Project:ONE | Detail Shots and Explanations | UPDATE:11-20

liking this case more and more each time I see it.

How much money have you put into this so far?

 

its prob too late for this but what u can try is to inset the fins in to the case some but u will have to remove the fins to do this and sand down the plastic the depth of the brass then overlay the bondo i think that woudl look better since the fins are on top u will always have a hump of sorts no way around that unless u bring the bondo out further on to the brass and feather it back to the case but in the end i still think u woudl be happier if u indented the case some

 

i have a pic that i made on paint but dont knwop how to post it iam a newbe when it comes tp that but i am sure u get the idea

 

@ detn8r, what i meant was are you putting the fins on the side?

which is what you did. Looking good

 

Thanks for the comments guys.

I just hope I can finish this up soon.

 

Heres another update. Hope you guys dont mind all the pics Im posting.

Anyway, One of the screws came undone yesterday and needless to say this pissed me off. I cant very well remove the fins in order to solder it back on and I dont have many alternatives. Anyway, I stuffed some JBWeld in the hole on the base that I drilled for the screw to go in and held it in place with a clamp for about 20hours:


Also, After I had applied some more bond and let it cure I was working with the fins and noticed that they still had quite a bit of flex left and this was cracking right inbetween the fins and the bondo, I filled the gap with some epoxy:


As to why its on its side, I had it this because I also applied some epoxy behind it and I wanted it to settle deep into the front of the fins and not down and out the bottom:


Also, along with applying the epoxy I applied some JBWeld:


I also applied it to some the screws because the solder I had put on them wasnt holding that well and Im assuming that while heating them I had loosened the joint on the screw that had fallen off.

I decided to do a bit of shaping to the bondo even though it would still require another coat. Im happy with the shape of it:




The back set still requires some more shaping.

To shape the bondo I used a file and few pieces of 220 grit sand paper. The file was really usfull in getting the the blend into the base.



On todays shopping list for Home Depot:
Fiberglass
Fiberglass Resin
A sheet or two of aluminum for the back panel.

I feel a need to reinforce the shell and base of the case as they also have
quite a bit of flex to them.

Thats it for now.

 

I must admit when i first saw them fins i was abit put off as they looked abit naff! if you dont mind me saying

But what a difference now you really have pulled them off, and they look neat and tidy congrats mate

 

Thanks for comment Jack. I think Ive been surprising a few people.

 

Them fins surprised me m8

 

Good to know

In Other News:
My other inverter and CCFL came in yesterday. I will however be losing a day of modding today.

I have a bit of work to do and I should be done with this set of fins.

 

Ok, I havnt gotten much done with the fin molding lately. I took a day of from modding today to goto the movies.

But I did manage to get over to home depot and get a few things:


Also, I decided to throw everything together last night to get an idea of how all the innards should look.








Im pretty much done with the framework. I have a few more things to do to it but thats basically all there is to it. The side of the framework attached to the PSU is a bit to short so I have to give it a bit of height with some sort of material.

I also got some bondo applied to the drive tray face and Im happy with, no pic right now though. Also, the drive cover, the black piece to the original SGI drive requires a bit more modding, specifically the eject button. Its a bit to short and I need to elongate it a bit to make it easier to push.

Also, along with the fiberglass stuff I picked up a sheet of aluminum. My plan for the back panel involves basically 2 pieces, on each side connect somehow in the middle.

My plan for this case is to make everything LOOK as complicated as possible.

Thats it for now.

 

I see PSU sleeving in your future

Possibly also cutting down some of that excess wiring, it's getting crazy in there. Everything else looks great. I really hope you get those fins smoothed out perfect, because it'll look drop-dead gorgeous when you do.

 

Im pretty much finished with the fin molding on this set, Despite a setback today I should be done with this within a day or two then I can start work on the others.

Im not sure If I will use sleeving on the PSU, I dont think it will fit well with the conduit im going to be using.

Also, Ive decided to hold off on cutting down and sleeving the wires for awhile, its really not my top priority at the moment. Ive made a list of things to do and sleeving and shortening is close to the bottom.

Its probably going to go in this order:
1. Finish Molding Fins into base
2. Reinforce shell with fiberglass
3. Make Back Panel
4. Work on insides, framework still requires a little more work
5. Sand EVERYTHING then primer
6. Get it painted
7. Sleeve(maybe) and shorten wires

 

Today, I somewhat completed the molding of the left fins.

The back of the fins flexed a bit and broke the seam between the fins and the bondo/pantyhose so I Mixed up some more JB Weld applied to a few areas, and I also filled the crack a bit with some Spot putty. This really sucks to because I was just about finished with the molding. But I only have to some light sanding and I should be done with this set.

Pics:







In order for me to get a good coat of bondo I did something that Crimson mentioned and use a bit of acetone in the bondo mix. Im guessing it work because it was easier to apply.

Tomarrow, light sanding of this area and maybe Ill start on the other set of fins. And reinforce the shell with some fiberglass.

Still, lots of work to get done.

 

This just came to me as I was admiring your sick level of metal/plastic moulding skill:

Why not make the fins out of plexi?

Of course, they'd be reasonably harder to shape, but when they are the entire surface is plastic therefore easier to chrome [ as it's only one process for one material type, like G-Nome's project boxes ].

Granted, it's too late now I guess, but for those who want to do something like this... would you have gone back and still used the brass plates?

 

You know, thats a great idea.

I have long considered paint plexi chrome.

Because the surface is already flat Im assuming you would be able to get one hell of a finish by painting the inside of the plexi chrome. This idea came to me after Macroman painted his Macroblack case. I as long as with the shaping and heating I didnt get any bubbles Im sure it could have been great.

 

Great job, this case looks better every time i stop by!

 

Not so much by painting the inside, but sending it off to a similar place that G-Nome did to have his plastic project boxes chromed... it had something like a metallic gold paint which was then chromed, and I figured it would be easier to keep the material consistent when so closely knit together.

Anyway, the brass looks sweet

I'm assuming now that they're molded in the fins are no longer removable? Or is there a trick?

 

Short of bodily ripping them off the side of the case?

What color was the entire thing going to be again?

 

I know what you meant, I was just saying that spraying it was more cost effective.

And the fins are not removable.

Why would I want to remove them?

Still undecided