I am just curious about what kind of homemade tools has everyone used in the past to mod a computer case, I have done some crazy stuff I will give you a few examples now but add more tomorrow as the batteries in my camera just went dead. 1. get a couple of pieces nice heavy steel and precut a hole in it i have made three one for a 60mm fan one for a 80mm fan and one for a 120mm fan after the template is made duct tape it to the piece of metal or plexi that you are working with and grab your dremmel, with a drum sander and cut off wheel you can cut and straighten fan holes all day long and they come out perfect every time (the thicker the steel you use the harder the template will be to make but it will last much much longer) I will submit pics soon. 2. With a popsicle stick or tongue depressor you can whip up some great detail sanders all that you need is some double sided duct tape and any grit of sand paper first figure what shape you want the sander in and with a dremmel cut and trim the tongue depressor until you have the desired shape and with a pair of scissors you can trim the sandpaper in any shape you want then using the double sided duct paper you can put the sander together. these are especially handy if you are trying to clean up some plexi or if you have used bondo in your project and need to clean up edges or some hard to reach corner. I look foward to hearing about some of your Macguyver tools of the trade. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IN THE HECK IS A DREMEL!! :
Can you make me a template for Dremeling those I/O back planes. They are always the weakest (ugliest) point in my designs. --- Don't anyone come back with "just hack it out of a cheap case". I don't spend $$$ and months on a design and then ruin it with some pathetic, cheap piece of third grade zinc plated iron. I have made several templates to get the 1.03" (HDD) and 1.7" (CD/DVD) pitch of drive bays right. They are just strips of Aluminum (1/8 thick) with holes, typically 48" long (that's what Home Depot has). They have two rows of holes, one for HDD and one for CD/DVD The diameter of the holes is matched to a center punch that I have. That way I don't wear out the holes with a drill. After marking I can also choose what drill to use for the hole, clearance, or pilot for tapping.
Although MB I/O layouts have gotten a tad more "universal" over the last years, the main fact still stands. MB A and MB 2 does not have the same outputs, and often not even in the same spots. Thus, you cannot make a "universal" template for the I/O shield. The only universal thing I can think of is a rectangular hole.. but that pretty much sets you back at ground zero. But hey, if you use pretty much the same MB on every mod, you could probably pull it off. Alot more work though, than a rectangular/sircular hole - but might be worth it.
