Custom Wood Watercooling Case III

[voigts]

I have been building this computer case now for about a month, and have been posting a piece by piece build log on OCforums. I have decided to reword and post the log here on XS also as there are a lot of build logs posted here, but not many that involve a made from scratch case. Maybe in some way this will be a help to others here who would endeavor to undertake a project like this. This is the third wood case that I have made. The entire background and discussion of developing the model for this case can be found HERE (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=476168&page=3), as well as the log for the second wood case which I am currently still using.

As anyone knows who watercools, cases designed for air take a lot of messing with to try to adequately adapt to water. This initially is what made me want to build my own case so that I could make the case to fit my setup, and to fit the desk compartment where it calls home. I have been very pleased with the second case I have built. It has served me well. However, there are a several improvements I have wanted to make to its design, and also, I am ready for a change.

Although wiring is well hidden and managed, I want a way to be much more easily accommodate wiring as with my current case, it just barely fits in the space I allotted for it. This makes adding anything a bit cumbersome. I also wanted to get away from a top mounted radiator, and make the setup very easy to fill and bleed. In the appearance department, I want to get away from the current more “boxy” look and go for a more furniture, curved, fancy look.

I got a lot of great input while planning this build from a number of people on OCforums, several of which are also here on XS. I have spent probably 50+ hours working in Google Sketchup modeling this build. Being able to 3D model really allows you to fine tune your ideas and fit them together. Spending the time planning makes building much, much easier, and the end result much better. Also, modeling allows you to also incorporate how to actually construct the case and plan how to fit things together.

I started out with the base design that I used on my current case.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseII/Nov07/side3.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseII/sketchup.jpg


The problem I had is that I wanted to get away from the top mounted radiator, but a PA120.3 is so large that it is hard to position. I modeled several ideas for a bottom mounted setup, but each one of these presented problems that just didn’t work for me.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/caseTest3_4inRes-1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/caseTest5_1-1.jpg


So then I played around with ideas still with a top mounted rad, but nothing really resolved my issues any better than the current setup. I came across a Magicool quad rad by accident on the performance-pcs website while looking at other stuff, and the shape of the rad gave me an idea. I saw that if I moved the motherboard over, the rad could be mounted behind it. I read reviews on the Magicool quad here on XS, and none of them were very good. So I next looked at Swiftech MCR rads. They are very thin and yet perform well, and are much smaller than the PA rads. I looked at going with 2x220 rads, but with there only being a $6 difference between the dual and triple, I opted for designing a way to incorporate 2xMCR320 rads.

After looking around online for design ideas, I came up with this columns and clover idea, having seen the clover in some 1920s furniture and architecture.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/ColumnsClover2-1.jpg

However, the clover would block some of the front of the new 4” dia res I planned on making. I used a 5” res in the current build, but wanted to go down to 4” so as to not make things quite so tight on the face. Blocking the front of the res wouldn’t really matter if the face was just plain clear, but after a thread I posted on OC to see if anyone did any laser cutting so that I could get the front and back for the res cut, Dennis from Danger Den contacted me and not only cut the pieces for me, but also had the laser etch a custom graphic which I emailed him.

[voigts]

As I posted my ideas in the previous posts and got ideas from several folks on OC, this migrated into a bit of an old radio look, and after much tweaking, finally morphed into the current model (specific thanks to Clocker2-also on XS, Jas, and Quietice among others).

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Columns6.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Columns6_2.jpg

I spent some time (finally) organizing my workshop so that building this, and anything else for that matter, would be much easier. We have a 16’ x 18’ shed that we bought from a guy and tore apart and moved to our yard some time ago. I still have work to finish on it (mainly siding), and I hadn’t really taken the time to setup my work space. So I just built a 4’x2’ wall fold down table to give me room to use my power tools without clogging up my workbench space. The right side of the shed is being used for storage.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/shop3.jpg

I recently added a large shelf, and got a shelf cabinet from a neighbor moving out. I added peg board, and put all my tools up. I am thrilled to finally get stuff organized. I can’t say how much time I have wasted looking for stupid stuff like my tape measure while trying to build something. This drove me nuts when I made my current case. I also had the problem of trying to keep the area clean enough to work as I had everything on the workbench while trying to use power tools because there was no place else to put them. This will greatly streamline the building process.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/shop1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/shop2.jpg

[voigts]

So after doing all of this organizing, I finally started cutting wood. I had to recut the bottom piece. I was going to use a 1/4" slot cutting bit on my router to cut out the 1/8" side panel grooves. I tested it out on a scrap piece of wood and it worked fine. However, when I went to groove the edge of the poplar, it chipped off a long chunk of the edge. So I bought another 2', recut the piece, and used my table saw instead.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/piecesCutOut.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/caseStart.jpg

I also made a fancy little return to take water from one rad to the next. I wanted a barbed fitting, so I took two 3/8”NPTx1/2” barbs, ground down the threads and wrench hex, cut the barbs shorter, and soldered them into a ½” copper elbow and street elbow. I then painted the thing black. This provides me with a compact, minimally restrictive return piece.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/U_1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/U_2.jpg

[voigts]

In the design of this, I decided to use dowel rods to joint the butt ends so that they would be hidden but strong connections. However, when using dowel rods, the problem presents itself of how to get the holes drilled for the rods in exactly the same positions on both joining pieces. I brainstormed a bit and decided to simply use a scrap piece of 1/8" acrylic, measure evenly spaced hole locations, drilled small 1/16" pilot holes in the piece, and then lined it up the same way on both the face and end to be joined. I used a forstner bit (since it has a very sharp tip) to line up on the small pilot holes I drilled in the wood from the template and drilled the holes on one of the ends. Even though I have a syringe, I had to come up with a good way to make sure I can get the Tap Plastics solvent where I needed it once I joined the pieces. I needed to find some kind of long, very thin tube (probably metal) that I could feed solvent through and yet easily reach the end being glued.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/dowel-holes-template1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/dowel-holes-template2.jpg

I mentioned that Dennis from DangerDen responded to a thread I wrote to see if anyone on OC did any laser cutting. He said he would be glad to help me out with this. I wanted to get the end pieces for the new res laser cut as it is nearly impossible to cut round ends well by hand. But everyplace online I could find only does large quantity projects. I emailed Dennis the dimensions from where I modeled it in Sketchup. Dennis also offered to laser etch any design that I wanted into the end. So I came up with a globe graphic, and emailed it to him. I was eagerly anticipating getting this in.

I was like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar when I opened up his package. The design looks so sweet. I ordered 1' of 4" dia 1/4"walled cast acrylic for this res from Mcmaster. Here are the pieces just held together out of the box.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/res1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/res2.jpg

The picture doesn't really do it justice as Dennis inverted the image and laser etched it onto the inside of the acrylic so that the smooth side is on the outside, and the image is slightly recessed with the edges being beveled. It gives it a real 3d look to it. I am so floored at how this looks.

I cut the 4" dia acrylic tubing with my table saw for a 4" long piece, and sanded the edges nice and flat. BTW, if you ever plan on making a res, don't machine sand any edge that you are going to glue. If you heat up the edge while sanding, it will craze (crack) when you solvent weld it. Some people use power sanders at very low rpms, but I have found that sanding by hand works best. You want to make sure that the tube ends have no sawblade marks or blemishes AT ALL, otherwise you will get bubbles in those spots when you solvent weld it. I also used a 3/8"NPT tap to make the threads for the barbs in the back and the top. I hate tapping holes. It took me about an hour just to tap those three holes.

[voigts]

I got the res welded together. I used Tap plastics solvent, which is just like Weld-On #3. I cut the acrylic tubing with a table saw, and then sanded the edges smooth by hand.

