Welcome to my second scratch build. A "mere" 4 or 5 years after the first, I'll admit it had taen far too long. But sometimes life gets in the way and we discover other things we enjoy along the way. Regardless, hopefully everyone will enjoy this next journey with me. First I have to admit, I got way too excited when I went to pick up the parts and slapped everything together as fast as I could So it'll be a bit backwards but I'll try show the little bits and pieces as I take it all apart (before paint). For now though it is mostly assembled, with the usual one or two little gremlins that I discovered... Below is the first picture I took, I really wanted to see in real life what the center piece would look like, although the final product will be a little different. After that it was a busy night threading holes and trying to piece the puzzle together, with me taking over most of the house and even working on our little table in the lounge. This is not advisable while the wife is around
That was late on a Thursday night, and the following Friday at work went by frustratingly slow. Even more so as I was fully booked that weekend and had to wait another week to get my hands dirty again. Now as I said earlier, I was far too excited, so pictures were few and far between, so you'll just have to be patient until I'm ready to take it apart again And excuse the mess in my small workspace Why the PSU is off center I dont know The mounting holes of the PSU and the center of the rear cutouts share the same lines, very confusing. I'm hoping that it is just the old PSU that is funny, but I haven't had the time (or perhaps courage) to look yet. As for the gremlins - somehow two flanges went awol during the laser cutting. I noticed all the pictures already have the fix in place (I told you this would be a bit of a backwards log didn't I). And so, some fresh aluminium angle had to be plundered and molded for the task, like so... So now the side panel can attach a little more firmly and securely, as was intended. Diagonally across needs the same treatment but it is a little more tricky. I like to think I did a good job of it, I am really not the best when it comes to cutting and drilling and such things. I very much prefer computers and machines to do that stuff for lazy old me But I will say, it is a very different feeling shaping something with your own hands, I think I may do more of it in future even though I recall not liking it at all in my previous project. And that is all for now, I'll leave you with this for now
I had a little bit of time during the week so I took out that test PSU... this thing must be ancient (the amount of dust should have given it away), I don't remember a time when fans were placed off centre like that! But at least it means the vent at the back should be in the right place for when I install my real PSU
Thanks guys Only a small update today - fixing that hole at the back for the drain port. I detailed each step, maybe it'll help someone in future with a similar problem. First, marking out where I want the hole, just a little up and to the left. I simply used the hole saw as the guide. Then clamp it down as good as you can, and remember the backing piece. I marked the center by eye balling it with the hole saw, the final mark being made with a proper center punch. Next I took a small drill bit (M4) to make a pilot hole. The hole saw comes with what looks like a M6 bit, I went smaller because I feel that makes a better guide Now this was my first time using a hole saw, I took it slow with minimal pressure and let the drill do the work... moment of truth... Didn't look half bad at that point, and after a test fit to the drain valve, seems like that is one less thing on my to do list Next update will likely happen after I find where I "stored" (ie hid from myself) my mini files for creating the slots to mount the reservoir One last thing - any tips for polishing aluminium to a mirror finish? Ideally I'd like to be able to do it once and then seal it somehow so that it lasts a while
What is this? I started doing some assembly, but I don't have much time on week nights, and more social obligations are planned this week! So the rest will have to wait until the weekend And obligatory dragon picture... although I have it flipped the wrong way, so don't go comparing it to to the CAD pictures... It has a little bit too much powder in the areas with finer details, I'll clean that up later
It is all in the details Even the screws have hexes! Otherwise the only other thing I had time for was a test fit of the motherboard again, but with the actual standoffs I will be using. Everything lined up perfectly
Never left it, just a really extended hiatus Making progress though Far enough that I can enjoy it, and I'll likely leave it as is until after the 25th. I should probably also clean my desk
Looking racy. I'd say it looks like a high-end factory case, but there's too many details, and not enough plastic. My only complaint would be that the guts are packed in so tight, you can't get a look at the beautiful frame.
Thanks! And ya, I was planning to throw a mATX board in there which would've opened up more of the detail, but the budget - she too strict. So perhaps a little later At the same time though, I know many parts of the case would rarely be seen and still chose to put the details there. Sometimes it's the small things, and I would know they are there. Pump is making a noise though, I'm hoping it's bubbles or electrical
