I settle for so so or make it right" Think of the time and money you've already invested in this project and then think about this.... if you paid someone to make that grill or bought a grill from a shop and that is what they sent you, would you be happy with it? I think you'd tell them to shove it sideways.
Remember my very first post here at BT was because I wanted to commend you on the great job you were doing. I was impressed because of your age and the fact that you tackled such a big job and were taking your time.....don't make me look like an ass!
LOL, okay, a little rib poking there but in all honesty I know you can do better.

 

I think im going to put this away for a while, maybe do some more filing, then im going to start on the front panels pretty soon. first though, i need to fix some small st uff thats been bugging me.

The holes are crooked, im not making excuses, its not the fan grill though. Its that i knew that i woulndt have a radiator there, so i didn't plan on having them straight... sigh, so thats how they sit on the case, its the rear panel, not that that is an excuse on the poor quality fan grill.

I can't think of a good design on a fan grill, but i kinda like the look of this one, looks kinda industrial/contemporary, not that im saying i pulled it off well.

Well, i definatly agree with you, but my moms yelling so i g2g

 

Sorry to be so blunt; but:
TBH the lines still don't look straight and the holes aren't lined up at all. In all honesty, if you had made a new one instead of spending all this time filing you would have been better off.

Best advice: Take your time
Plan everything out first; lay it out on the panel (draw it on the masked panel or glue on a printout of the pattern); then try to get your cuts as exact as possible the first time (results in less cleanup work); then file/sand until it's perfect.

 

Wow That's clean and nice work! very nice, Can't wait to see more from you.

Good luck.

 

definatly agree with everything but one thing: the holes not lining up. sorry to say, its the case fans not being parralell, not the fan grill. and the fan grill thing, i havn't rushed since the first time i cut it. I need more inspiration before i can redo something, i am going to try my luck with the front fan grills.

cut, sanded, polished, and taped. Need to think of a cool pattern


sorry if you can't see that.

So what do you guys think? can you help me out? i mean i literally sketched this in like 3 minutes, this isn't permanent at all. Forget the spacing, everything. you get the idea guys im not crazy about it, and keep in mind this wouldn't be the permanent shape. I would measure everything out, and the letters would be a LOT neater.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=35436912
alright, listen to the never gunna... its amazing. all the way through.
made my day

 

o one more thing, why does my n ame have a supermodder tag? i just want to let you guys know im not a cocky f*ck and i didn't put that there.

 

It's based on your post count.
http://forums.bit-tech.net/faq.php?faq=new_faq_item#faq_avatars

 

ah! lol.

But whats YOU opinion on front fan grill?

 

For use as a fan grill it's WWAAAAAYYYY too restrictive. It'd be an interesting design for the front panel itself though; back it with an nice acrylic panel (maybe the A.C.Ryan UVBlue) and it could really look nice.

For a fan grill you really need to leave most of the area open; the grill serves as a finger guard, but if there's not enough open area you won't get enough airflow through there. (take a look at the A.C.Ryan RAD Grillz and you'll see what I mean)

 

do you think some random shapes would be kosher?
edit:
like small detailed work, like little squares or something

ill sleep on it

 

Depends on the layout; I'd really have to see conceptual drawings to make a recommendation. The one thing to keep in mind when making a fan grill is than you want the bars to be small and leave the majority of the fan area open; otherwise you'll be impeding the airflow, which often results in a lot of fan noise.

 

Ok, look at the middle bottom set of holes. Those aren't anywhere CLOSE to right. Redo the panel, use an engineering edge and a compass. Measure the total width of your fans including the frames. Add 1mm to that on the LENGTH ONLY. Use an engineering ruler and a fine pen to draw a rectangle exactly the size of your 2 fans. Use a protractor to make sure its right. Now place your fans onto the panel in the template and mark the middles of the mounting holes. Use a ruler and protractor to measure each on of those points to check they're all in the same place.

Now draw out your fan grill pattern using the engineering edge and a sharp pencil. If there is an angle anywhere, measure it. If the end isn't 90 degrees, its not straight.

NOW, redo all the measurements and put the fans on the panel again to check you got everything right.

Now, and ONLY now, you can use a centre punch to get the centres of your mounting points, and you can mask off the pattern. After you've masked the pattern, measure it AGAIN to check you masked it straight.

Now you can start cutting. Make sure you never go outside of your masking, its better to have some left on the inside than having to make an entire strut thinner. TAKE YOUR TIME and make as sure as possible that you're cutting straight.


And not to mention, you're still making a very restrictive fan grill. REDO IT.

 

I'm seeing a potential problem with the front panel design... the red colored fins in the pic below are only connected to the rest of the front panel on one side... are you planning to add extra support for these from behind? If not they could become quite flimsy and prone to wibrate.
Also, I'd like to se the screw holes being equal distance from each side, placed symmerically that is.

About the grill, I agree with prevous speakers... redo it. <=\
About designs, whip up a few different ones on paper or in some graphic app on the computer and post em or post some inspirational pics, so we can se what kind of designs you are amiming at.. that way it's easier to come suggestions ... I would love to see what you come up with! =)

Last but not least I want to say that I'm so impressed that you are building from scratch being only 15 years old!! Will follow this one, for it looks really interresting! Keep it up and take your time! =D

 

I agree that you should re-do the grill. But I don't think you wasted your time. You learned some new techniques and got some practical experience using them. It's just education. Sometimes someone teaches you. Sometimes you learn yourself by making mistakes and trying something new.

I'd say, don't just re-make the grill. First take some scraps and practice making perfect cutouts. Try some different ways that various people have suggested and see what works for you.

And keep it up!

 

Agree; it'd look best with the fans centered on the plate.

 

Just so you know...
That filing trick I use depends on using a guide I can get scratched up. I use that particular chunk of stainless as a guide because it's tough as hell and would take me a MONTH to file through. (I know you don't have the spectacular junkpile that I have. I takes years of packrat-tery to amass such a hoard of junk.) I also rest the file directly on the guide when I work, but that only matters when you are filing something thick. As long as the guide is stronger than the material you are filing, it can be anything. In the past I used a block of wood with a scrap of glazed tile on top.
I wanted to put all that in the last update, but I'm always half-asleep when I update.
Having a nice, clean pattern drawn directly on the work is important too. I don't even freehand my curves anymore. A mechanical pencil, a sharpie, and a T-square are my most commonly used tools.

(damn, lookit me ramble!)

You can hide your crooked mounting holes with squares of alum. -possibly mounted with double-stick tape or silicone. You would need to use screw heads that sit flush with the surface, though...

 

good idea with the screws cheapskate!

and radogrill/dacust, thanks yeah practice makes perfect, but the fans can't be centered on the plate because i like a wider fan grill, and if it was centered it would go infront of the cd rom drives wtf! lol.

Bad bad news, A.P. world historoy is horrible... I spent 2 hours with no distractions, and i still have another hour to do with homeowrk jsut from history(need to write 6 paragraphs plus research and a bibliogrophy...) so yeah, totally sucks

 

This guy knows what he is talking about. Listen to him. I am really starting to build up a pile of junk too, lol.

 

i hear u bro, history really sucks. even worse its nessecary or ull end up like bush