I use blue painters tape to seal the joint to be glued to both hold it together and to keep the solvent from leaking everywhere. BEFORE you weld anything, drill and tap your barbs holes. Otherwise, the shavings are impossible to get out of the res.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/gluingRes2.jpg

I have found that when you solvent weld, you want to use a syringe as it gives you very exact control of the solvent flow without dripping. It doesn't take much of this stuff to do the job. I was looking for a good way to get the solvent down into the other end once one end was on. I had this idea, and got this small brass tubing from ACE hardware. It worked perfectly.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/brassTube.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/gluingRes1.jpg

I am very pleased with the result. This is the best res I have ever made, and the seams came out much better than any other res I have made and have no bubbles.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/res2.jpg

[voigts]

I got all of the sides cut out, and drilled the holes for the dowel rods. On the long pieces, I used a drill attachment to help keep the holes straight.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/drillingDowels.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/top3dowels.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/side1.jpg

I got the hole in the top cut out, and cut out the filter insert for the top. It took me a while to sand the pieces to get them to fit. I needed to get a detail sander though as using a Dremel to try to sand the pieces is problematic, and of course my regular sander won't fit in there.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/top1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/top2.jpg

I want the top piece to be removable to allow easy access to the wiring area.

[voigts]

I broke my last scroll saw bit the other day while cutting out the top, so I started working on the motherboard tray. I must say that it is well worth the $25 to use a Lian Li removable tray from Performance-pcs. The way this tray is put together makes it very easy to make. I don't want to use the metal back as it isn't that strong by itself, and with this case, the MB tray has to support itself since the tray isn't bolted to the case, only the back is. I used some 3/16" polycarbonate for this as it is very strong and doesn't readily flex. I cut a piece to fit under the metal tray, drilled the holes in the poly to match the metal tray, and drilled out the rivets holding on the rear PCI and ports bracket and matched the holes. I'll rivet the PCI backplate to the poly, and then cut a rear poly piece to rivet to the PCI backplate and then to the rear of the case.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/MB1.jpg

I also started on the radiator mount.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/6feb08/fanMount.jpg

[voigts]

I managed to get the inset and the piece for the front cut. I took it nice and slow so that the cuts would be as on my lines as possible. I mentioned that I realized that I needed to get a detail sander as there is just no way to sand the insides of these pieces well with just a dremel.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/frontAndTop.jpg

I went to Harbor Freight tools, and then to Walmart. I remembered seeing something in Walmart before. I looked at their sanders, and I bought a Black and Decker Zone Mouse sander. I had a $50 gift card that I had been hanging on to in my wallet, so I figured that $40 for this was a good use for it.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/sander.jpg

I kind of debated as to whether this would really work, and I must report that it works far better than I anticipated. I was able to sand smooth and straight every little edge with this thing. The finger attachments are what make this worth it. With them, you can get into all but the tiniest cracks and curves. I also was able to sand the pieces so that they fit together very well, but have a gap so that once stain is applied, the pieces can still be put together. If you sand them so that they just fit before finishing, you won't be able to put them together once finished.

I am going to take the DVD drive out of my current rig and trace the wood faceplate I am using onto the wood so that I can cut a very close hole for the DVD that will match the wood faceplate. I still have to drill the holes for the switches and LED lights also.

I also got my 3/8"NPT x 1/2" black fittings in from Petras, and I got my 1/4" round nose router bit for the flutes on the columns. I cut the threads of the plastic barbs to 1/4" so that they just go through the acrylic which makes draining on bottom and bleeding on top much easier.

[voigts]

I got the USB port mounted. This little bugger took me quite a while to get mounted. I used a small USB/firewire card I got from Directron a while back, and I dremeled off the firewire port since I never use it.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/usb2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/usb.jpg

I had to make the holes for the power switches and power and HD leds. For the switch, I had to drill a 1" hole about 3/8" deep from the back and then drill another hole inside of it 3/4" dia. This way the switch will fit through and I can get on the nut to hold it since the threads are only about 1/2" deep. I got these switches from MNPCTECH.com, and they are the only place online that I have found these kind of switches reasonably priced.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/psHole.jpg

I measured and did the same 2 hole trick for the fillport. And while I am at this point, let me mention that forstner bits are much better to work with for these kinds of holes. I have used spade bits before, and although they work, the forstner bits center much better and leave a perfectly clean hole. I am pleased as the fillport and res lined up perfectly.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/resFillporrtjpg.jpg

I also got the vent and fan holes cut out in the bottom.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/bottom.jpg

[voigts]

I made a fan mount. The fan is of course 1" thick, while the wood is 3/4" thick, leaving 1/4" of fan either sticking out of the bottom or top. It took me 3 tries to get this finally right. I used 1/2" wood, cut out the fan hole, and very carefully used a router with table to ream out the underside 1/4" deep to accommodate the fan. This way the fan doesn't stick out of the bottom of the case, and it has a nice mount. I probably spent 1 1/2 hours or more just on this fan mount.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/fan1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/fan2.jpg

I started routing the face and edges. I used my table saw to clamp everything to, and made a kind of jig to route with. After trying the Roman Ogee and the 1/4" roundover, I settled on the roundover down about 1/16" to make a nice rounded edge and line. It only cuts 1/4" deep, which is perfect given that the front insert and top insert are 1/2" thick and allow for 1/4" to be showing on the front and top.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/routingJig.jpg

[voigts]

I drilled dowel holes to join the two front pieces together.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/frontDowels1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/frontDowels2.jpg

I had to however ream one side out as the front didn't line up the way I wanted it to. It worked out though, and I will use 3/8" tapered plugs for the dowel holes on the inside of the front piece.

This is what the front pieces together look like.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/frontAssembly.jpg

And I went ahead and glued the front pieces together.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/frontAssemblyGluing.jpg

I made my first real goof however. Not thinking about how it is assembled, I routed the front edge of the top piece instead of the front edge of the arched front most piece. I had to cut off 1/4" in the length of the top and bottom pieces (which is no problem). I also had to adjust the res fillport position to get it to line up which took a bit of work. However, I also had to take 1/4" off the height as well because I routed the back edge of the front piece to match so that at least the mistake would be symmetrical without thinking that I could just cut the 1/4" off and be done with it
I hate mistakes. They cost so much time.

[voigts]

Here is a pic of the mistake. I routed the top piece instead of the front of the arched front piece without taking the time to think about how it all fits together. My wife thought it might work to just route the backside of the front piece to match, but I just couldn't live with the result.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/topProblem2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/topProblem1.jpg

So after looking at everything, what I decided to do was to cut down the all pieces by 1/4" and elongate the dowel holes on the corners. It makes the dowels less secure, but it allowed me to cut out the mistake and re-route just the front edge. It took me about 2 hours to do this.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/topProblem3.jpg

This did however throw off the fillport placement by 1/4". So what I am going to do is to drill a 1 1/2" dia hole 1/4" deep centered 1/4" back from the current hole (which will encompass the current 3/4" dia fillport hole), and just insert a 1 1/2" circle cut out of 1/4" thick trim stock, and mount the fillport in the trim stock circle.

Here is what I have now:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/fillportFix1.jpg

And here is what I am going to do:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/fillportFix2.jpg

[voigts]

I finished putting together the radiators mount.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/13Feb08/radMount.jpg

I got this done so that I could dry fit the radiators mount and the MB tray so that I can mark where to cut in the back piece.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/13Feb08/placingMBradMount3.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/13Feb08/placingMBradMount1.jpg

[voigts]

I also fixed the issue with the fillport being 1/4" off due to shortening the top. I used a small piece of wood wedged into the existing hole so that I could put a compass there and draw the new 1 3/4" hole 1/4" back from the center of the current hole. I clamped it down, drilled the 1 3/4" hole down 3/8", then changed bits and drilled the needed 1" hole for the threads. Per a suggestion, I recessed it a bit to match the other items on the case.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/13Feb08/fillportFix1.jpg

I then started a 1 3/4" hole with a circle cutter, stopped in mid cut and drilled the 1" hole for the middle, and then put back in the circle cutter to finish cutting the "doughnut" for the fillport.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/13Feb08/fillportFix2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/7feb08/13Feb08/fillportFix3.jpg

[voigts]

I got the back piece cut out for the MB tray. I decided to attach the PCI backplate directly to the wood instead of making a rear acrylic panel. I did this because by mounting it onto the wood directly, the screws for the PCI cards are clear to get to. If I made an acrylic back panel as in my current setup, the screws would have been hard to get to since the MB is much closer to the side of the case.

Anyway, I glued the case together. I'm glad I bought some more clamps at Harbor Freight while they were on sale. I used 4-3’ clamps, 4-12" clamps, and 4-8" clamps.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/clamping2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/clamping1.jpg

I used an L square while clamping to help with squareness. It isn't perfectly square, but the front side is only about 1/16” out while the back is right on the money. It isn’t enough to be noticeable.

