Project: Transparent Tower 95% DONE UPDATE

Well it all depends on what you are using to cut it first off. I have used a plywood table saw blade and a jigsaw. Both cut pretty well. Then I have sanded using 600, 800, then 1200 grit sandpaper using a flat block to hold the sandpaper so you get a good flat edge. However, I have read that you don't want to sand any edge that will be solvent welded too smooth as the adhesive won't have anything to "grab" to. If you are using 1/4" thick plexi, I really doubt you want to use screws. You should find a better way to bond the two pieces if your current method isn't working.

Tonight I will be doing the final pieces of installation of the case. I will also be working on extending the psu wires. That should be loads of fun. I'll try and post more images tonight.

 

getting better and better

hoping to see the end-result soon

hppy modding

 

sorry to hijack the post but to help with the question of preping as close to clear edges for gluing on plexiglas you can simply sandwich the plexi between two pieces of wood the same length as the plexi, or better even if you have some available use metal angle stock. As long as you clamp down the metal or wood parallel to one another you can then sand the edge of the plexi until it is flush with the wood or metal and voila! you have nice straightened plexi edges that, as long as you use 400 grit or finer sand paper, will be almost invisible to the eye once glued and will also bond superbly.

Again, sorry for the hijack.

Great case design! Can't wait to see how it comes out finished with components fully installed.

 

Well I ran into a little problem last night. While mounting everything in the cabinet I realized I forgot to take into account the heatsink and fan on the cpu. Unfortunately, it doesn't allow the drive cage to fit into place. So, I will have to make some adjustments tonight and see what I come up with. I may have to cut a small piece out of the drive cage side, we'll see.

On another note, I did get most of the wires from the psu lengthened. I am still working on the atx cable right now and will finish it tonight.

 

Well, ran into a bigger snag last night. Apparently my wiring on the power supply wasn't as good as I thought. When I tried to fire everything up, there was a spark and a pop. If I'm lucky I just fried the psu and nothing else. I'll get another one today and we'll see what I've got.

 

Ouch, not good. Have you tried to start the psu without it being connectedto the motherboard (i think its short the green wire to ground, google that). THen if it does start, you could test the pins with a multimeter to check for voltages, and see if everythings ok. Me thinks your hoping your motherboard is still good.

 

Yep, quite good to chek the psu before operation, when dealing with some wiring, because many, i mean many have fried whole lot of things, by a really little mistake, including me - i got rid of one motherboard too by accidently switching two wires. Better safe than sorry.

Hope everything else works fine...

 

Yeah, I should have tested it that way first. But I am absolutely positive my wiring that goes to the motherboard is correct. I did all those wires one at a time to avoid switching any wires. I think where I went wrong is when I tried to splice several wires to attach to the new led fan in the power supply. I got a new psu today so we'll see what happens when I get home.

 

Well, it was only the power supply that was fried. Hooked it up this evening and everything works fine. Plus I got a better PSU out of the deal. So now I have to get back to finishing the case. Still a few modifications I need to make.

 

Lookin good, keep it up. What are the Hard Ware specs for the computer?

 

It's an AMD XP 3000+, Asus mobo, 512mb ram, lite on dvd+rw drive, 160 gb HD, CDRom drive. That's the basics.

 

Ok. I've had to make some cut outs in the side of the drive cage that faces the mobo to allow for cables, future graphics card, etc. During all this the audio/usb ports came off their mounting piece so I have to s-weld it back on and then I should be in business. I also have to extend the wires on the new psu. Other than that and some other little detail items, I am pretty close.

 

quiet nice project log !

pleased to see it finished

best regards from germany

TrOuble

 

This is looking sweet! Nice sketchup pics too.

 

Thanks for the compliments everyone. I have a couple of pics to upload tonight. I am very close to being done for the most part. The first pic shows the case lit up in the dark. I was hoping the led fans would give it enough light but I think I am going to have to add some additional lighting.



Can't really see much in that pic. Here is one with the flash.



This one shows a little more. I still need to extend and sleeve the power cables and then mount the psu and I am pretty much done except for lighting and small details.

 

It came out very nice. Will you be using dye in the water when you get a water cooling system. If so, will it be teh colour to suit the lighting.

 

I have no idea on water cooling. I haven't even thought about doing that yet and it will be awhile before I even start to think about it. I'm not done yet so the project will look better when I'm done...hopefully in the next week.

 

Well, tonight I tried to mod my bulgin switch by putting a white led in. Result...bulgin is pretty much dead! Seems that once you get the insides out, they aren't going back in. Oh, and for those that are curious, it's a 3mm led in there.

So other than that, nothing much to report tonight. Guess I'll have to get another switch. I may just go for a non-illuminated switch so I can have the color led I want.

 

Call Bulgin, tell them some punk vandalized your switch. Sound angry, but polite. Say "I thought these were vandal proof!"

Nice plexi work, this is going to look awesome when finished!

 

Eh, it's no big deal. I'll just get one that is non-illuminated. That way I don't have to try to mod it again to switch the lights. Thanks for the compliment.