Hey guys. Im a really big fan of loads of mods on Bit-tech esp. classics like Orac 3 or more recent ones by Darkened, Modsquad, Franklin to name a few guys who have caught my eye. I regularly check the forums and eagerly anticipate updates to project logs by the many skilled modders who post here. A lot of mods here go for the bling factor using chrome, flourescent plexi etc. Although these look stunning - "it just aint my style". I am a simple man who likes simple things. A good looking, minimalist but functional (some of the mods on here must be a nightmare to keep clean! ) case is what i was after. Hence my project log on Apple Core Duo. Pic of the Day (28th October 2008): Complete at last Like Mr Bean in his Project Bad Apple i have always loved the look of the Apple G5 case. I used to keep my eye open on Ebay just in case one of them was going cheaply and about 3 months ago one caught my eye... About 1000 screws and bolts later i managed to get the outercage off. As anyone who has tried to mod a G5 can tell you, the guys who designed this case REALLY didnt want you to take it apart. My mind soon went to work on what i wanted this to look like. As the mod's title hints at its going to be a Core Duo system (any better play on words for Apple Core most welcome! ). Specs: Asus P5B Deluxe Intel Core2Duo E6400 2 x 1Gb Crucial DDR2 Tenth Anniversary PC5300 Thermochill PA120.2 Rad CPU block - Undecided (possibly the AquaXtreme MP-05 PRO Limited Edition) Rough layout plan: This would mean changing the back plate. I quickly got my hands on a Lian Li removeable motherboard tray but had to figure a way to mount it without messing with the fantastic aesthetics of the case. Pic of the mobo resting inside the case with the rad at the front - plenty of room for watercooling. Phase 1 - Case Rear In other G5 mods that i have seen most people choose to bolt/rivet a PC motherboard tray onto the rear of the case. I wanted a more seamless look so as not to ruin the case's great aesthetics. I finally settled on using a metallic epoxy putty to bind the motherboard tray to the case and then sand it down and respray the case. Some work was needed. Taped it out first: After doing a rough cutout, this is what i was hoping the rear to resemble: Took the mobo tray apart and trimmed the sides: Now what i thought would be the fun bit... how wrong i was. Initially i made the mistake of mixing the whole rod of putty in one go... the intense heat that was generated made it solidify within seconds. So armed with my second stick i made an effort to slowly attach the backplate to the case. I wasnt too fussy about how messy it looked as i will be sanding it down later... and re-drilling some of the holes. Final result: Thats all i managed to get done in one day in my living room (no great worksheds like some folk here ). Plans are to slowly work on this when i get the time - hopefully i will be able to update this log weekly. Any comments, suggestions, constructive criticism welcome. Cyp.
no offense but this is rly rly "similar" to the bad apple. however, if ur inspired i like apple mods, so ill b following
Yeah, i know it is but i started it without knowing about Bad Apple. Mr Bean even posted in my other thread that i had started in the Modding forum when i posted for ideas. Lets see how they pan out though. I have the feeling they will be quite different.
zhangmaster12 - that would be the two reactants working together. i assume it's two part putty Cyprio? BTW, good start. might be a mod worth watching...
no offense but he rly rly has no choise bcuz he has 2 a standrd mobo pl8 at the back so he can use an atx setup, k lozlzozlzolz Anyway dude, it's looking very nice at the moment. I'm hoping you'll file back the putty that covered the perforated metal, yes? Don't want to take away that entire look. xD
Tkdwwarrior - yeah two part stuff. The aluminium stuff here I think the more you mix together the more heat and quicker it solidifies. Duste - yeah i will definitely be filling it all away (and trying to smooth out the inside as well) and will be re-drilling the holes that are filled. I put quite a lot of it on as i wanted a strong bond. Any recommendatuions for sanding? I was going to try and use the attachments on my dremmel and see how easy that is. Was wondering if anyone knows of any really tough sandpaper that is used on metals?
Cheers for the advice hydro. I found some 150 paper lying around in my tool box so thought id take the rough off for starters... As you can see the epoxy putty is quite dry and im afraid it might be too brittle. What do you guys think about covering the joint with a thin layer of epoxy glue and then sanding that down as well? I was thinking it might make the join even smoother.
Yeah, I warned Bean that if he didn't finish it I'd slap him. Also, if you're worried about the Epoxy being too brittle, possibly just put more there. As in, see the perforated metal, just make it go out for another row; that should give it enough strength.
There really is no great way to Glue thins heet metal together only welding. Maybe try brazing it. I actually think that coudl work quite well. Consider that shouldn't cost more then $40 to get a mapp gas torch and some brazing rods.
Brazing is where two similar metals are joined using an alloy that melts belong the temperture of the metals being joined. Bike frames are joined together by the method of brazing. Soldering is a method of brazing. Bondo only looks good once painted over so i wouldn't use it. so with this project i would get a company to tig weld the aluminium for me. * also you could just rivet the backplate into the case giving a nice finish and smooth look. i believe the smooth head rivet would be best. *