I spent a few hours today tweaking and doing final edge sanding. I also worked on the most noticeable of the router marks. I think it looks a lot better.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/caseGlued.jpg

At Clocker2's suggestion so as to match the grain of the front, I remade the DVD face. I used a piece from the same panel I cut the front out of and matched it as best as I could. It isn't perfect, but with part of the grain slanted, I did the best I could. I think it matches much better however than the plain cover I had made.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/dvdCoverNew.jpg

I saw a thread on Slickdeals for a Corsair 650-tx PSU for $77AR. It has extra long cables which I will need. I could use my current Antec Trio 650w, but I did a lot of splicing and cable lengthening, and so I think it will be better to sell the PSU along with my current case so that it will be a plug-and-play deal.

After reading the fans fans fans thread here on XS thoroughly, I bought 4 more Yates from Petras to go with the 4 I had already ordered. I didn't know that there is such a difference between the Yates that Petras sell and those that everyone else sells. This way I will be using all Petras yates on the rads.

[voigts]

I made a new "V" this morning as the old "V" was 3/4" thick, while this case needs one 3/8" thick.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/V_1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/V_2.jpg

I bought this polyester mesh at a fabric place. I am going to try to dye it either a brown or tan of some sort to use for the fabric. I would like to use speaker cloth, but I looked at stuff like that and it doesn't breathe.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/mesh.jpg

[voigts]

I got the columns done. I was going to do 3 - 1/4" flutes, but after I did the side ones, there just isn't enough room for a middle one, so I just went with 2 flutes on each side. These buggers were a lot of work. They aren't perfect, but they turned out very good.

Here is gluing down one side.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/caseColumns4.jpg

A few pics.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/caseColumns3.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/caseColumns2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16feb08/caseColumns1.jpg

I started working on the top area wiring box.

[voigts]

I got the side panels made and the threaded inserts drilled and placed in the insets for the side panels. Cutting the back piece was a real pain. Fortunately, I found some special plastic/alu jig saw blades that worked great. I would never have been able to cut the area out for the rads without it as the acrylic would have shattered. I had to go nice and slow making the cuts. I will screw the rads on the four corners to the side panel.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/rightSidePanel.jpg

I got the top wiring box made and the front side box also. I had to join two 1/4" pieces together to go across the top. I used 3/8" square poplar rod to make pieces to screw the box panels into so that there are no mounts showing. The PSU in the pics is just my elcheapo so that I could get dimensions. It doesn't look like much, but just that top box took several hours to make.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/topWiringBox1.jpg

The side panels of the box screw into the small 3/8" square pieces in the top and also to the bottom panel with #4 wood screws.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/topWiringBox2.jpg

I cut out and glued the DVD/HD mount. I used 3/16" polycarbonate which is much slower to glue than plain acrylic, so I cut two 5 3/4" pieces of wood with my compound mitre saw and used them to clamp to so that the box is square.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/DVDhdMount1.jpg

I also got the case feet cut out and screwed on. I just recessed and used 1 1/4" drywall screws to mount them to the bottom.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/caseWfeet.jpg

I got my Corsair PSU in, and it is sweet. I'll have to do some cable lengthening though, particularly on one SATA power cable and probably also the PCI-E cable. I also got a set of Iandh’s 8800GT black ram sinks in from Petras, and I have to say that they are sweet. I'm glad I grabbed a set. No more thermal tape!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/topWiringBox2.jpg

[voigts]

I got the DVD and HDs mount finished. I went back and forth as to whether to make it out of acrylic or wood. I wanted to go with acrylic for its strength, and that being clear it is a lot easier to drill the HD mounting holes. So what I did was made the box out of acrylic and made a wooden top for it.

This wood top for the HD/DVD box was a real pain to make. I tried just gluing it together but it simply wouldn't hold. So I had to drill holes and use screws to hold it together.

Here is the acylic box with HD holes and intake fan mount. It comes in handy having a messed up fan and a dead hard drive. I got the chrome HD mounts from Ebay, and they are very nice. I want to have metal on the sides of the drives to help with heat dissipation, and since the DVD is in the same mount, I decided that I may as well make it all one width anyway.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/HDrack1.jpg

Here is a pic of the entire thing before I added the column.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/HDrack4.jpg

I'll probably paint the acrylic HD/DVD mount black so that is doesn't show.

I got everything done including a final sanding, and got the first coat of stain on it. I ended up changing stains to an ACE hardware fruitwood color with the dark red oak for the insets. My two color experts (wife and daughter) liked that combination the best. The original stain I picked out ended up looking like a light cherry, so I am taking that back. It is exciting to actually be able to put stain on the thing.

Here is the HD/DVD acrylic box with the wooden top. I cut dados in the sides where the HD screws go so that the screws won't hit the wood and bow it out.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/HDrack2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/HDrack5.jpg

I cut a piece using the table saw to hide the acrylic edges.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/21feb08/HDrack3.jpg

[voigts]

I got a second coat of stain on this yesterday, and plan on trying to put some urethane on it today. Moregooder had highly recommended some General Finishes Urethane and Oil to use for the topcoat, so I am going to give it a try. Only one place here locally carries it. He says however that it doesn’t drip easily like poly and that it works very well.

I went ahead and ordered some SATA power connectors from performance-pcs so that I can make a clean looking power wire for the HDs. I was going to just mod the power line on the PSU itself, but I like the idea of having connectors that sit at 90 degrees so that there is no U loop between drives in the power feed.

[safan80]

very nice! looking good!

[welshtom]

Excellent, amazing build quality - that res looks outstanding too.

Tom

[junkun13]

now that's what you call a pc-carpenter :D

OT:

Hi Tom ;)

[nick2crete]

The best project i have seen...very very nice!..wish to have the tools and the talent! to make the same..

[clokker]

V., this looks as good here as it does over on OCF.

Now you've got twice as many people who can't wait to see how the finish turned out.

[s0lid]

One of greatest case projects i've ever seen!:toast:

[Ad1tya]

Just amazing.

Absolutely jaw dropping.

Great work man..

Keep us posted!

[NaeKuh]

:worship:

OMG dude... thats hella bling! :up:

[voigts]

Thanks for the comments folks. This case is a lot about looks, but also about function as it has a design that doesn't exist in any case that you just go and buy. And it is a design that I think will work very well on both the watercooling and component positioning.


V., this looks as good here as it does over on OCF.

Now you've got twice as many people who can't wait to see how the finish turned out.

OCF just isn't getting nearly as much traffic these days, and I find myself more and more reading through the threads here as there is just much better information here. I'm not so sure about the "twice as many" part, but hopefully a build log will help and inspire someone else.

I am going to wait a couple of days until I finish putting on the final coat of urethane before posting more pics. There is no point in putting pics of each coat of stain and urethane up. I got the front center piece glued in today, and did a second coat on the entire thing. The dark pieces only have one coat as I had to restain them with the red mohogany to get them as dark as I wanted.

Gluing in the front piece was a real pain. The wood glue made a mess, and I had to go back and tape up around the dark front inset and restain it a bit to hide the glue residue from wiping the excess off. The least little bit of glue residue was very visible on the dark inset piece even after wiping off with a wet rag.

[Xilikon]

Great project, it's something which would give Bob Vila and Norm Abrams a boner ;)

[Fujimitsu]

A wood pc that doesn't look terrible!

That fact alone is enough to win an award... couple it with the great work so far and this is definately a winner.

Great job so far man... keep it up

[AllAgainstPaul]

This is a great looking project the only thing that concerns me the the airflow through the radiators. How much room is there between the rads and the motherboard tray and will the fans be pulling air into the case or out of it?

[Boogerlad]

wouldn't the res crack if you drill through the middle tube part? also, how would the barb fully screw on if the tube was like all bent and not straight? nice job btw!

[lowfat]

very nice craftsmanship!

[IanY]

Wouldn't wood resonate at certain sound frequencies like a speaker cabinet?

[MrToad]

Now that's a computer case that would fit in my living room :)

That's something that will pop up in the "Antiques Roadshow" in a hundred years :p:

[Polizei]

Most impressive wood case I have ever seen. Incredible skill. :up: :yepp:

Cant wait for more pictures. Wood working like this seems to be a lost art.

