nice start button i can't wait to see how this turns out! it has industrial "kick-a$$" written all over it. lets see some updates! ^^
I've done a bit more work. Still cant upload pics though. I'm too lazy to install 2000, and only have 15 days left to activate XP. Snip, no mention of that in here, you have now been warned - Xen0phobiak but again, too lazy to install it. In the meantime, I've cut the boards to create the "floor" and "roof" of the enclosure, and cut a hole in the "roof" for the LED strobe light. I also have hit a mental block in terms of layout design. I still have that huge 170mm hockey table fan, and plan to use it, but I have no idea where to install it for proper ventilation. I'm limited to placement because of the strobelight in the roof and my optical drives location beneath. I need to figure something out. I look at the window and think that it's TOO big. I know that it's not, because i will have 2 mobos inside. It's just frustrating to get that feeling out of my head. I'll try and get pics soon though. No work today though. 6 inches of snow has fallen and my snowboard is yelling at me to take it out.
Currently on vacation from work this week. I wish I was flying somewhere south for the next 7 days, but since I have to buy a computer next week, I figured I’d get some work done on the case. I know some of you have been waiting awhile for this, and I appreciate your patience and those of you who have offered advice to me on a personal level the past few weeks. You know who you are. Monday: Pics 1 and 2: Hinges mounted and tested. Everything is OK. Pics 3 to 8: The “roof” cut for the strobe light, brackets attached, and testing for fit. Strobe plugged in. Pics 9 to 14: Interior “floor” cut. The floor piece is the front window cutout. Foil-effect duct tape covers the exposed sections of the particle board. I did the same with the edges of the “floor” and “roof”, since it shows on the outside.
OMG!!!!!! My sides hurt from reading this! You, my man, are a frikken GENIUS at log writing! Your mod looks kickin too! I cant wait to see the progress and the finished mod! Will truly be a unique and interesting mod!
Wow that's really ermm.... big Keep going and I'll be reading this one.. looks promosing so far -aevi
Tuesday: Today started off with some bitch work. I have 2 fluorescent light diffuser panels. Cut those up to cover the slits in the penthouse and basement sections of the tower, since transparent acrylic would be a waste because you don’t need to see inside. The panels are very brittle, I cracked more than a few pieces cutting them to size. Contact cement used to secure it in place. Now I wanted to use the old Dell power supply to make a tester, and looked up some guides online on how to do it. Figures Dell uses their own PSU, and not something industry-standard. A few online guides on the wiring details mention splicing the green wire to any black ground wire. This Dell PSU doesn’t have a green wire. So after tonnes of Googling and finding nothing, I trashed it. Gonna pick up a cheap one at Active Surplus Wednesday. I didn’t get as much done today, which ticks me off. I could have done more, but I had no money til Wednesday and I need supplies for this case. 120mm fans, Dremel cutting discs, etc. So the bulk of Wednesday was a shopping day in downtown Toronto. Wednesday: Shopping spree at Canadian Tire and Active Surplus. $150 bucks got me less than what I thought $150 bucks would get me. 450w ATX PSU, two 120mm 12vDC fans (3500rpm/130cfm), Bondo repair kit (I just need a bit, but this was the smallest they had), digital multimeter, 3” holesaw, 2 more hinges, some Dremel discs, couple of alligator clips, and some model paint (for touch ups and painting screws etc.) Tester PSU: I know it’s a simple thing, but I need it. And it works… =) Back to the case. I used the 3” holesaw to cut 2 holes for the red LED exhaust fans above the mobos. I wanted to make 2 vents at the top of the case for the 120mm fans, but the fans are slightly smaller than the square that could be cut. I was going to work on that part next, but a nasty headache came on and I stopped work for the next few hours. I tried plugging in one of the 120mm fans into the controller, but it didn’t work. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the 3-pin connector was wired wrong. Just had to splice the red wire onto the white and vice-versa. Works fine now. It is loud on max voltage, but I’m not one for a super-quiet system anyways. Nobody can tell you that the sound of computer fans annoy them when they have the volume cranked on their 5.1 surround sound during a firefight in Enemy Territory. I’m done for the night. Look for another update Friday.
Thursday and Friday: Began work on the case cutting the square intakes for the 120mm fans. Next was cutting the aluminum L channel piece that will be mounted on the inside next to the window. I need this piece because I have a key displaycase lock. (pictures in the future will make more sense.) Mounted aluminum: And it’s beginning to take shape…. Earlier in the day I painted the ceiling with a “hammered-metal” finish spraypaint by Rust-Oleum. The stuff looks awesome, I’m considering buying numerous cans and doing the whole case with it. Roof shot with the red LED fans… Next morning I painted the buttons for the Control Panel. Cut 2 small wood blocks and contact cemented them to the back of the control panel so the fan controller could attach to something, and then put the thing together. Ate lunch and downed a couple bottles of Steamwhistle, then tackled the mesh for the 120mm intake vents. The metal was unusual…cutting it with the reinforced disc caused the metal to actually glow redhot and started to melt my disc. But I got it all cut and mounted. Mesh contact cemented and gluegunned to the inside. Started working on the door drivebays. 2 optical drives will be mounted and stealthed on each side of the tower. (Two for me, two for her) Got these nice acrylic pieces from work. I cut them to size with the jigsaw. It was part of an Adidas shoe display tower which we threw out, so I grabbed them. Got 4 in total. Two of them I’ll be using to mount the motherboard trays to. That’s all for tonight. Look for another update sometime Sunday evening.
You should laquer the buttons, or otherwise, the paint will wear off... My friend painted his keyboard, and he forgot do laquer it, so now you can see the letters behind the paint
big case = big log? Great idea about saving space in your house. Looks like this could be a really nice one once it's finished. Just remember, the devil is in the details. about the small pushbuttons: what kind are they? I'm looking for something in the same size range for my HTPC front panel control buttons. I would like something that feels like a tactile switch (solid contact feeling but no loud click) instead of a goofy plain pushbutton that doesn't confirm contact. I would also recommend to all concerned investing in a set of unibit (stepped) drill bits. They make holes perfectly round, which neither a standard twist bit nor a dremmel can do. They're a bit pricey (US$15-35) but well worth the results. I've got one that's 1/8"-1/2" in 1/32" increments. Picked it up at harborfreight tools on the cheap. are you considering some additional lighting for the center area? I'm not sure that just strobe/red fan will be enough if you want to display something in there. You can get hockey-puck down lights at most box stores for a decent price. Just make sure you check out the heat/vent issues before installing.
ehrnam45: The small buttons are just basic Radio Shack brand momentary switches. They come in a number of shapes and sizes. Your best bet would be to find a larger store in your area as opposed to some small one as their selection will be better. Believe me, the strobe light is VERY bright. It will light up the inside adequately. Anthony: Good idea, I forgot about that. the GF has lacquer around here somewhere for her paintings. I'll have to find it.
I don’t feel like typing lots tonight, so I’ll just show pictures of my weekend work. Cutting the mobo tray out of the cases I had bought for my dead Wolfenstein case: Trimming the edge of the large drive mounts: Test mounting the drives for stealthing: Drilled holes for mounting front window: I’ve also cut the acrylic for the inside right wall, mounted, and cemented. Also mounted and cemented the mobo tray to the inside right wall as well, but didn’t take pics as it’s under a crapload of books at the moment. I’m back to work tomorrow, so whatever progress I make on the case during the week will be posted Friday night.