Hi Folks! I've followed PC hardware for a long time and built a few computers over the years. I've also managed to amass some tools, so why not build a case? I've always wanted to build a tall and thin monolithic block, with all the components stacked vertically. I've tagged this as a scratch build, though I did technically start with a Silverstone Raven - I stripped it down and cut out the motherboard tray, power supply bracket, GPU bracket, riser card and front i/o. With vital organs extracted (thankyou, oscillating saw), the Raven corpse was cast aside and it was onto the wood. My local hardware store, Bunnings, sells panels of acacia wood. I had some off-cuts from building a table and I purchased a couple of $25 shelves and was off to the races! The panels have a nice oiled finish but thicknessing was required! And here is where I ended up (clamps are so it doesn't fall over - long way before anything is glued!): The hole in the side panel is for a stack of 3 120mm fans. The holes in the top and front will need to be filled with more wood I originally wanted the hole in the side to have notches / mounting points for the fan screws, but this was the first time I'd ever used a router and that proved too hard. Next time...
They say you should have something to show before posting. So I started the project with the intention of stating a build log half-way through. I have actually finished the build at this point, I just haven't organised the photos. That should happen fairly quickly, so I hope to update again soon!
I routed out the guts of the motherboard tray and the back cover so there's room for all the cables. I also had a crack at fitting the front i/o. Fiddly work and I've learnt how to do it better next time. It will need some putty to fill in the bits where I removed too much wood. The wood is super thin so I'll re-enforce it with a couple of layers of PVA on the internal face. You can see in the background that the routed area of the tray itself looks terrible. When doing the motherboard tray I thought the vertical lock on my router was slipping as the routes got progressively deeper and I had to continually readjust it. I wanted it to be 3 or 4mm thick, but some bits ended up paper thin. Not ideal! It turns out it was my router bit that was loose. I won't make that mistake again! Thankfully my shoddy craftsmanship is all internal so I can fill it, and the cable holes are all relatively clean. I experimented with a mix of PVA glue and saw dust. It was not a success lol. But nothing that some regular putty and sanding won't fix.
The whole project is not clear to me but why did you take a so thick panel if your plan was to route all that material ? It's no a criticism...