Incredible attention to detail.

[Martinm210]

That is simply awesome, true craftsmanship right there. After I finish the wife's cabinets..I'll be all still setup for some more woodworking.

[Polizei]

I was going to say martin, how are those cabinets coming along?

[Movieman]

Excellent work. I used to build custom cabinetry. I can appreciate the time and love I see in this project.
You guys really should go and take a look at what Rich Spotswood does.
Incredible talent and workmanship is perfection.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=173586

[Nate P.]

Crazy good!

[Martinm210]

I was going to say martin, how are those cabinets coming along?

Slow..hehe. Finally got the garage all cleaned out from my water cooling fabrication messes. Back to woodworking for a while, going to fire up the table saw again tomorrow. My goal is to be done by June for the wife's birthday, then I can focus in on my own projects again..:up:

[Polizei]

Make sure to post pictures somewhere. :)

Worked a home remodelling job over the summer... I have a new found respect for old school wood working using your hands to create something out of nothing.

[mike8913]

well, all i can say is that for a person who was going to use the v2000 for his next build. . . you just completely changed his mind

[voigts]

Great project, it's something which would give Bob Vila and Norm Abrams a boner ;)

The idea of me somehow being responsible for Bob Vila or Norm Abrams having a "boner" is very disturbing... :confused:


This is a great looking project the only thing that concerns me the the airflow through the radiators. How much room is there between the rads and the motherboard tray and will the fans be pulling air into the case or out of it?

There is about an inch between the fans and MB tray. The fans will be pushing air out of the case. There is a slot the length of the radiator under it for intake air, the intake fan that will be blowing on the GPU from the bottom, the front intake fan, and the entire top open area, so I don't think airflow should be an issue. I did think about this when making the design as I don't want negative case pressure.


wouldn't the res crack if you drill through the middle tube part? also, how would the barb fully screw on if the tube was like all bent and not straight? nice job btw!

Drilling through the tube is easy. You just use a wood spade bit. The barbs are tapered, so even though the top barb isn't tightening up against a flat surface, all it needs is a bit of RTV and it will seal fine. I will add however that when using tapered barbs in acrylic, I will only use plastic barbs as metal tapered barbs in acrylic can easily lead to cracking. I prefer the plastic as they come in black, and I can cut the threads to the exact length that I want easily. You'll notice that all of the commercially made acrylic stuff uses straight threads for metal barbs.


Wouldn't wood resonate at certain sound frequencies like a speaker cabinet?

I have found that it is quieter than a metal case. However, I have found with the pump that it really has to be isolated or the case does magnify the vibration. This is why I have a little memory foam mount for it. When mounted on memory foam, no vibration is transmitted to the case. I also have found that I can't have hard copper tubing going to the inlet and outlet of the pump as these transmit vibration. Other than that, it is very quiet.


Excellent work. I used to build custom cabinetry. I can appreciate the time and love I see in this project.

It's funny how some people react when they read that I have been working on this for almost a month. You really have to make stuff to be able to appreciate the amount of time it takes. Its not always the actual sawing or cutting either. Sometimes just trying to figure out the details of how to make something look the best you can takes time, and the stupid sanding takes forever. Sanding the small details is a pain, but the result is worth the time it takes. Just when staining and putting on the urethane I am spending 30 minutes or so sanding between coats when it only takes 30 minutes to put on a coat.


Slow..hehe. Finally got the garage all cleaned out from my water cooling fabrication messes. Back to woodworking for a while, going to fire up the table saw again tomorrow. My goal is to be done by June for the wife's birthday, then I can focus in on my own projects again..:up:

Don't tell me you do woodworking on top of all of the watercooling testing? You are a regular jack of all trades. I haven't even looked at the idea of making my own cabinets though our kitchen cabinets are about shot.

Good idea to undertake a project for the wife because it is so true that when momma ain't happy, ain't no one happy! I'm probably going to have a few things to undertake for my wife after this myself.


Make sure to post pictures somewhere. :)

Worked a home remodelling job over the summer... I have a new found respect for old school wood working using your hands to create something out of nothing.

What you say hits the nail on the head. I was just looking at the case for a minute after I put a second coat of urethane on it and thinking how cool it is to have something that I modeled and looked at on a computer screen now sitting in front of me. That is part of the satisfaction to me of a project like this is looking at it and knowing that I made it out of just a bunch of boards.


well, all i can say is that for a person who was going to use the v2000 for his next build. . . you just completely changed his mind

That's music to my ears.

Be prepared for a lot of work though if you intend to dive into a custom case like this.

I have been debating whether or not to try to get my current parts swapped out into this case this weekend or not as I have to go out of town for 3 days next weekend. I've only got one more coat of urethane to put on tomorrow and the fabric to stain and install for the case to be done. Building the case is one thing. Then I have to do all of the extra soldering, sleeving, and make the bent copper pieces and install the parts.

I just found out today however that my mother-in-law is on her way down tonight by bus for two weeks and will be here in the morning. I may be looking for an excuse --cough, cough-- reason to spend some extra time out in my workshop for a while.

[Pisklink]

Goddamn it, this looks awsome man!!!! Very creative and very neat work!!!!

[voigts]

thanks a lot. I appreciate the feedback.

The mother-in-law kept me busy all morning. I just barely had time to go out and put a final coat of urethane on the case. The next two weeks are promising to be a real adventure... :(

[madmaxx]

simply beautiful, cant wait to see the end result :up:

[clokker]

The mother-in-law kept me busy all morning. I just barely had time...
OK v., this lack of pics is just getting to be downright cruel.
Playing the "mother-in-law" card ain't gonna work, neither will the "it's sooo cold here in Tennessee" ploy and just forget about trying the "abducted by aliens and anal probed" excuse (yeah, that's right...we can all see that one coming).

I'm holding my breath till you post pics....starting NOW!

[Polizei]

What you say hits the nail on the head. I was just looking at the case for a minute after I put a second coat of urethane on it and thinking how cool it is to have something that I modeled and looked at on a computer screen now sitting in front of me. That is part of the satisfaction to me of a project like this is looking at it and knowing that I made it out of just a bunch of boards.


Working the home remodelling job, we signed on to what would be a 2 month basement project. The customer agreed to a price somewhere north of $60k to have us take 2600sqft of his 3400sqft basement and turn it into a livable space. Office for his wife, full bathroom with stall shower and jacuzzi tub, 20x20ft workout room, 20x20 play room for his kids, custom entertainment center cabinet, 8-stool bar, drop-ceiling for the entire space, along with wiring in surround sound, hardwood floors in the office and bar area, along with the usual lights, outlets and molding.

I walked into that basement on the first day to find a bare concrete floor, bare cinder block walls, and some building scraps left over from construction of the house, which completed less than 2 months before. Walking out on the last day, I saw an entertainment paradise - bar, 52" plasma with surround sound, pool table, air hockey table, foosball table, bathroom, weight room, the whole 9 yards and then some.

One of the most rewarding job experiences Ive ever had. Its a good feeling when the customer is speechless at the outcome. :)


Im not a customer looking to buy your case, but the thought, craftsmanship and know-how that went into that case is inspiring. Keep up the good work. :) :up:

[voigts]

OK v., this lack of pics is just getting to be downright cruel.
Playing the "mother-in-law" card ain't gonna work, neither will the "it's sooo cold here in Tennessee" ploy and just forget about trying the "abducted by aliens and anal probed" excuse (yeah, that's right...we can all see that one coming).

I'm holding my breath till you post pics....starting NOW!

I guess I did forget to mention the alien anal probe (I got a good laugh out of that one). Oh man, that was one awful experience, not to mention the frontal lobotomy. At least the seizures and foaming at the mouth only happen once every hour or so now. I guess I'll hold off on the story of my dog eating all of my paint brushes too...

I should be able to get some pics up by Sunday. I've still got to dye the cloth and/or figure out exactly what I am doing with that. I guess I better get some pics up before you come through this computer screen.


