Scratch Build – In Progress Dual PC case MK3.

Fixed.

 

Blame the america, don't an american. I guess that's right on the other side of the pond.

And to stay in the topic: UPDATES PLS!?!

 

I know - hence the "naughty" smiley!

 

Thanks slugbug.

Cheapskate: I did try to use as much alu as I could from the previous
builds and also what was laying around, but this only amounted to a
small percentage of what was needed.


As the internal metal work is largely done (only the doors and breakout
box to make) a few little things needed doing.......


Pretty straight forward really, install filter and fans in the bottom of the
case. At the moment only the two fans will go in until all the hardware is
installed and a temp test can be done to see whether everything is OK
or, some more cooling needs to be added.





Thats my daughter trying to get to shiny stuff.



Next installing the baffle/top cover to the case.
I haven't got a clue as to how high I should mount the top, except of coarse
how it looks. So the maximum height is limited to what I consider looks OK.
And the maximum height is 15mm. Now hopefully when this thing is running
and the temps permit, then it would be great if the top could be lowered a little,
I'm still not happy with it being this high.

3mm brackets were cut and drilled and the height was marked with double
sided tape to make locating and drilling easy.

 

that last pic looks awesome. this case is coming along really nicely.

you should paint the standoffs for the baffle black so they're a little less visible.

 

Thanks supertoad., and that's a good idea. Will do.

 

What materials/techniques are you using to sand/polish the AL pieces?

Keep up the great work!

 

Anything that has scuffing or deep scratches is hit with wet 600,800,1200 and 2000.
Some parts like the fan shroud and inside front panel are also polished with cloth wheels
and compound. Other parts in really good condition are gently rubbed down with soapy
steel wool and buffed.

 

Hm. Looking at that last picture, you might want to put some black mesh between the top and the baffle, to make it less "open"? Not sure how to say it. Along with painting/anodizing those supports, as previously mentioned by Supertoad.

All in all, very nice though. Top class work.

 

I think you said it plain as day., yeah stuff could easily fall in, but I
need to wait until the height of the top is finally determined before
this area can be protected.

 

looking very nice ! I love that alu-thing.

 

Thanks Walley., I don't know if this is good or bad, you seem to like
every project here.

 

This case is absolutely stunning. The engineering style is great. Find a problem, find a fix.

Good work. Bookmarked!

 

Thanks AlexB.,


It's time to start the breakout box.

Because I wanted the case to look like a nondescript piece
of furniture and not really like a pc case, there are no openings
for drives or fans or switches etc.
The two pc's will be controlled from a box on my desk. This will
house power and reset switches and a DVD burner for each pc.
I don't need to worry about USB as the pc 1 has USB in the
monitor and pc 2 will have a hub until I get new monitors with
USB.

For the box I will use the TOP of an external drive case for the
BOTTOM of the control box.

So I need to make up wood sides and a sliding top.
Some grooves are routed into the sides.







And some plywood is cut for the slide.







I didn't have a piece of Jarrah wide enough for the top so...







Then some material needed to be removed from the top to fit between the sides.



Then the top was glued to the plywood.



And it's OK.

 

The doors have been a problem because I just couldn't settle
on a design or materials. But after considering many options
I settled on the "simplest is best" thing.

So it's some more Jarrah....









As I said many ideas for designs were considered but I settled on a simple
raised center panel with no other adornments.....











So now I need to sand and spray the doors about 6 or 7 times (I'll know when it's right)
and fit them to the case.
Meanwhile I've played around with the hardware and got both pc's working in the
case, I'm writing this on one.

Here are some pic's of hardware before it went in. (will show you the lot in the case
in a couple of days).

So this is what I'm up to, posts from now on will be in real time and
should slow down a bit.

Thanks for looking.

I love these motherboard trays.

 

boooo.


it's too bad you aren't using that lighter-colored wood on the project. the contrast between it and the deep red is really cool.
still looks incredible though. great work so far, i can't wait for the next update.

 

That wood (Meranti) just doesn't have the beautiful figure of the Jarrah.
I'm almost done applying the finish to the doors and you will see how beautiful
this wood is. Thanks supertoad.

 

I never saw this topic before, but just skimmed through it and it looks amazing! I really like the finish of the alu, is that just a clear coat of varnish or something?

 

Thank you brinkzOr.,
There is no coating on the alu, I expect it to go dull over time
and accumulate fingerprints.
Also, and this is being very objective, none of the alu in my case
comes even close to your PSU surround, in my case there is just a lot of it
with parts reflecting off each other.

 

Ok that's a surpise, no coating I really like the looks of it, so I wouldn't change it. Not every case needs polished stuff