I know what I want to do, and hear it is, it's simple for now. I want to cut a window, put my own etching on it, and put a red/yellow lighting combo inside the case, round my cables, and mount a handle on top. Can someone please kinda gimme step buy step of what I need, and the most cost efficiant way of doing them? I do have a dremel for the cutting, btw, but what blade do I need? thanks so much.
Window- either a window kit which includes everything you need except the tools for cutting or you can stop by a hardware store and get some plexi or acrylic and cut your on window. If you plan cutting your own window youll need either window molding with locking strip or some adhesive to hold the window to the case. For a beginner I would choose the window kit and then go onto bigger and better things. Window kits can be found at www.pcmods.com , www.caseetc.com , and www.frozencpu.com . For cutting the window you'd probablly want to use a dremel or jigsaw. For the dremel use a reinforced cutting wheel, they are larger than the regular cutting wheel and are black. Get a couple of these because they go away fast. For the jigsaw you would want to get a nice new metal cutting blade. Lighting- this is possibly the easiest thing to do. There are three types of case lighting; the neon light (older, larger, less bright), the cold cathode light (resembles the neon but much much brighter, smaller), and LED's (not bright, would become expensive to get enough LEDS to make it bright). Out of the three i would go with the cold cathode. They are around the same price as the neon, maybe a little more expensive, but give much better quality. When you buy a neon or cold cathode make sure you get an inverter with it. I suggest buying a kit at www.frozencpu.com , www.pcmods.com , or www.zxmods.com Cables- i dont suggest doing your own cables, i used to round my cables but kept on breaking them. I would just buy a few at one of the links listed above. Pcmods and frozencpu have good prices. Also stop by www.directron.com because they sometimes have good deals on cables. Handle- youll need a drill, screws, and washers with the handle. Or you can buy a kit at www.frozencpu.com . If you dont want the kit you can stop by a hardware store and pick up the needed supplies. Be warned with the kit, it only comes with one handle. For two handles youll need to buy two kits. I hope this helps, if you have any more questions just ask.
Awesome! You've given me all I needed to know. Thank you so much! One more thing, what's your best estimate on the total cost of what I am doing?
And here's my two cents... 1. Some specifics on the Dremel side of the house (should you choose that route -- and I highly recommend that you do). The reinforced cutoff wheels sTevE is talking about are Dremel part number 426. They come in a pack of 5 and using the proper cutting technique (i.e., press lightly and let the wheel do the work), can last you quite awhile. Please note that these wheels require a mandrel (Dremel part number 402). Depending upon what Dremel kit you go after (and here I'd recommend the MultiPro -- the variable speed option is beyond cool), you may find a mandrel and a few reinforced cutoff wheels included. If not, you now have the part numbers so hit your local hardware store and pick them up. Again, the word REINFORCED is the big player here -- regular cutoff wheels are suitable for lighter tasks as they break easily. 2. On the lighting side of the house, cold cathodes are my lighting of choice. If I may add to the recommendations, try BGMicro when you're pricing them. Be sure to get the appropriate inverter also, as they do not come in a kit form. On BGMicro's site, hit the Shop Online link and in the drop-down menu on the following page, select the (LIT) Lights option. The inverters will be at the end of the returned results (be sure to click the Next 15 button). They are called power supplies on the site, but electronically speaking, they are inverters. Be advised, you will need one inverter per cold cathode. 3. As far as cabling goes, if you're new to this, buy them pre-made as sTevE suggested. 4. Concerning the handle: if you plan on lifting the case often, you may want to add larger washers than those included in most kits. This will help spread the weight of the case and should prevent any bending of the case panels. Be sure to post some pictures of your work so we can see how things went. Good luck with your project.
Cool, I will definately post pictures of my progress. It will be slow though, might cut the window this weekend.
Slow does not necessarily equal bad. Patience is the key to professional looking mods. Again, good luck.
prob around 100 dollars depending on how many lights and other stuff you get. Could be higher or lower though. But the main money taker is the lights.
You could get it all done for under $30 (less tools of course): Get your window material at Home Depot. Six bucks gets you enough for a couple windows, or one window and some to practice on. Ask your local hardware store or glass shop for scrap acrylic, you can sometimes get it for free. Have an idea of what dimensions you want. Since you have a Dremel, etch your window yourself. Get a design you like, tape it to the back of your window and buzz away with a diamond bit or a high-speed cutter at low speed. (http://linear1.org/gm/archives/00000088.php) Check out http://www.bgmicro.com/ for cold cathodes. $7 bulbs, $7 inverters. This is where you save big scratch. Home Depot has some spiff handles in the cabinet hardware section. I bought a dozen of them when they had a closeout, $1 each. Your tastes may vary, and selection varies, but don't pay those absurd prices. If you need heavy duty industrial strength handles try these out: http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=search&item=HDL-16&type=store http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=search&item=HDL-21&type=store http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=search&item=HDL-17&type=store Get with the scrounge program, I bet you can get it done for less than $20.
I been watching you, and I like the way you think. LOL peace. UnLoadeD PS: I'm wondering if the mod vending sites hate it when we post stuff like this?
parts express has nifty rackmount amplifier/mixer/whatever handles, but for the life of me i cant find em on the website now ... i was considering a pair of those recessed, springloaded handles for the top of my box. these would look great if i could just get em to fit ...
I'd be surprised if you could get it done for $100 or less. I have modded two cases and everything ads up. My min orders from caseetc and pcmods are easily 50-75 each time. Sometimes less, usually more. Just a cold cathode alone is $40 for a kit at pcmods. Baybus is $20 for the basic 3 positionone. Split loom, rounded cables, misc screws, washers. Not to mention tools like soldering iron, dremel, wire strippers, heatshrink, hole saws, drills, etc. Then you start getting into LCD's and VFD's. My VFD order will be near $200. So rediculously expensive!