Working the home remodelling job, we signed on to what would be a 2 month basement project. The customer agreed to a price somewhere north of $60k to have us take 2600sqft of his 3400sqft basement and turn it into a livable space. Office for his wife, full bathroom with stall shower and jacuzzi tub, 20x20ft workout room, 20x20 play room for his kids, custom entertainment center cabinet, 8-stool bar, drop-ceiling for the entire space, along with wiring in surround sound, hardwood floors in the office and bar area, along with the usual lights, outlets and molding.

I walked into that basement on the first day to find a bare concrete floor, bare cinder block walls, and some building scraps left over from construction of the house, which completed less than 2 months before. Walking out on the last day, I saw an entertainment paradise - bar, 52" plasma with surround sound, pool table, air hockey table, foosball table, bathroom, weight room, the whole 9 yards and then some.

One of the most rewarding job experiences Ive ever had. Its a good feeling when the customer is speechless at the outcome. :)


Im not a customer looking to buy your case, but the thought, craftsmanship and know-how that went into that case is inspiring. Keep up the good work. :) :up:

My little project is nothing compared to what you did. That sounds really neat, and I can see how that would be really rewarding. Now you just have to convince them to invite you over frequently.

I am just guy who has a workshop and likes tinkering with things. I am by no means some great carpenter, and frankly wish I had a good trim carpenter friend to harass a bit. I just want to come up with a solution to problems that works and is aesthetically something that I enjoy looking at on a daily basis. I also however am a perfectionist, so the details are what it is all about. This case isn't by any means perfect, but I am very pleased thus far with the outcome, and thanks to the input of a number of people while designing and building it, this case has exceeded my expectations.

[Polizei]

I guess I did forget to mention the alien anal probe (I got a good laugh out of that one). Oh man, that was one awful experience, not to mention the frontal lobotomy. At least the seizures and foaming at the mouth only happen once every hour or so now. I guess I'll hold off on the story of my dog eating all of my paint brushes too...

I should be able to get some pics up by Sunday. I've still got to dye the cloth and/or figure out exactly what I am doing with that. I guess I better get some pics up before you come through this computer screen.

:rofl: :up:

[AllAgainstPaul]

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy

[QuietIce]

Hey - I'm over here too! :D just not very active. Some of those pics do look vaguely familiar.


Was your UFO one of those saucer things or The Sphere ...? ;)

[voigts]

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy

I actually remember that saying being in a goofy song I heard back when I was a teenager.


Hey - I'm over here too! :D just not very active. Some of those pics do look vaguely familiar.

Was your UFO one of those saucer things or The Sphere ...? ;)

hey, your username looks familiar...

Those pics should look familiar as you have had a lot of input also on how they have come about.

As for the UFO, I'm afraid that you are on a need to know basis, and well, you know the saying, you don't need to know. And after all, if I told you, I would have to kill you.

[mike8913]

out of curiosity, what type of wood did you use for the case? sorry if you said it already.

[Waterlogged]

out of curiosity, what type of wood did you use for the case? sorry if you said it already.

Poplar, it's one of the least expensive hardwoods, yet still gives very nice results.

[voigts]

The last case I made I used select white pine, but I must say that the poplar has been a lot better to work with for this. It is also handy that you can get poplar in 1/4" thin boards, which is great for the small woodwork.

[voigts]

I got the case put together yesterday, dyed the polyester mesh material, and got it glued on with Gorilla glue. I got the reservoir mounted. I have some brown paint to match that I will use to touch up the glue where it foamed to make it not so obvious. I hope this material holds up in the long run. I think if I take it easy it will. I really liked the look of the material though over using fiberglass mesh, so I figured I would try it and see.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/frontFinished.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/frontSideFinished1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/sideFinished1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/sideFinished2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/sideResFinished.jpg

Now its time to start making the case wiring, clean out the rads, rewire the fans, make the HD power cable, etc. and start sleeving the details.

[junkun13]

:eek2:

[clokker]

Gorgeous.

I only see one area I would have changed but we can discuss that next year when v.III begins...

[smee]

Gorgeous.

+1, This is THE best wooden case I have EVER seen!!! :up:
Keep up the good work mate!

[voigts]

Gorgeous.

I only see one area I would have changed but we can discuss that next year when v.III begins...

Ok, now I know what you meant by v.III. Next year, huh? Very funny.

Don't leave me hanging now. What would you have changed?


+1, This is THE best wooden case I have EVER seen!!! :up:
Keep up the good work mate!

thank you. Now maybe all of these guys who can put me to shame will get busy and come up with yet other things better.

[Mankz_91]

Very nice!

Will you be using copper piping again?

[voigts]

Very nice!

Will you be using copper piping again?

yes, that is the plan. I really do like using soft copper piping as you can route it exactly where you want it to go.

[Polizei]

Incredible... simply incredidble. The finish looks amazing... I was envisioning something quite a bit darker, like the inset portion around the res. I love the color.

Its very professional looking... almost like it came out of a kit. Just better. A lot better. From the front, it almost looks like one of those vintage radios from the 1920's.

Cant say enough good about the case... cant see any of the imperfections your hint at.

Well done. :up:

[clokker]

Don't leave me hanging now. What would you have changed?



The "V".
Either...
-Stain the logo, with it's included border, the lighter color.
Or, even more preferable,
-Cut the "V" itself larger, without it's own border and inlay it into the circle of the main inlay...again, stained light.

As it is now, the lower circle of the inlay is twice as thick as the upper (reservoir) circle.

Just being picky, mind you.

[voigts]

The "V".
Either...
-Stain the logo, with it's included border, the lighter color.
Or, even more preferable,
-Cut the "V" itself larger, without it's own border and inlay it into the circle of the main inlay...again, stained light.

As it is now, the lower circle of the inlay is twice as thick as the upper (reservoir) circle.

Just being picky, mind you.

I can see staining the V the same color as the case, but making the V larger without a border would not allow for it to be removable, which is what it is as an intake fan grill. I could always just sand off the front of the V and re-stain that part, or cut another V altogether. It doesn't take that long to do. Either way, the V isn't a show stopper as it isn't a connected part of the case.

Why didn't you give me this idea earlier? As usual, I like your idea.

[Sparky]

:eek2:

[sick_g4m3r]

oh.. my .. gosh.. thats incredible.....

[Nate P.]

Simply beautiful. Enough said.

[Martinm210]

Wow....that's amazing. This is really really inspiring!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to have to try building a wooden case also. After I finish my kitchen, the wooden cube case shall begin!!

Hats off to you sir for the tremendous craftsmanship!

[brammers]

*speechless*

*closes mouth*

J

[nikhsub1]

voigts your work is amazing as always! I will miss your OC exclusivity, but now your audience is much larger! Wow that piece is nice. As Cathar would say, "You could sell those".

[Sammo]

Great job voigts……that reservoir is incredible…….is it done with a stencil and a shot-blaster??

[Polizei]

As Cathar would say, "You could sell those".

:rofl:

Really though, you could. Im sure a lot of time and effort go into them, but Im sure people would buy them.

[voigts]

Wow....that's amazing. This is really really inspiring!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to have to try building a wooden case also. After I finish my kitchen, the wooden cube case shall begin!!

Hats off to you sir for the tremendous craftsmanship!

If your woodworking is anything like your watercooling testing, I am in for some serious competition! You can go ahead and blame me when your wife expresses her dissatisfaction at the inordinate amount of time you are spending again in the garage (as if you don't already do so).


voigts your work is amazing as always! I will miss your OC exclusivity, but now your audience is much larger! Wow that piece is nice. As Cathar would say, "You could sell those".

I have been at the rifle range for the last 3 days with the Army Reserves. What a weekend...

I appreciate the comments. I have had several people tell me that I should make and sell something like this, but the problem is that I would really need to upgrade a few tools in order to try to make them in a time efficient enough manner to keep the cost reasonable. I just don't know that people would be willing to pay for something like this given the amount of time it takes to make. That and it is so hard to try to make something like this "perfect." There simply are going to be minor flaws when you are making something like this by hand no matter what you do.

BTW, maybe I missed the info somewhere along the way, but what has happened to Cathar? He seems to have dropped off of the radar after recovering from his accident.


Great job voigts……that reservoir is incredible…….is it done with a stencil and a shot-blaster??

