Scratch Build – In Progress Massively Dysfunctional *MDF* (Update Nov.30th... Final Pics!)

Thanks guys

Validus wrote:

This is the main reason I designed the airflow how I did. Depending on how it works I can have the 'cold air fall' or by flipping the top fan it will than push the air out the top.



Quick update... Its getting quite cold overnight so I figured I would take a week off and winterize my garage.

1 day and I managed to finish most of it. Im going to build a removable wall across the garage door.(were used to parking outside now...the shop takes priority)

I forgot to grab some of the right tape so Im just using some painters tape overnight.


Back to the build next weekend.... Everything is built in it, just need to cut the plexi and paint the case. I have the case stored away so it doesnt get damaged in the remodeling but I will get some completed build pics up ASAP.

 

Nice project, great wood skills looking forward to seeing it done!

 

Great looking build so far! Have you given any thought's to colours/finishes etc. yet? And also what MoBo are you thinking of, if you don't mind my inquiry? I imagine it will be a very stylish one

One thing to note on your cooling ideas, I believe they should work. I worked installing industrial air ventilation systems for 5 years and have a pretty decent understanding of how air likes to move. Despite all the various installations, tests, re-tests and various other bits I did during that time the only 100% conclusion i could come to is that air will always try to find the easiest route for itself, or path of least resistance if you will. With having your fans as they are the top of the case should, in theory at least, be of a slightly higher pressure than the lower half allowing the air to freely escape with little problem

That is the theory of course, in practice things are not always ideal but i hope for your success

 

Thanks guys.

Throbbi - That is 1 thing I have planned. My brother/roomate is manager of an industrial paint store and he has spent a ton of time testing different paints at work.
Heres a quick scetch...

We are going to use an industrial based paint (cant member the brand/type..I will edit this once he gets home) It is used in high traffic industrial areas.

The interior will be white, exterior will be black with blue/white/blue strip down the middle. Im working on getting ahold of some pearlcandescent flakes. I will mix that into all the paint so it looks extra seggzi.

As for the mobo, I plan to use a MSI P45 Platinum. I would really love to use 1 of the new MSI P55 boards (matches my color scheme perfectly..like it was made for me) but I cannot afford the upgrade right now...... Any MSI employees reading this?

As for the airflow... That is exactly what I hope happens but its best to have a backup plan.

 

Nice colour scheme there

With the stripe you could almost say its Dodge Viper-esque Very stylish, and hard wearing too by the sound of it.

 

Talk about some good woodworking, this thing looks awesome. Look forward to seeing how this one looks when it is finshed.

 

man this thing is fantastic, love it!

 

You're showing some lovely attention to detail. I'm looking forward to watching the design progress.

I loved your accidental secret door by the way. Makes me wish you were using bookshelves instead of cardboard.

 

Heh, since I 1st decided on this paint job it has been referred to as 'The racing strip theme' so it is fitting. The end paint job should be just as or even stronger than an automotive finish.


@ longwing - Thanks... I just read your log. Complements like that coming from you are quite big. Your attn. to detail is amazing so if I can please you Im sure something is going right.

That would be very 'Batmanish'... I like it. Sadly in the remodeling the cardboard wall has been removed in favor of a wooden 1.

And on that note I will now disappear back into my garage... I should be done the renovations to the garage/shop today... Its looking really nice, I cant wait to get it finished and get back to the case (in a half decent shop now)

I will upload some pics as soon as the shop is back together. Thanks for all the positive feedback guys.

 

Whoa, nice garage mod! And the computer mod too

 

Very impressive work! I am eager to see this thing get put together, and see how much it weighs!

 

My 1st Scratch Build... Im HOOKED 'Garage finished'

Thanks guys...

Alright, quick update time... The garage is finished. I had a bunch of wood left over so I figured I would build an attic/storage area into the ceiling of the garage. That took me an extra week but was well worth it. Heres a few pics of the new dungeon.

This is the "clean room" ... Ill keep all my electronics in here. I keep parts in the deep freeze. (unplugged )


And the shop....
The main section (you can see my ladder to the attic)

The paint booth (I put the air compressor in the attic, hose hangs from ceiling)

I painted this bench/corner a low lustre white for taking pics.

And inside the pain booth. I built a plastic roll holder into the bench, that way I can just roll the build up away.

