Scratch Build – Complete GwassGween -FINISHED-Nov13 2013-pics start on page 67

Haven't figured out if we are supposed to look at the stepper motor or the background!

 

@G69T -
@Nutman - Sorry. I'm trying to connect a stepper motor to my rotary table. That way I'll have 4th axis CNC, and I can make a wicked reservoir.

@The rest of you lot - Quit picking on my funky background colors! I had to use something other than white. Translucent white delrin is a beast to photograph.

 

Ok... I have The Ion distraction finished up. I can get back to updating.

-I FINALLY got the top rails sanded and flat enough to glue in position.

-For the bottom rails to fit, I had to glue some extra plastic into the gap. Then I had to sand them until they were level with the case surface. I cheated and used 50 grit to get most of the plastic removed.

I was ready to glue the bottom rails on then. The aluminum bar was used to line up the parts during gluing. It's raised up a bit to keep it out of the solvent. Now that these parts are on the case is very sturdy.

It doesn't seem like much of an update, but there was a lot of work involved there. I'm going to cut out a motherboard tray while it's still warm outside. After that I have to custom-fit each of the bolt cover layers of the frame. I'll be ready for the side panels after that.

Time to flash a thank you to the sponsors.

 

Rain an cold make it tough to get any real work done, so on this project I've been channeling beaver.
...Don't read that the wrong way...

-I had to use an I/O plate to work out where the mobo holes went. This required me to chop the corners. The problem is, I just killed my third Dremel and I only have the Rotozip. It's a bit clunky for this work...

-I was watching carefully, and caught one of these marked down $5. I then slapped a $10 off coupon on the counter. *Bwa! Ha! Ha!* What's my name?
-Anyway... Flex shaft for the rotozip. The only thing wrong with it is that I can't screw my dremel adjustable chuck into it. The threads are inset into the hand grip, and it's too new to modify it.

-I drilled the mobo holes...

-and went postal with the countersink bit. A deep countersink may be the only interesting feature on this side.
Note to self: Add cover holes before gluing!!!!

-That should look good with a mirror polished screw in it.

-I made the second rotary table coupling too. Now I need a motor mount.

-The last parts of the rails were tricky. I had to shave the ends off until they fit perfectly, then I traced the bolt holes. Some people use sharpened bolts, others ketchup. I like to use drafting pencil lead to trace those hard to reach places.

-The traced holes were made real on the mill. (duh.-bad caption...)

-The last step was to drop the nuts in place and glue the part over them. -My seams look like hell, but the frame is complete!

-I filed the excess shim material off first. Those corners sticking out were wicked! I put a bit of electrical tape on the end of the file to keep it from scratching.

-Next, I needed some motherboard spacers. Using blue masking tape glued to wood worked great. These are only 1/2" across, and they didn't come free until I pried them off.

-I found another problem. The mounting point for the riser cards is too high. It looks like I will be making custom backplates for cards in the future. I gotta quit trusting other peoples' measurements! (-like my measurements are any better.)

I have the side panels fitted, sanded, and ready to polish. I'm still prepping the 'ears'.

-The bottom ears are off because of the shim. I'm debating on whether I should make a new set, or round them off to match the frame. If I did that, I would be able to tell which panel went on what side.

-Much love to my sponsors! Remember kiddies: Computer kit makes great stocking stuffers!

 

Yes! An update from the Plexiglass King!
I've been watching this avidly for a while now, first time I commented, though. Very nice ears

On a different note, I've not seen a computer that fits in a stocking yet
Nano-ITX in-a-sock anyone?

 

Nice build

 

Don't blame yourself (ahem...) Olnewby had this problem too.

 

This is coming along nicely!
pity about the card length, but I'm sure you will figure it out...

 

This defiantely has the potential of becomming a slick build.

Gonna keep an eye on this log

 

Thanks, everyone!
@Azayles - a 4 X 120 radiator would fit in a stocking... barely. I know I'd light up if I came downstairs on Christmas day and saw that.
@Delta - That's appropriate since I swiped his card clamping system.

 

I remember when I was a kid one Christmas my mum put out these HUGE stockings that were the size of large pillow cases. Probably could fit an ATX case in one!

 

Put some risers underneath the motherboard.

 

Wish I'd thought of that I was looking at the pic for ages tryna work out how it could be fixed. Only thing is the back plate would have to be adjusted.

 

The risers aren't the problem. If I move it too high, then the ports won't line up with the I/O hole.
I have a sheet of aluminum in the garage I can make new card backplates for. Don't sweat it.

 

Yeah that's the thing I was thinking bout, the IO back panel. Just a shame you'd have to make a new backplate each time you added a new card.

 

I'm doing a cover for the motherboard, sooooo... Changing cards a lot won't happen.

 

I'm hoping the holiday chaos is over. I haven't even had time to remove my Santa hat <--.
I got some stuff done anyway.

-There was a bit of a rush to get this room cleared out for guests, so few pictures were taken. This is two of the ears prepped for gluing. I wrapped the frame in packing cellophane to keep everything from fusing together. -A door you can't open would be useless.

-Ignore the titanium spork. You should be noticing that the side panels are on. I still haven't made the new ears for the bottom. I need to do that soon, before someone draws a heart on the side and figures out what I only just noticed...

-I did a little airflow test with the fans and radiators in place. There was a lot of measuring for fanguards.

-I had time on Christmas Eve to whip out an access panel on the motherboard tray. -This was why I switched to 1/4 inch plastic.

-Bananaman said the hole needed a coverplate, so I made a coverplate from 1/8" material. WAVE TO BANANAMAN!!!!

-Keep waving...

-Here's the access panel unmasked for a test fit. I had to wait for after the holidays to get proper flathead screws.

-During the holidays I was stuck doing little crap tasks for the project. Here I'm wet sanding a batch of screws. It only took a few seconds on the buffer to make them perfect.

-Next was the big bolts for the side panels. I used ghetto lathe for that.

-Here's the bolts after a trip to the buffer. The bolt on the left is similar to what they originally looked like. I still need to polish the sides of these...

Thanks again to my sponsors.

 

Man thats coming along really nice!!! I wave to bananaman for the extraordinary coverplate !!!
Excellent job buddy! Happy and Blessed New Year!!

 

I really should get me a Santa hat. Maybe next year

Awsum updates Progress! Always good.

 

keep up the good work!