Dennis at Dangerden was nice enough to laser cut the end pieces and have the laser etch the globe design. It is nearly impossible to find anyone who will do a small job like this. He made enough pieces for 3 reservoirs total (I always like to have backup pieces). As you can see, he did an outstanding job.

[Martinm210]

You can go ahead and blame me when your wife expresses her dissatisfaction at the inordinate amount of time you are spending again in the garage (as if you don't already do so).


Might have to slip in the cube case during the last few cabinets. I don't know why those last cabinets are taking soooooo long...:confused:

:D :D

I havn't done any really detailed woodworking like that yet, but I've got the tools with the scroll saw, table saw, router table...etc. I just wouldn't have thought about all the detail you worked into the bezel.

I think I'll tinker in google sketchup for a while before I start anything. I had thought about making my own metal case, but I'm still short on those tools. But after seeing how awesome your's came out, I'm going for it!!

I have a friend with a CNC router table too, so I may have to go see him for a visit..

Thanks for the inspiration, that's awesome:up:

[voigts]

I have a friend with a CNC router table too, so I may have to go see him for a visit..

Why can't I have friends like that? I salivate at the idea of having access to something like that. I have to slug it away by hand while always seeking perfection but never being able to quite attain it.

[kohlersc]

Sir, that is just incredible!

There are many beautiful cases out there, but this would have to take home grand prizes in multiple categories. It is truly a gorgeous work of art.

I honestly can't get across how impressed I am with everything about it and I am sure it will only continue to get better as more of it is pieced together.

Wow!

[voigts]

Sir, that is just incredible!

There are many beautiful cases out there, but this would have to take home grand prizes in multiple categories. It is truly a gorgeous work of art.

I honestly can't get across how impressed I am with everything about it and I am sure it will only continue to get better as more of it is pieced together.

Wow!

thanks again for the feedback.

I too sure hope that everything gets better as I get closer to getting it finished. I've got some more work to do however as the DVD/HD wood cover fell and broke while I was carrying the case from inside back out to my workshop. I made and sleeved the HD and power LED wires and the power and reset switch wires at the end of last week before going out of town. I carried the case inside as my daughter was sick and it was cold outside, so I took over the dining room table for a couple of days. Sure enough while carrying it back out the HD rack slid out and the wood cover broke. I've got to figure out what I am going to do to fix it.

I've also got to look at what I am going to do with the V color, and consider whether or not I am going to stick with the cloth material for the vents or not, and if not, what options to pursue.

[Polizei]

I showed my roommate your pictures and we both have the same question... are you going to make side panels for it?

Sorry to hear about the harddrive rack cover.

[clokker]

I've also got to look at what I am going to do with the V color, and consider whether or not I am going to stick with the cloth material for the vents or not, and if not, what options to pursue.
Ouch.
What "cover" do you mean exactly, the faceplate or the internal box cover?
Naturally, either is bad but the faceplate would be the most difficult to replace as the grain was a very close match.

I think trying to sand off the face of the v-insert and staining it the lighter color would be the easiest first option...if you don't like it, just make another.

As for the grill material...
I must say I had reservations about it from the onset.
I fear it would just be a dust magnet and difficult to clean.
Although maybe not as aesthetically pleasing- but far more practical-I think an expanded mesh, painted a semi or flat brown, would be more suitable in the long run.

[hecktic]

wow thats good

[sobih25]

really awesome job! wait for updates...

[voigts]

I showed my roommate your pictures and we both have the same question... are you going to make side panels for it?

Sorry to hear about the harddrive rack cover.

I showed a pic of the rear side panel in post #18. I have already cut side panels out of 1/8" clear acrylic. I have considered ordering 1/8" bronze/brownish colored translucent acrylic, but it would end up running me another $40-$45 delivered, so I think I am just going to stick with clear for now since it was easy to come by from the local ACE hardware.


Ouch.
What "cover" do you mean exactly, the faceplate or the internal box cover?
Naturally, either is bad but the faceplate would be the most difficult to replace as the grain was a very close match.

I think trying to sand off the face of the v-insert and staining it the lighter color would be the easiest first option...if you don't like it, just make another.

As for the grill material...
I must say I had reservations about it from the onset.
I fear it would just be a dust magnet and difficult to clean.
Although maybe not as aesthetically pleasing- but far more practical-I think an expanded mesh, painted a semi or flat brown, would be more suitable in the long run.

The internal box cover. I just took a good look at it and I think with the help of some Gorilla glue, it will be as good as new. I've got it glued and drying now.

I tried sanding the V, but the red mahogany penetrated just too far down the grain to be able to sand it off, so I am about to go cut another V and then stain it the same fruitwood color of the case.

With the grill material, since I am going to make a new V anyway, I poked and prodded and messed with the material on the V, and surprisingly it is a lot more durable than I thought. I am going to leave it alone as it doesn't clog with dust (did great while trying to sand the V), and is very sturdy, a lot more than I expected.

[Colossous]

Beautifull job voigts :up:

[clokker]

I tried sanding the V, but the red mahogany penetrated just too far down the grain to be able to sand it off, so I am about to go cut another V and then stain it the same fruitwood color of the case.
Would it be possible to enlarge the "V" itself and reduce the circular border?
You know, as long as you're gonna remake it anyway...


With the grill material, since I am going to make a new V anyway, I poked and prodded and messed with the material on the V, and surprisingly it is a lot more durable than I thought. I am going to leave it alone as it doesn't clog with dust (did great while trying to sand the V), and is very sturdy, a lot more than I expected.
OK, be that way.:p:

[septim]

very nice, i like your workshop, and the patience you put to sketchup it, before making it a reality.

[lior307]

WOW man , Looks amazing ,
I thinking of building also a new WOOD case for my WC system

[AllAgainstPaul]

Gorilla Glue: when you absolutely, positively, have to hold stuff together!

[qujck]

he Voigts, probably you are the living god of woodwork!!
Great mate!!!!

[voigts]

Would it be possible to enlarge the "V" itself and reduce the circular border?
You know, as long as you're gonna remake it anyway...

I cut the new V today, and have put two coats of stain on it to match the case color. There is no good way to reduce the circular border and maintain enough strength in the grill. I think that it looks better though having it the same color as the case. I will post pics after I urethane it and glue on the cloth.


WOW man , Looks amazing ,
I thinking of building also a new WOOD case for my WC system

yes, come over to the wood side of the force, it is your destiny... :)


Gorilla Glue: when you absolutely, positively, have to hold stuff together!

Gorilla glue is frankly amazing. It is such a lifesaver. It works when nothing else does, and the way that is expands makes it work when you have voids where other glues just don't cut it.


he Voigts, probably you are the living god of woodwork!!
Great mate!!!!

I know that there are people here who can put me to open shame with what they can do. I'm just a guy with a workshop who is a glutton for punishment. But for me this is not just about the woodworking, but the design itself. It is one thing to make a case out of wood, it is quite another to make one that incorporates watercooling efficiently, taking into consideration tubing routing and component placement, that figures in airflow, and provides for good cable management. That is where the time in Sketchup was well worth it.

I took Clokker's suggestion to me and got some hammered look spray paint (on OC). I couldn't get brown Hammerite, but I did get brown hammered Krylon paint, and have repainted the MB PCI backplate, the power buttons, and the radiators with it. I'll get some pics up tomorrow. It looks very good and fits the case well. I plan on doing the copper lines with it also when I get to that point.

My mother-in-law is leaving on Thursday (OH YES), and my wife and daughter are going to a speech meet Thursday-Sat., so I'm going to try to put it all together this weekend.

[QuietIce]

I cut the new V today, and have put two coats of stain on it to match the case color. There is no good way to reduce the circular border and maintain enough strength in the grill. I think that it looks better though having it the same color as the case. I will post pics after I urethane it and glue on the cloth. I imagine clocker's suggestion was based on the over-large look of the double-ring around the "V". The different color stain should take care of that nicely making the "V" stand out and matching the Globe Res better as well, since they're both much lighter than the dark stain. :up:


My mother-in-law is leaving on Thursday (OH YES), and my wife and daughter are going to a speech meet Thursday-Sat., so I'm going to try to put it all together this weekend. Well, I know that's got to be a relief! Visitors of any kind can got old; in-laws count double-time (or more). ;)
I get some of my best work done when there's no one else around to bother me. I'm sure you'll enjoy the peace and quiet. In KC we're enjoying upper 60's so you should be looking good - no gloves required. :cool:

Looking forward to those new pics ...!