And of course ventilation is a must. I used a dryer tube and ran it through the attic attached to a fan on the other end. Fumes exit out the ceiling like before.


And I couldnt post without including something from the build. So now that I have room, heres a pic of all the parts spread out. The dvd drive faceplate is missing, might have to make a new 1...But other that that everything is there... I think.

(14 pieces... numbers are a little small to read)

Thats all for now... Im sure the new space will help speed things up (spent lots of time playing "tetris" in my old space... always moving something)

 

Great going, especially on the workspace. I mod in my bedroom.

 

looks sweet =)
nice work

 

stonedsurd - If I modded in the same place I slept I probably wouldnt sleep. Temptation is sooo close.

Thanks sentek.

Few updates... I had 2 last things to build into the case.

1st thing... When running all out the FZEs put out a fair amount of heat so I didnt want it just blowing straight out the bottom of the case, lots of it would be sucked into the PSU, plus I had an idea for something that might look cool with the design of the back.

So I build the case some exhaust.





Made sure the inside was very smooth.


I think it ended up looking cool. I matched it to the back of the motherboard cutout.



Just need to drill out some holes.

The 2nd thing was something to hold the HDs in place. This is something Ive been thinking about since the start. Since there mounted in the system sideways I couldnt just screw em in like normal. I thought of a few different bracket ideas but figured they would all ruin the look of it. Finally I found some wood doweling at Home Depot that would work great to make a rail across the front.



Pic with a couple drives in.


Alright now I think Im done building.

Final paint on the motherboard tray.

Without the flash you can see its own reflection in it.

So of course I had to see if I could see my tape measure in it.

Just alittle... Anyhow Im very happy with the finish.


I dunno what to call this piece so its become the PSU Bay. It has the final coat of white on it for the stripe. This piece isnt going to have any black on it like the rest of the exterior. It will only have the blue/white/blue strip. So I am using white as my base. The main piece of the case will be a base of black.

And 1 final thing... My newest buy for the garage, a proper ventilation system. Any1 with a paint booth will know how good this is. My old way worked great for short bursts but I quickly overwhelmed it and with an attached garage it backs up into the condo quickly. This solved the problem real good. Plus I was really flying through respirator filters.

1/3hp squirrel blower.

I wired it up to a simple 3 speed circuit out of light switches and old extension cord.



I can spray all day and night now without even changing the respirators filters once. The fan can suck the garage door shut by itself if left a little open.


Thats it for now... Enjoy!

 

Wow that case looks awesome, awesome little shop you have there to!

 

You simply can't have too much room when it comes to creating stuff like this from scratch. I too have spent a lot of time working on my shop outbuilding trying to get it organized. I've still got stuff all over my workbench from my current build that I need to better organize so that I can find everything. I have a 16'x18' shed, half of which is being used for storage. I could find a way to use the entire shed if I could. My wife has the other half claimed though.

Very nice paint job, and very original case design. For some reason I haven't quite got my mind around how it is all going to lay out, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.

 

Thanks guys.

voigts - Ya I love the new shop. Dont know how I got anything done in my old setup.

Heres a little update.

Ill start this update with the 'PSU bay'. It still needs 1 last coat on the white strip but the blue is done.


The front panel ready for some paint.

And painted with 2 coats.

Im going to do 1 or 2 more coats on the front. Im trying to achieve a mirror finish like this...

Thats a side panel door. Finished paint but everything is still going to get polished once its all done and put together. (you can read the reflection of the screen in person)

Now some pics of the interior. (Before)

(After) It has its final paint, just need to do all the blue accent.

Top close up.

Bottom.

Side.

Other side.

PSU compartment.


And now time for some of the little things....
The fans need to match so I painted up some old thermaltake 1s I had laying around.

I hate cleaning fans, but we all know its worth it.

Clean and painted.

Yup, so worth it.

Now for the faceplates of the FZEs.
Cut, sanded and some primer.

Had a hard time deciding on black or blue for them.

Ended up using blue just cause I like the way it came out so much. Man I need to be careful not to go wild with that blue, before I know it everything is gonna be blue.

And finally heres a pic of all the little parts I have finished.

2 FZE faceplates, Pump ,DVD faceplate, Retention clip for CPU block, Mtec controller, 5 fans.

Thats it for today, enjoy!

 

paintjob looks awesome, so does your workshop man thats great

 

I'm really really liking this project..

Great use of paint and wood, and nice house mods