Scratch Build – Complete [Completed] Ham Theater PC - Update 9th Oct - Final Pictures (page 2)

I don't claim to be any kind of expert when it comes to routers, but essentially it spins a bit at high speed that does the cutting. Bits come in a large variety of sizes, styles, shapes, etc. I used a 1/2" straight bit to cut the channels for the walls of this case, I set it to about a 1/4" depth. I used the same bit to thin out the area for the button and LED. For the edges I used a 1/4" round over bit.

I would recommend doing some research on routers before picking one up, so you don't end up with something you don't need, or something that won't do what you want it to. Another key to a good finish is good quality bits. I use Bosch as they're a little cheaper, available locally, and give a good finish (though don't last quite as long as other higher end bits from what I've read)

Also, I've only used my router in wood, so unless the 12mm plate you're talking about is wood, I can't really speak to how to go about it

I buy most computer parts through either Newegg, or Amazon (since I have amazon prime, so some things have free 2 day shipping). In terms of other parts (fan grills, the mobo tray, PSU bracket, etc) I have been buying most of it from www.performance-pcs.com Their customer service is pretty good when I've had to deal with it, and they generally ship quickly (From Florida). I've ordered a few things from FrozenCPU as well, but not in a while. Got a motherboard backplate form mountain mods for the last build I did too. I would consider buying from mnpctech if I could do local pick up since Bill's right out my back door (when I'm at work anyway) but I haven't found an option for that, and I don't want to spend that much money on shipping stuff that's only 30 miles away, when I could just bundle it in with other things I'm buying for similar prices elsewhere.



As for the use of the HTPC, a little bit of both. I will have a blu-ray drive in it for playing my blu-rays and DVDs, and I will also be using it to stream netflix. I also have a file server that's got all my music, recorded TV shows, and some backed up DVDs on it that I will be streaming off of as well.

 

hi Mosquito,
your htpc case have a great radio style, and your wood finition are pretty good !

i have a question, you say :

that file server is it modded ?

 

Thanks!

With a strictly yes/no answer, technically yes. But not really... All it has is a side window panel (which I bought) and some lights, and a switch panel for the lights (which I later found out, I could have bought as a finished assembly, instead of buying the switches, and drilling out my 3.5" bay cover) It was a project I decided to do when I had little money, so I couldn't just build another one (had to keep my mind occupied at the time, as it was rough). It's a lian-li pc-g70b case... here's some old pictures, from before the additions... Also pre-serious wire management (also a lot more wires now due to more hard drives and a RAIDcard)... I'll take some pictures tonight, and get them up when I get home

 

This a ****ing precise answer
Thank you.
it run 24/24 ?

 

Yeah, it runs all day every day (minus power outages, moving it, when it gets too hot inside )

As promised, here's a few shots of the server I just took, the rest can be found here:
http://www.mosquitomediaserver.com/projectLogImages/Server/

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Lookin Good!

Let me know what I can do for you? Always willing to help local Mnpctech customers!

pcbuilderATmnpctech.com

 

Thanks Bill! (on both accounts) E-mail sent

 

Update 14th, Sept - Front Pieces Painted

Time for another update...

This past weekend I was able to get the last hole cut out, the one for the DVD drive in the front

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I then made a bracket to hold the DVD drive in place, along with a vertical support

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I also glued the cut up toothpick pieces into the front fan grill pieces, and painted those a dark gray, as well as the VFD bracket, and cover for the DVD drive. First image includes standard black electrical tape as a color reference...

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It is missing the last piece on the right hand side because I accidentally forgot to give it a second coat of paint, so I just painted a second coat on it a little bit ago. It is now drying before I put it in place


From here, the next steps are hopefully finding some time to test out the stain I got, and see if I like it, or if I want to try something else...


Until then, thanks for checking it out
-Mos

 

Lookin good! very unique idea

btw: didn't catch yr email, sent you one thru bit-tech

 

Thanks Bill

I sent it again

 

Very nice front, keep going

 

Sweet front panel Mosquito

 

Thanks guys, I'm hoping that this week/weekend the weather is kind to me, so I can hopefully start testing some stain soon...

 

Update 18th Sept - Construction finished hardware installed

So the weather was kind enough to me that I could finish up the last few things on the case...

I cut a keyhole slot to hold the top front down, installed some threaded wood inserts for screws to attach the back to the sides, the sides to the bottom and hold the top rear in place

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Then I was also able to get outside and do some painting for the DVD drive bracket (and rear screw mounts not pictured)

Primed


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Then it was time to install the hardware I had gotten this past week. Some parts are recycles or spare parts like the graphics card, blu-ray drive, and hard drive (which will be swapped out for an SSD once I replace my current HTPC with this one) but the rest is all new

Here you can see the pieces I made and painted to hold the top rear down
It also holds the top back so it doesn't slide forward




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A sneak peek at what the next update will contain... I'm testing out some staining, and may be back with some update on where that stands, but for now, this is the direction I'm heading:

Unfinished side piece on bottom left, stained side piece on bottom right, and unfinished top piece on top​

Thanks for checking it out
Until next time...
-Mos

 

Update 9th Oct - Finished and Assembled

This will be a large update.... I meant to do an update with just the staining and polyurethane in process, but I ended up getting busy and not doing that, so there will be quite a few pictures in this update...

Anyway, first things first, I finished testing stains and polyurethane on scrap:

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After all that, I was satisfied with how the tests came out, so I decided to jump in and go for it... I won't lie, I was a little nervous about this part... if I screwed up a cut somewhere I could just do a new one, but screwing this up would mean either living with it, or redoing everything.... well, I don't have any pictures of the staining in progress, but let's see how it turned out...

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I was happy with that... now it's time to get some polyurethane on these bad boys...

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Side pieces done with 3 coats a piece... Now time for the top and bottom pieces...

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Waited for that to try, and then it's time for assembly! I was still waiting for case feet at this point, so I didn't install the hardware yet, just assembled it and put in some pieces to take pictures

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I got the case feet in the mail a couple of days ago so I was finally able to get those installed and put the hardware back in it!

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Now time to put the hardware back in it...

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Stay tuned for final pictures soon to come!

 

Your front fan grills are super unique. +rep

 

Thanks Fuganater, I'm happy with the way they turned out... which is good considering how much meticulous work went into them...

 

I love your choice of stain, and the contrasting colors. Beautiful work, well done

 

Thanks miahallen, I was surprised at how closely the first stain I picked matched the color I was looking for



As mentioned earlier, here are the "final shots"
As always, thumbs are links to larger images

And an "action shot" so to speak... Just playing music through media center, with the Graphic Equalizer on the VFD on front, and "Scope" as the visualization

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Thanks to all those who were watching, and commenting on this thread, it was much appreciated

-Mos

 

I tell you what, I cringed when I saw you painted the grills, but man, that turned out great!

The grills really make the piece. Nice!