[Sly Fox]

Simply jawdropping work. All I can really say haha.

[voigts]

Well, I know that's got to be a relief! Visitors of any kind can got old; in-laws count double-time (or more). ;)
I get some of my best work done when there's no one else around to bother me. I'm sure you'll enjoy the peace and quiet. In KC we're enjoying upper 60's so you should be looking good - no gloves required. :cool:

Looking forward to those new pics ...!

I've got a mother-in-law that really is a nightmare. My poor wife is going nuts dealing with her also. I am looking forward to a few days of peace and quiet after having her here for 2 weeks.

The temps look like they are going to be really nice the next few days, so I'll be glad at not having to crank up the kerosene heater to do everything outside in the workshop.


Ok, I've got a few more pics for your folks.

I have recut the V, stained it, and am currently letting the second coat of urethane dry. I still have to glue the cloth on the back.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/frontFinishedNewV.jpg

I repainted the MB tray PCI backplate in the Krylon brown metallic hammered finish paint I got. It was black.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/MBtrayrepainted.jpg

I made a piece to cover the inside of the cloth on the front. I didn't like the way that the glue looked from the inside. The piece is beveled out on the inside to accomodate the cloth and glue. I plan on painting all of the screws that I use brown.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/resBack.jpg

I also repainted the rads in the same Krylon brown metallic hammered finish paint. It like the kind of rough finish that it gives.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/radsRepainted2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/03mar08/radsRepainted1.jpg

I'm trying to get to where I can go at it this weekend and swap parts. I still have to work on where I am going to position the LED clusters and how I am going to hide them.

[malkiewicz]

Any New Pics....

[voigts]

Funny you should post this as I was just about to post a few pics.

I got the cloth glued onto the back of the new V. I am very pleased with it. I don't have them in the pic yet, but I just got the power and reset buttons in, the power and HD LEDs in, and the DVD mounted also.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/frontClothV.jpg

I took the LEDs clusters that I ordered off of Ebay and painted them all brown as they were white.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/LED5.jpg

I came up with the idea to cut holes in the top box and mount the LEDs recessed into the box.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/LED4.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/LED3.jpg

[voigts]

I also made a small holder for the LED shining directly on top of the res.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/LED1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/LED2.jpg

I made a grill using fiberglass mesh painted tan for the passive air hole below the rad fans.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/bottomFanGrill.jpg

I soldered the LED wires together tonight and put molex pins and plugs on all of the LEDs. I also have an LED cluster mounted inside of the HD rack to light it up as well. All of the case wires are in place and sleeved. The radiators are mounted, and the MB tray is in place. All I have left at this point is to make a wire for the LEDs that will go into the XSPC top, and I am ready to tear my current PC apart and move everything over. I am trying to do as much as possible before having to shut down my PC to minimize down time.

The little details really take a lot of time. It is easy when you are putting the big pieces together, but the little stuff takes forever.

[QuietIce]

The little details really take a lot of time. It is easy when you are putting the big pieces together, but the little stuff takes forever. Man, I heard that!

Looking good, Voigts ...!!! :up:

[Anti`]

dude, You have some skill with wood. Simply amazing looking case.

[voigts]

dude, You have some skill with wood. Simply amazing looking case.

Not really, but thanks anyway. My skill is nowhere near what I would like it to be, although I am really pleased with how this is turning out.

This is what the top LEDs wiring looks like now-

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/LED6.jpg

Here is the top:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/top.jpg

I've replaced all of the visible screws with brass ones. This the the MB PCI backpanel

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/MBbackPanelBrass.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/sideWiring.jpg

Here is a shot of the right side of the case:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/backside.jpg

[voigts]

I was looking a bit trying to decide on tubing routing before I get to it. Its a good thing I modeled this as the one turn out of the rad near the PSU is very tight, but it will work. Had I not modeled it I wouldn't have know that.

I am considering putting a small 6-32 brass bleed screw with a neoprene washer into the backside of the end tanks on the rads. It would make it a whole lot easier to drain the rads instead of having to do the back and forth thing. I am just wondering if the end tanks will thread well enough to hold the screws. I think it will seeing as the same sheet metal holds the fans.

Does anyone know if there would be something in the end tanks that might be a problem with this?

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/17mar08/bleedScrews.jpg

[LockBreaker]

This is the prittiest wood case I've ever seen. :)

Nice job mate. :)

Cheers.

[voigts]

The entire time during this project I have wanted to do something with the plain sides to dress them up a bit and make them blend better with the overall look. I have had in my head to do something with them and have messed with several ideas for something that would fit but wouldn't be overly complicated. I have already cut the sides, so adding the holes into them and cutting these pieces won't take much to do. I am at the point of shutting down my current setup and switching over, so now would be a good time to do this as I would rather tear down over a weekend.

What do you think of this?

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Columns7Dimensions2Rev4.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Columns7Dimensions2Rev4Back.jpg

[Mech0z]

Imo you would ruin the style of it by using plexy, but thats just what I think :)

[Polizei]

Imo you would ruin the style of it by using plexy, but thats just what I think :)

My thoughts exactly. :shrug:

Wood sides with a window would look much better in my opinion.

[dnb#]

use black finish plexi with wood end-holders? :) Or just use real glass maybe?? would be nice too :) I don't mind plexi. It's just the way you add it!

Nice log and a Great inspiration!

[voigts]

I don't think that wood windowed side panels fit the look, and I don't want to use wood side panels. I want the sides to be transparent so that you can see the interior. What I may just do it get some bronze transparent plexiglass panels for the sides instead of clear panels. US plastics has them with very cheap shipping to me ($42 shipped for 3-24"x24" 1/8" thick bronze tranparent panels).

[Movieman]

I don't think that wood windowed side panels fit the look, and I don't want to use wood side panels. I want the sides to be transparent so that you can see the interior. What I may just do it get some bronze transparent plexiglass panels for the sides instead of clear panels. US plastics has them with very cheap shipping to me ($42 shipped for 3-24"x24" 1/8" thick bronze tranparent panels).

With respect, I think your making a mistake with the plexi sides.
It is a 1920's looking project and that will take away from it IMO
I'd go with wood sides with the same covers used for any cutouts for air..
I almost didn't write this as I didn't want to intrude on your project but I had to..;)

[lior307]

WOW - Your almost Finished ,
I'm waiting for the Temp Results .
Can you post more pics - it's just an amazing Project !!

[Maxx103]

Looking very impressive. May I suggest something in regards to your window idea.....

The thought of just bolting a plain jane piece of plexi would appear to me as a cop-out to an otherwise an awesome looking case. I don't know what the measurements are on your case, but if you give your plexi windows a wood "frame" so to speak to dress it up.

Something like a 3/4 inch wood frame, then maybe a some brass stock mitered at 45 degrees at the corners, then the plexi.....if I had a CAD program, I could show you, but I don't but I hope you understand what I mean.

It is obviously your project, and you can do what you will, but just bolting two plex windows without dressing them up with some wood that matches the case, would be.....like I said, a cop out...but that is up to you.

[voigts]

With respect, I think your making a mistake with the plexi sides.
It is a 1920's looking project and that will take away from it IMO
I'd go with wood sides with the same covers used for any cutouts for air..
I almost didn't write this as I didn't want to intrude on your project but I had to..;)

I do appreciate your feedback. That's why I ask for it. The problem that I run into with the idea of wood sides is two fold. One, I want the interior to be visible somehow, someway. The second is purely the fact that there is no way to get solid wood in anything less than 3/4" in that size, and that is simply too thick. The only alternative is thin plywood, as in luan or oak, and I'm not sure how to make cutout designs or whatever to be able to see through it and still make it look good.

This design is loosely modeled after a 1930s radio look, and so you are correct that the sides of radios are mostly wood with just vents. But I am trying to figure out some kind of a balance between the look and transparency on the sides. To me making a case with solid wood sides is just too easy as I have spent too much time and attention to interior details as well to cover them up.

[Waterlogged]

The answer is simple voigts.....biscuit joints. 3/8" would probably be best, just use biscuits to hold the boards together.......hmm, thinking on it further, dowels "might" even do the job as well.

