First of all, thank you to my Sponsor Thermaltake. They make awesome stuff and have used their stuff before, so check them out when looking to build or upgrade a new rig. Hi all, I am new here and new to modding. I have always wanted t make a PC case out of wood but, instead of using solid timber, I am using MDF in this mod. I am using the metal frame of an old case I have, and plan to fix the MDF to the frame (haven't quite worked out the details of that yet). I am planning on carving the MDF based on one of my designs that has a Celtic Knot influence. I use the software AutoCAD to draw the design, then print out A4 sheets and stick them together so I have a 1:1 scale of the design that I can use as a template. Day 1 This is the old case. This is the design printed out onto 3 A4 sheets that are taped together. This is some scrap MDF I have that I will use for the front panel of the case. I will need to get more MDF to finish the case for the top and sides. Some music to Mod by Tools I am using for the carving Here I am using a glue stick on the back of the design which I then stick onto the MDF board. Once the design is stuck to the MDF, I then start scribing/cutting over the lines of the pattern. These are called stop cuts, as they stop you carving beyond the line. After making the cuts, I can then peel off the paper and I am left with the cuts. Starting to carve What I have managed to carve today. Day 2 Here is a picture of day 2 of the PC case mod Day 3 I have pretty much finished the carving of the front panel, just need to sand it a bit. I have cut out the panel for the DVD burner. The dvd burner will be behind a MDF panel which I haven't cut out yet. And here is the front panel leaning against the case Day 4 So far today I have just sanded the front panel and applied a finish to it. I used acrylic paint and linseed oil to get an aged look. I then wiped off the excess oil and paint with a rag. I thought the next step might be to look at the wiring as I haven't quite worked out how I am going to do it. I also need to reslove how I am going to create a button for the DVD burner to open. I have made a hole but haven't worked out the details. I also need to work out how to attach the drive door to the panel. Anyway, here are the latest pics - the first pic doesn't really show the true colour of the finish. This is the front panel leaning against the case. This shows the actual colour much better. I still need to cut out MDF for the side panels and the top. Here is a quick photo taken with LED's in place. The orange light will actually be red but i didn't have a spare red LED handy - I'll have to clean the shed to find the bag of them. I purchased 1000 LED's for $30 online a few years ago as it was cheaper than buying them seperately at Dick Smith Electronics - for $30 at Dick Smith, I could only buy 9 LED's - what a rip off. I will post more as I get the wiring sorted.
Now that's pretty It would really top it off if you extended the them to the shape of the case - A bit late now but maybe for your next build
Also With alot of Celtic designs being wrought in metal or carved in stole - a silver birch finish would look fantastic I really like this - I can't wait to see it finished
I haven't seen a good bas relief log in a while. I like what you've done so far. I was trying to set up a machine engraving like this not to long ago. The infite-line nature of the designs doesn't play well in CAD.
Thanks everyone for the compliments. Day 6:Today I have started on the top panel. I have the panel already cut out and have started the carving. I have also cut out a hole for the 120mm fan that will be fixed below. Day 7:Today I finished carving the top panel and also stained it. I still might need to sand around the fan cutout as it's a bit rough. Below finished panel Acrylic paint spread all over the panel roughly Linseed oil poured and mixed over panel with brush. The oil allows the paint to blend nicely over the surface and also helps to get into small spaces. After staining the top panel, I noticed that the top and side panel are a significantly different shade. I used the same paint and technique so I think that because the front panel is older, the paint has had longer to penetrate the mdf and make it darker....I hope so anyway. Below is the case with the front and side panels. I haven't drilled holes for the screws to fix the top panel yet, and I also need to cut the metal from the original case for the fan.
Day 9: So today I have started carving one of the side panels. I drilled some ventilation holes in the panel - not sure if they will be very effective though.
I honestly didn't think for one second that you would get anything like that kind of quality from carving MDF, some great skills being shown there just to keep MDF behaving during anything other than sawing. I think the holes would work but not very well unless you could reduce the thickness of the wood at their location so it's more of a mesh rather than several small tubes (if that makes any sense). I can imagine that being very difficult though. Have you considered the possibility of making your own mesh covering for larger holes from something like Rattan or similar to keep the style and keep the ability to stain it? You never know, it could work. Either that or get a hold of some thin MDF or maybe even hardboard and make a perforated cover to your own design We will watch your progress with great interest
Awesome skill with the carving! love it! and just as throbbi said, i did NOT think you could do that in mdf! very suprising! +rep!
Thanks everyone for the compliments and comments. Thanks Throbbi for the suggestions, I am contemplating the idea of the mesh as you suggested. Day 10: Today I finished off carving the side panel which was starting t become a chore due to it's size. I was looking at ways to fix the side panel so came up with the idea of fixing a strip of aluminium to the existing case edges. I bought pop rivet gun to help with this and it is awesome. You can see the rivets in the next 2 pics. Top In the next 2 pics, you can see the side panel leaing against the case after I stained it. The colour doesn't match as it seems to take a couple of days for final colour to come out. I think it has something to do with the linseed oil darkeing the mdf. I am thinking of putting the side panel on the other side of the case so I can perhaps put a mesh vent on the main access side. Just have to buy some more aluminium strip.
That sounds like a plan to me I was just looking at it and thinking that for some better ventilation (asusming some kind of perforated covering can be sourced/made) you could perhaps make holes as a part of the design. Something like this... Of course this is your project, it's just what my mind instantly thought of and i thought i would pass it on. It doesn't happen very often but every now and then there's an idea or two in there lol Still great work and i think you might be right about the oil, give it a day or so.
