Modding Cutting a Chieftec Dragon FULL tower case. Am I doing something wrong?

Hi all

Well, I'm watercooling for the first time here, and I'm trying to do everything properly.

I've got my pump, tubing, radiator, block, fluid etc and now I'm just trying to figure out a way of mounting the radiator.

I've decided that I'm going to have it screwed into the top panel of the case, however, this is where I hit a snag.

the 'top' of said case, appears to be made out of some kind of very very strong steel!

I tried drilling the holes for the fanst first, but eventually the battery on the cordless black and decker ran out from a full charge, it just couldn't cut it.

then I whipped out my dads super old 'made in West Germany' Metabo hammer drill, eventually managed to drill the 8 holes required.

However, now its coming to cutting out the hole for the fan and its looking pretty difficult, I was dremelling away for about 15mins and manage to make a 'scar' on the case about 5 inches long and a cut right the way through about an inch or so of them 5 inches!

what am i doing wrong?!

am i just being impatient, or is there a better way of cutting this damned fan hole?! i'd like to have it all cut today if possible, but unless i can think of a better way of dremelling that thick steel then i'm gna be here all night!

can anyone impart some advice?

by the way, im using one of those reinforced cutting discs with the dremel if it helps at all, and the drill bits i was using were pretty much brand new, and had just been sharpened by my dad at his machine workshop



many thanks

 

you need to let the tools work at there once pace, forcing it will over heat it and potentially break the cutting bit.

Steel is a B**** to cut, nothing new or different in your case. Modern battery powered tools are pretty crap on average when it comes to cutting or drilling steel. Good HSS drill bits also helps alot, cheap ones blunt very quickly and aren't worth the money spent on them.

take your time, especially if its your first time cutting, try to keep the cutting bit cool as possible so a little WD40 to cool as you drill or cut.

A good hacksaw blade will help alot, compared to a dermel, it all honesty there crap for cutting steel, there better at sanding than cutting.

 

hey burnout

many thanks for the reply

well, i've got dad making up a handle for a hacksaw blade that i can rotate properly, so hopefully, i think im going to end up just using a hacksaw to cut the damn stuff!

trying to make the cut look as clean as possible though, and its not really working!

the drill bit i used initially was a POS, managed to get one from my dad that was really high quality, that practically sliced through the steel

part of me is thinking about just literally drilling a series of holes as a template around where im cutting and then just using either the dremel or some tin snips to cut the bit between each hole

ah well, gna mark that up when i get home from uni today, hunting for a suitable grill right now though

cheers

 

That is probably a better idea IMO. Its easier to just sand down a bit than to have to go around cutting the entire thing. Just make sure your drill holes are as close to the line as you can get as this will reduce the amount of sanding.

The dremel should then come into play as with a good emery bit it should chew through the steel pretty good.

 

Steel is far to hard for a dremel to cut to be honest, all it will do is bounce around, make alot of noise and take twice as long compared to a good sharp file and a little hard work.

dremels are toys.

 

That's a joke right?

 

This. I used a Bosch hacksaw with a fine toothed blade when I was modding my Chieftec Dragon back in the day. You'll have to be patient, though. Even with a hacksaw, it will take a while to cut. As mentioned, you just have to let the tool work on its own, without pushing it too hard. Patience is key. Remember to use lots of masking tape.

 

azazel, are you talking about a hacksaw or a jigsaw? hacksaw is a hand tool, jigsaw is a power tool (and awesome).

if you do stick with the dremel, just be patient. it does take a while, especially when cutting curves. i have to concur with burnout though, a dremel is a toy. especially if it's a cordless dremel, they just don't get the RPMs you need to cut through steel.

 

Oh, my bad. Got mixed up, hehe. I meant jigsaw, of course.

 

eh waht?

my dremel does more than well against steel as long as I'm using the fiberglass reinforced cutting bits

 

Aye, I used a jigsaw with a couple of cheap metal cutting blades to cut into the side of my GW-802 case way back when. Drilled a hole for the blade to fit through and it was fairly easy from there. You have to either clamp the metal piece down or sit/kneel on it, else it'll bounce like a kangaroo on a pogo stick.

 

Hi all

well, since my last post i've managed to drill out the template for the blow-hole

i think its around 100 or so little 4mm holes with 1mm gap between, not toooo bad, but not fantastic either

so, my question now my fellow bit-ers, i have managed to acrue a large amount of 'shavings'/bits INSIDE the case, how do i go about removing these?

I was thinking of completely removing all of the wiring (power buttons/led's etc) and just dunking the case in a bath of warmish water?

or should i invest in a can of compressed air?

many thanks

 

shopvac or even a conventional vacuum with a wand attachment will take them right out.

hope to god you weren't cutting with your hardware inside (yes, I've seen that done)

 

shite

knew i forgot something!

lol, nope, the only stuff that remained were the junky fans and the case wiring really, nothing tooo critical!

i think i might be giving it a bath too.lol. and perhaps a good sand down/paint job too maybe, we shall seeee

need to get this damn grill cut out, that'll happen tomorrow im guessing once ive got a scrollsaw blade

cheers

 

make sure you dry it really well or you will have rust issues on the cut edges

 

i was thinking hair-dryer? that ought to do it i reckon

and, most probably, unless i can get a bottle of spray-paint perhaps even a bottle of nail varnish perhaps to cover the edges, was beginning to get a little worried about those edges of bare steel!

cheers

 

A picture says a 1000 words. Show us some pictures

 

well, i've taken a few pictures, can someone guide me in the right direction as to how to upload them? i've never done it before so am clueless to the process!

 

go to www.photobucet.com or www.imageshack.us





^^ Thats how I mounted my BIXII in the front of my Cheiftec...

 

HI all


well, lets try attaching this:




well thats the first one showing the radiator that im gna be attaching

and again below showing the blowhole in a little more detail

should i be using a scroll-saw blade from here then?





Cheers