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Project "Got Milk?" UPDATE 23/12 Finnished just in time for Christmas

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Constructacon, 31 Oct 2004.

  1. Constructacon

    Constructacon Constructing since 1978

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    No he doesn't yet (I can't wait for the look of surprise). Everyone esle does though. My brother is at uni still (only works part time) and is currently looking to buy his first car so his spare fundometer is a little on the low side. This is also the reason I have tried to leave everything as versatile as possible.

    Anyway, his birthday is in February next year so more presents for him:clap:. You never know - he may have this computer together sooner than he thinks.
     
  2. greywolf

    greywolf What's a Dremel?

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    [offtopic]Thanks! Flat topped building after a rainstorm at sunset and me. No photoshopping (except to darken up me).[/offtopic]
     
    Last edited: 19 Nov 2004
  3. greywolf

    greywolf What's a Dremel?

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    He's going to be blown away! So your supplying the case, PSU, CD, HD (?) and lighting effects and then he (or others as gifts) are supplying the mobo, CPU and RAM? No wonder your making this so flexible! I have it easy, I know what's going to go in mine, you have to design for any possibility. Good Job!
     
  4. Constructacon

    Constructacon Constructing since 1978

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    Thanks.:D Please keep the feedback and suggestions flowing. This thread is also part of his present as well as the actual case. I'd like him to know how you feel and ways I could improve what I'm doing.

    Him or others to supply the HD. I just don't have the available funds to buy most of the hardware. For this project for pretty much everything I've had to buy, I've had to buy about 5-10 times more than I need. But the overall effect will be worth the time, effort and cost.

    I absolutely love how this project is comming and my brother and I have such similar tastes in most areas it's scary. Hmmmmm. On second thoughts, maybe I don't need to leave flexibility for pentium after all.
     
  5. Constructacon

    Constructacon Constructing since 1978

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    Painting is very slow going so I thought I'd post a few pics of how things are progressing. I tried to sand a run in the paint this morning which was painted 6 days ago. Under the surface the paint was still soft :wallbash:

    [​IMG]
    Here is the first coat of paint on the outside. See what I mentioned before about the paint pulling in on itself to reveal the undercoat. Subsequent coats of paint remedied this.

    [​IMG]
    "Never again." Remember when I said that before. Painting the underside of this crate is just too difficult with a brush. So here's my solution. Able to withstand temperatures of several hundred degrees celsius. If we approach these temps I think we will have some serious problems on our hands. :)

    [​IMG]
    This shows the underside filled in. I still will go over the edges of all the webs with the hammertone as it is a much harder industrial paint and is less likely to wear off. The paint isn't an exact match in colour, but as the bottom will hardly ever get seen I don't think it's too much of a problem.

    [​IMG]
    This is approaching where we are currently at. The painting is almost done, but this stage will take the longest - going over every square inch of this box to make sure that it all has a nice coverage. I still have to do the underside of the box. As it turns out the nicest side is the inside, which is a real shame as most of this will get covered up soon.

    Advice to anyone considering using hammertone in the future: This paint gives a really cool effect but make sure you are painting on large or convex surfaces. Trying to paint into litte recesses is a right pain to get even coverage. It can be done with persistance as I have found out, but it takes a LOT of persistance.
    /advice

    I started to cut our the acrylic sheets to be used as the walls. All carfully measured out and started to cut with a jigsaw. I cut about 2cm in and then *CRACK* :wallbash: I've pulled the pin on this bit until I can find a "safe" way to cut these sheets.

    [​IMG]
    Not to let this material go to waste I thought I'd try out what I plan on doing in the window. Please excuse the crappy pic as the camera I'm using is very limited in features and doesn't have a macro function (but does a great job for what I paid for it - ie loaner from friend. Thanks Pete :thumb: ). With the protective sheets on the acryilic I just freehanded some text in reverse on the back and then :dremel: I'm really happy with the effect - not the text obviously as that was just a test. I haven't found the font I want to use for the text yet. The acrylic is standing in front of a dark book so you can see the text.

    [​IMG]
    Here is the power switch and the reset switchall wired up. Curse these crappy pics.

    I've also started to paint the IO plate and mobo tray. More on that next time. Until then, happy modding. :thumb:
     
  6. Gumbatron

    Gumbatron What's a Dremel?

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    If you have a small angle grinder, I found that works well :dremel: :jawdrop: .
    Kind of like a hot knife through butter.
     
  7. porkashi

    porkashi What's a Dremel?

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    looking good,
    good to see seom more aussie modders :rock:
    if you try painting again try using the export spray paint you get from supercheap auto, its only like 2.70 a can and give quite good results :) jsut remember to do a coat of primer first so the paint will stick to the plastic.

    otherwise its looking good, you brothers quite lucky to have you going to all of this effort for him :thumb:
     
  8. luvbug

    luvbug What's a Dremel?

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    Milk Stealthing Techniques

    Nice project and idea! It's looking really good.

