Case Modding/Building Recommended Tools

[krulin_m]

I had a few questions for a number of you all as to what tools you would recommend to those new to case modding like myself. What I don't want though is a small flame war of "Brand X is better then Brand Y" etc.

Some of the information I would love to see though would be what the tool is, what it's best suited for, etc. Such as a Dremel is good for a ton of tasks, yet a jigsaw or even a table saw would be much better for others.

I do not want to limit this to just power tools either if possible. Little things like certian snips, pliers, screwdrivers, pipe cutters, T-squares, etc, are great to know about as well.

My end goal as I said is to get a good list together for myself as well as I am putting together a "workshop" for things like PC Modding and house/car repair, etc. :up:

Thanks in advance! =D



Edit - 04-16-2008:
I would like to thank all of those that have posted so far for thier input. I am very open to any constructive comments as to my simple layout.

List as of 04-16-2008:

Power Tools

Saftey Note - Use of nice and comfortable saftey glasses that you can actually see through and ear plugs are recommended while using power tools.

Saws:

Jig Saw - Great for cutting basic shapes in wood, plastic, thin metals.

Scroll Saw - great for woodworking, plastic work, or aluminum/thin metal work. You can make simple or intricate cuts, while sitting down.

Band Saw - for heftier materials than the scrollsaw, but loses the tight turning radius.

Miter Saw - makes quick accurate work for cutting wood, aluminum. You can get by with a jigsaw or a dremel--but what takes 10 minutes for these tools is done in 3 seconds. Even a hack saw and a miter box is faster and more accurate.

Drills:

Corded/Cordless Drill - For making holes and lots of'em

Drill Press - Great for drilling thicker materials or many repetative holes as you can use a jig.

Multi-Tools(?):

Dremel - Great for multiple things, especially for smaller cutting, sanding, grinding, routing jobs.

Hand Tools

Screw Drivers - Come in many types such as philips, flat, hex, etc. Used for adding or removing screws, openning beer, etc

Awl/Hole Punch - Used for making holes in materials for routing cables, etc

Tap/Die Set - Used for putting threads in holes or re-threading screws

Pliers - Used for grabbing and holding materials, friends ni... er... Pinching things or bending stuff..

Wrenchs - Tightening or removing nuts and bolts

Soldering gun - For those nifty electric mods to mainboards, wires, or occational lighting of smokes

isopropal alcohol - cleaning thermal paste off

Q-tips - cleaning off theraml paste

Box Cutter Blades - smoothing thermal paste on cpus....taking heat spreader off

Zip Ties - Mounting cables neatly or tying up your neighborhood criminal

Wire Cutters/Stripers(Not THOSE kind of stripers!) - For cutting wires and removing the insulation prior to soldering

Squares - T-Square, Set-square - Used for making straight and correct 90 degree cuts

Clamps - Many types here, but used to hold stuff together while cutting, glue sets, etc

Metal Shears - Cutting metal

Nibblers - Removing small bur's or portions of material (nibbling)

Files - For removing burs or putting finishing touchs on design cuts, etc

Fasteners - Pop rivet gun. Or machine screws and a tap-set. 6-32 machine screws/tap size (use a #36 drill bit) or M3 (2.5mm drill bit) are common and useful computer component sizes.

Masking Tape - Almost like duct tape with it's numerous uses

Sanding block - For sanding things smooth as a baby's bottom!

Shop Vac - For cleaning up the mess that all these other tools make!

More to be added later! =D

[filthysanchez]

Jigsaw, drill, assortment of pliers(I find hemostats handy pretty often), screwdrivers, wrenches, taps, etc.

Just go look in anybody with a respectable tool collection's stash to get an idea.

[Nate P.]

Dang, I'm looking forward to some more replies to this thread. This is exactly what I've been wondering.

[Yeknom]

Dang, I'm looking forward to some more replies to this thread. This is exactly what I've been wondering.

Agreed. My parents unfortunately lack a large assortment of tools.

[tbone8ty]

definitly a dremel - for cutting out windows and fan grills/holes

compressed air - dust sucks

heat shrink tubing - an open soldering connection = bad

soldering gun = not a good incense for your room

isopropal alcohol - cleaning thermal paste off

Q-tips - cleaning off theraml paste

box cutter blades - smoothing thermal paste on cpus....taking heat spreader off (muahahaha :-)

zipties

[karl_eller]

Jig saw, dremel/dremel clone, circular saw (only really needed if doing stuff with wood), pliers (both needle nose and blunt nose), wire cutters, t-squares, set squares, right-angle rulers, clamps, drill (a lot of the time a cordless can do the job, but sometimes you need something with a bit more grunt), angle grinder (if you're doing a lot of work with metal, esp steel), hand nibblers, files, screw drivers, soldering iron (hella useful, especially if re-wiring anything), the list goes on.

Most of the above is fairly much optional. It's fairly easy to do most mods with a jigsaw (get a couple of decent metal cutting blades) or dremel (make sure you get good reinforced cutting disks, such as the proper Dremel ones), a drill, some pliers and a couple of files.

Eller

[Navig]

I'll add my thoughts.

Drill press--once you start using even a cheap press, a regular drill feels like second best.

Scrollsaw--great for woodworking, plastic work, or aluminum/thin metal work. You can make simple or intricate cuts, while sitting down.

Bandsaw--for heftier materials than the scrollsaw, but loses the tight turning radius.

Chopsaw/Miter saw--makes quick accurate work for cutting wood, aluminum. You can get by with a jigsaw or a dremel--but what takes 10 minutes for these tools is done in 3 seconds. Even a hack saw and a miter box is faster and more accurate.



Fasteners--Pop rivet gun. Or machine screws and a tap-set. 6-32 machine screws/tap size (use a #36 drill bit) or M3 (2.5mm drill bit) are common and useful computer component sizes.


Files--for deburring edges (metal) or sanding edges (wood/plastic).




Here's a critical utility for all US modders: mcmaster.com (http://www.mcmaster.com/)


navig

[MINIz guy]

Navig, how cheap of a drill press are you talking about? I've seen $50 drill presses that seem to do the job, or the $40 Dremel WorkStation that includes a drill press in it.

Which you you choose to buy?

[spotswood]

My most often used tools are: metric ruler, awl/auto-punch thingy, drill/drill press, chop saw, sanding block, fine point sharpie pens, and masking tape. I use masking tape a lot, both the cheap tan stuff and the expensive low-tack blue painters tape.

[systemviper]

today I did a lot on my build, I have to say the most versatile, useful, fun, productive tool i own is my dremel...

Love the dremel.....

Love it!

[krulin_m]

Awesome ya'll. I'll try and get all these compiled tho I have been slammed at work lately. :confused: :(

[charles_h]

Comfortable safety glass (that you can see through) and those little foam ear plugs. I know they're not cool items but they are important. :)

Oh, and a good shop vac with lots of attachments. I vacuum right after any metal work to get the bits up before they get spread around. Stray metal bits in the wrong place can ruin your day.

[zodiac]

Look at cyberdruid's thread
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=180663
He has some tools that are shown in his build, and he has a GREAT detailing of his process. A LOT to be learned in that thread!

[krulin_m]

Yeah I have been reading that. A lot of people here are insane (in the good way) when it comes to case modding. Although for the n00b such as myself I figured a nice and easy reference able list would be good. It also gives someone an idea of some of the basics they might need as well as a better view of the scope of a project as some of them might seem smaller and easier then they really are. Especially if you don't have the proper tools for the job.