***EDIT*** Admins, feel free to delete this log since I will not be having time to update it in quite a while due to college issues. Thanks Hello guys, This will be my first case build up from scratch, so bear with me. Was intially going to go with a cube but then I was messing around in AutoCAD and decided I liked the squat cube better. I am building this case cause I am kinda sick of my current case, cause it was my first mod job and I am sick of having to look at all my little mistakes(mind you it was a 20min job) Anyway sorry no planning pick since I have already begun and am to a stage where you all can see it taking shape. This isn't too fancy, just a little wood work, tinted plexiglass, steathed drives, I think I will polish my hard drives also, I have a UV thing going on. Pretty much this is a budget mod using a bunch of scrap material I had lying around. Pics will come as soon as I get them resized. - Raging_Cantelope (my favorite alias)
Hey first off, ANCHORAGES KICKS ***!!!! I used to live there, like 2 years ago. Expensive to get stuff shipped there. ok onto to your project sounds cool but for a name ummm...well here are a couple that i came up with: - Tinted Wood - Tinted black (like that song, painted black) - wooden wonder - Darkened Tint but that is about it, afraid, they aren't very creavtive, or good for that matter, but mainly i am just glad to meet a fellow Alaskan involved in Modding!!!!!!!
This is what I started with... Rough Cut Poplar(big, inexpensive, and pretty nice stuff to work with) and a pile of plexiglass(3/8") Alright so I took my freaking big piece of poplar and made it into about 2-1/4" squares, then trimmed it down to my final dimensions removing the burns I left when ripping the big piece. Once I got them to the right size then I started in with the router. Here's a pic of my initial routing cross-section plan.
Routing... one groove... Two Groove... and then a joint... ***Note that the top of the joint has been cut down a little cut to allow the vertical piece to fit in.*** I will go into detail about the joint if anybody wants, but I don't have the pictures right now,... in other words if you ask I will explain sometime.
At this point I decided I would worry about rounding over the edges later in order to save myself some strife in the corners. So I began dry fit assembly to see how I was doing to this point. Looked pretty good I thought for 3 sides that is...*crosses fingers* IT FITS! I was happy cause nothing ever fits for me on the 3rd time,... it always tends to be the 20 or 25th time. Now it is time to build a mirror image for the top... started routing again... My duplicate comparisons. Then I routed simple two-slotted pieces minus the joint for my vertical pieces. Wedged in my old mobo, vid-card, and LAN card in for some scale... Top View Front View... Perspective shot... And this is where I am right now.
OK, this is where I ask for you guy's opinions cause I am not sure what I want to do with the tinting. I am planning on tinting all visible faces (front, back, sides, and top) is there any reason I should tint the bottom? cause if there isn't I wasn't planning on it. What kind of tinting job should I do...? -1) all faces black -2) a blue to black fade -3) a red to black fade I am planning on staining the wood a kinda dark cherry, and then sealing it with some high gloss clearcoat I have laying around. I have also been arguing over fan placement. Should I have a fan or two drawing air up from underneath the case? (there is about a 1/2" gap between the plexi and what ever face the base is set on so plenty of room for airflow) I have heard that it will draw up lots of dust, but my case lives on a desk and would be breathing from the very edge so I think I will be ok on dust if I do it that way. Otherwise I was planning on doing 2 80mm intake below the groove on the right side of the case and 1 80mm above the groove on the right side also. Exhaust would be one 80mm behind CPU heatsink on back of case, PSU outlet underneath the shelf, and a pci fan, that sucks air off of my 9700pro. What do you guys think of these? I want your ideas. -What I have for this case already... 1 dual UV cathode rig 4 uv fans blue blue uv reactive ide cables -planning to get... UV cable braid for PSU UV molex's - I haven't decide what color(s) look best with the blue glow yet, so your opinion is appreciated -What I am running... K7N2 Delta Athlon 2600+XP some odd brand 333mhz ram ATI 9700Pro - ati rocks btw Vantec 520W PSU Western Digital 100 gig + 40 gig hard drives 52X used cdrom 12x used burner
Oh another question for more experience modder's out there... Should I drill my Fan holes first then tint the plexi? or vica versa?
in my opinion i would tint all 4 sides the same color or fade, then take the top and bottom and either leave them clear, or tint them a completely different fade or color. what would be really cool would be to fade the front panel one way then fade the back panel the exact opposite way, i think it would look really really cool
What do you guys think? Fade to black for the name of the case. And then the tinting will go from red up to black on the sides and then the top will be tinted all black. Good idea? Or should I go Blue to black since my theme inside is mostly UV blue?
Awesome work so far! Like Jesse said, drill your holes first, then tint. Also, I'd tint the bottom for one reason: most tint is scratch resistant, so it'll help keep your plexiglas on the bottom from getting all scratched up! As for a fan on the bottom: depending on where you place it, it can help get airflow under your 9700. With your case being on your desk though, I'd be concerned about paper getting sucked into the fan and blocking airflow entirely. With a low speed fan, this shouldn't be a problem! SharkBait
1st i`d tint the bottom also - i`m just a perfectionist when i build something and if you were to add case feet in the future it would give that extra visual candy touch. as for the tinting - as Jesse said, holes first tinting later, i would tint a faiding blue or black - seems to go nice with wood - you can play with the fading directions to get a nice effect of the surfaces meeting... as for fans placement - i wouldn`t opt for so much fans - one 120mm (not a noisy one) on top - exhaust - and you can make it`s grill into something interesting, and one intake perhaps close to a h.d or the cpu/psu - cools just as good though i`ve been having arguments over this with lots of people - fact is i`m getting better temps then them (and i have the most dreadful cable assortment in my case EVER) i would also make some intake holes in the bottom perhaps in a hexagon pattern perhaps... anyways - nice router work - not everyone knows but some of them are tough to control!
Blue to black was what I was thinking cause I didn't want colors to clash so much, I will get my color contrast from inside the case. bottom and top will be tinted black. looking into 120mm uv reactive fans tommorrow I'm tired. -Raging_Cantelope PS- Anyone know how to change your name? Thanks for the compliments. heh if you like woodworking you'll be jealous of my tools. I'm a big fan of Incra jigs if you can't tell, 1000th of an inch accuracy
nice work, where in Anchorage are you, i'm in chugiak, about 20mi north. that looks like a nice shop you got there keep up the good work -glenn
My uncle Tom Cyrus is a school teacher in a village just north of anchorage, though you guys prolly don't know him. Hey man, great job with the wood working!
all i can say is are you a professional? that`s quite a setup - here that would cost too much for me to own not to mention your working space... yep jealous is definitely the right word here and i don`t think you can change your username - not sure though, but i don`t think i`ve seen any frum setup flexible enough for that...
It is actually my fathers shop, he does it for a hobby so he has been building it up cause all he wants to do when he retires it woodworking. Lately we have been refinishing his house in oak, molding trim, panels, doors, etc... it is starting to look really nice. BTW - I have access to this shop cause I help my father, I am a poor college student so, well you know, ya take what you can.