    I had an idea or 2 about how you can cover the insides of the crate and 'stealth' it all.... [crappiest explanation EVER] Get a picture of a crate with milk in it, put that on the inside of the plexi, Paint the sillhouette of the milk bottles black, so no light shines through, and the rest of the plexi white so it's translucent and light will shine through... This way, it'll look like it's full of milk bottles in normal light, but when it's dark, you can turn the lights on inside the crate and the milk bottles will be sillhouetted... like there's actually milk still in the crate..
    [/crappiest explanation EVER]

    Also, cut the tops off however many milk bottles (or similar bottles) you'd need to fill the crate, and glue them to a plexi tray that sits on top of everything (inside the crate). So even when looking at the crate from the top, it appears to be full of milk bottles.

    sorry for such a lengthy idea, MOD ON BRO! :dremel:

    milk stealth......heh

    luvbug
     
  9. greywolf

    greywolf What's a Dremel?

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    I had the same experience with my jig-saw. If I used a metal blade it would just melt the plexi, if I used a wood blade, it would cut fine for a while then *snap* the pexi would crack. I now cut all my plexi with a hack saw, it does a great job...bit slow...but a great job. I've also heard of people who have good luck with scoring the pexi and snapping it at the score, but I haven't tried that myself. Finally the slowest, messiest and most inaccurate way is with a router bit on the dremel, using several passes to cut 1/8" pexi.

    Your case is looking good, hopefully the paint will dry by xmas! Great job with the "Got Milk" type. Consider using a bold face san serif for the type (example=Arial Black), to mimic the commercials.
     
  10. zukworld

    zukworld What's a Dremel?

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    another way to cut plexi


    I worked with a lot of plexi when I used to build scenery for TV commercials. The best way to cut straight lines is with a table saw or a circular saw, and a very sharp, carbide tippped blade. This works great. If you do use a jig saw, you want fairly big teeth on the blade, and a medium speed. You should be able to find a "sweet spot" by varying the saw speed, the teeth per inch of the blade, and how fast you try to feed the saw thru the material. Some people swear by using a little kerosene on the cut line to lubricate the blade. I never found it to make much difference. If we were cutting curved parts, we would make a template out of MDF, rough cut the plexi with a jigsaw, then use a router with a guide bearing and the template to trim the plexi to its final shape.

    If you use the dremel and router bit, be sure to clamp a straightedge (or board) to the piece to guide the tool. (Clamp it to the piece you want to save, and it will also protect from accidentally cutting or gouging your finished piece.)

    No matter which method you use, you will have to do at least some sanding or filing to clean up the edges.

    Two last notes (sorry this is so long.) Be careful when cutting plexi. Industrial folklore has it that the sort of almond-y smell of heated plexi is arsenic gas. I don't know if that's actually true, but nothing that comes from heated plastic can be GOOD for you, so wear a solvent rated respirator or be sure you have a good supply of fresh air. And second, don't use solvents like acetone or MEK to clean plexi. The cutting process creates tiny cracks near the edges of the piece, and the solvents can cause those cracks to grow and show up visibly. Also don't use glass cleaners that contain ammonia. It will cause yellowing and fine crazeing over time.

    Cool project by the way!
     
  11. SpeedFreak

    SpeedFreak What's a Dremel?

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    Nice project mate - keep it up!

    out of interest, whereabouts in brisbane are ya? i used to live in indooropilly, western suburbs.

    Cheers
     
  12. greywolf

    greywolf What's a Dremel?

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    Only 16 days till Christmas! Has there been some progress? Would you like to share :D ?
     
  13. Constructacon

    Constructacon Constructing since 1978

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    :blush: Welllllllll. Yes and no. Times have been tumultuous here. The ex-GF moved out,I crashed the car and am trying to get the house in order (Ha! Fat chance :D)

    Got Milk? moves forward slowly. The painting of the crate is completed. I have repaired the mobo tray (remembe the fatal first cut?). This was done with rivets, bog and a lick of white paint in the end. Mobo tray and IO ports have been screwed into place. I have cut out one sheet (to line the inside walls of the crate) and gave it a test paint of white and I wasn't entirely happy with the result. I am having a rethink on the colour sceme at the moment. I am giving consideration to the idea of having tinted acrylic filling all the holes, but it doesn't seem "milky" enough for me. I'm torn between what would look uber cool and staying true to the theme.

    Comments or suggestions anyone. (Sorry no pic today as the borrowed camera from a friend was reclaimed - will try to borrow another this weekend and then photo update.)

    PS. Thanks to greywolf for reminding me how little time I have left. :sigh: Time to motor.
     
  14. Wrigley1

    Wrigley1 What's a Dremel?

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    Wow. As soon as I opened this thread andsaw the milk crate, I thought it was going to be awful, because, quite frankly, the red crate was butt ugly. But, add a little paint and some effort and ChristmaHannaKwanzikah cheer... and it looks great! Good job so far!
     
  15. Protius-X

    Protius-X What's a Dremel?

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    I bags a bread crate mod!
     
  16. greywolf

    greywolf What's a Dremel?

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    Tell ya what, I've decided that my project needs to be done by Xmas (otherwise it will just keep going on and on) so...I'll race you. First one to post the completed PC wins! You up for the challenge?
     
  17. Tidy_Sammy

    Tidy_Sammy What's a Dremel?

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    Looking good mate, I like the idea, I'm sure your brother will be very proud :D
     
  18. Constructacon

    Constructacon Constructing since 1978

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    /me goes and checks out the progress on Pinky2 to see if he stands a chance.....

    J/K. You're on. Nothing like a little fun competition. :dremel:
     
  19. greywolf

    greywolf What's a Dremel?

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    Ready...set...mod!!
     
  20. |I.H|

    |I.H| What's a Dremel?

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    really nice mod :thumb:
     

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