[voigts]

The answer is simple voigts.....biscuit joints. 3/8" would probably be best, just use biscuits to hold the boards together.......hmm, thinking on it further, dowels "might" even do the job as well.

I don't see any way of joining 1/4" thick boards together and making it look good. 1/4" poplar boards are only 5 1/2" wide.

[Waterlogged]

Hmm, yeah..1/4" is going to be a problem.

[filthysanchez]

Use trim around a stained glass window?

[Movieman]

I do appreciate your feedback. That's why I ask for it. The problem that I run into with the idea of wood sides is two fold. One, I want the interior to be visible somehow, someway. The second is purely the fact that there is no way to get solid wood in anything less than 3/4" in that size, and that is simply too thick. The only alternative is thin plywood, as in luan or oak, and I'm not sure how to make cutout designs or whatever to be able to see through it and still make it look good.

This design is loosely modeled after a 1930s radio look, and so you are correct that the sides of radios are mostly wood with just vents. But I am trying to figure out some kind of a balance between the look and transparency on the sides. To me making a case with solid wood sides is just too easy as I have spent too much time and attention to interior details as well to cover them up.

I understand. I was looking at it strickly from the case perspective and not to showing the internals.
Perhaps a combination?
A solid side but with a series of round lexan circles situated to highlight the parts you wish to be seen, say as in 3- 4" circles on the MB side set in a falling top rear to bottom front line..or a variation of that idea.. The best of both worlds, keeps more "wood" showing and adds to the period look but also shows the build inside of the areas you want seen, and hides any you don't want seen.
Then on the other side I would use same idea but instead of lexan I'd use that breathable cloth or a brown stained drill over the radiator area.
Again, just my thoughts, art is art and everyone has a different idea of what is "right"

[voigts]

I understand. I was looking at it strickly from the case perspective and not to showing the internals.
Perhaps a combination?
A solid side but with a series of round lexan circles situated to highlight the parts you wish to be seen, say as in 3- 4" circles on the MB side set in a falling top rear to bottom front line..or a variation of that idea.. The best of both worlds, keeps more "wood" showing and adds to the period look but also shows the build inside of the areas you want seen, and hides any you don't want seen.
Then on the other side I would use same idea but instead of lexan I'd use that breathable cloth or a brown stained drill over the radiator area.
Again, just my thoughts, art is art and everyone has a different idea of what is "right"

I'll have to do some brainstorming on what might work with the side. I would be more inclined to go with something a bit simpler than the descending circles as I don't want to attract attention away from the front and top, but I get the idea of trying some sort of combination. I'm going to have to chew on this some more.

As for the rad side, fabric over the rads isn't going to work as they are blowing air out of the case and fabric would impede airflow too much. I may give some thought to some kind of grill though. I've got to work towards wrapping this up though as I have about a month before I have to go to Germany for 3 1/2 weeks, and I don't want to leave this undone before I leave.

One of the hard parts about something like this project is trying to strike a good balance between form AND function. I see a lot of mods that although they may look cool, are completely impractical, and on the other side, you have setups that are practical but look terrible.

[adya]

amazing work! i think we all wish we had those kind of skills to be able to do something like that.
a straight sheet of plexy looks abit out of place imo but a combo of wood and plex or glass even would look amazing. i agree u have to be able to see the internals.

[Martinm210]

Awesome!!
Maybe just a thin frame around the perimeter of the plexi to cover up the edges and make it fit in with the case a bit?

Kind of a picture frame thing, and it could be some thin 1/4" or something and lines similar to the rest of the case to tie it all together?

Looks really really great, I was curious how the rads were going to be mounted, that's very nice!!

[voigts]

Awesome!!
Maybe just a thin frame around the perimeter of the plexi to cover up the edges and make it fit in with the case a bit?

Kind of a picture frame thing, and it could be some thin 1/4" or something and lines similar to the rest of the case to tie it all together?

Looks really really great, I was curious how the rads were going to be mounted, that's very nice!!

Thank you. I don't really want a frame however as if I am going to mess with the sides, I don't want to add extra trim, and I want to avoid a boxy look.

After some more work in Sketchup, here is the latest idea. My wife came up with this idea. Feedback?

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Rev5b.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Rev5bRight.jpg

the acrylic will be the bronze colored acrylic that I ordered from USplastics. I bought the wood this morning. It is 1/4" (really about 3/16") oak plywood.

[Pedalmonkey]

that looks absolutely genius. adds both the retro style, but the visibility of the acrylic. i would congratulate your wife on her great eye for the awesome solution.

[Martinm210]

Thank you. I don't really want a frame however as if I am going to mess with the sides, I don't want to add extra trim, and I want to avoid a boxy look.

After some more work in Sketchup, here is the latest idea. My wife came up with this idea. Feedback?

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Rev5b.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Rev5bRight.jpg

the acrylic will be the bronze colored acrylic that I ordered from USplastics. I bought the wood this morning. It is 1/4" (really about 3/16") oak plywood.


Wow, that's even better than I thought. That really ties it all together perfectly..:up: :yepp:

[systemviper]

How about using smoked grey Acrylic Color, then they see the insides when you lite it up...

[voigts]

Wow, that's even better than I thought. That really ties it all together perfectly..:up: :yepp:

My wife deserves the credit for this idea. She mentioned it yesterday, but I didn't get around to playing in Sketchup until today. When I got it modeled, I just sat back and said oh yeah, that's it. I have to give her credit for taking an interest in this project of mine. Not that she is into modding per se, but we both make the effort to take an interest in what we each are interested in which makes for a much happier marriage than some couples I know who live practically separate lives but live under the same roof.


How about using smoked grey Acrylic Color, then they see the insides when you lite it up...

The Bronze that I ordered (due in Monday) is a dark, transparent brownish color. I think that brownish works better than grey would. But your idea is basically the same as mine.

[Maxx103]

Voigts - that sketch is exactly what I was thinking when I made my frame comment. The arch on each side blends in with the arch on the front.....you still have your plexi - and most importantly, it doesn't look like a cop out.....you sir, now have a winner....

[voigts]

Voigts - that sketch is exactly what I was thinking when I made my frame comment. The arch on each side blends in with the arch on the front.....you still have your plexi - and most importantly, it doesn't look like a cop out.....you sir, now have a winner....

Kudos the my wife for the idea. I'll have to do a bit of work to smooth out the plywood edges via sanding and/or stainable putty, but I think it will work. I bought two 2'x2' pieces of 1/4" oak plywood (actually measures 3/16" thick) and some wood putty. I had to look through almost all of Lowe's pieces to find two that aren't warped and have a good looking grain to them. My acrylic won't be in until later on monday though since my house for some reason usually is on the end of UPS's delivery run.

[lennox]

just to add my 2c..

instead of the full plexi side panel, what if you did like 4 diamond shapes that made a 5th diamond. it would keep the old-school look and fit well with the wood I think

edit: I just saw your last update, and I like it. although I would still like the diamonds better ;)

[voigts]

just to add my 2c..

instead of the full plexi side panel, what if you did like 4 diamond shapes that made a 5th diamond. it would keep the old-school look and fit well with the wood I think

edit: I just saw your last update, and I like it. although I would still like the diamonds better ;)

I appreciate the feeback, and if I had used a diamond shape elsewhere in the case this would work. But I don't think that adding a new shape will enhance the overall look, and I think it would draw attention to itself and take away from the front and top.

From all of the old radios I have looked at, they tend to stick with the same basic shapes throughout their look. So I think that the arch on the sides enhances the front and top and better fits the design.

[Maxx103]

Kudos the my wife for the idea. I'll have to do a bit of work to smooth out the plywood edges via sanding and/or stainable putty, but I think it will work. I bought two 2'x2' pieces of 1/4" oak plywood (actually measures 3/16" thick) and some wood putty. I had to look through almost all of Lowe's pieces to find two that aren't warped and have a good looking grain to them. My acrylic won't be in until later on monday though since my house for some reason usually is on the end of UPS's delivery run.

Then kudos to your mrs. then

[malkiewicz]

Any Updates...

[voigts]

A few updates for you.

I decided to try to make an easier way to drain the rads. I drilled and tapped as good as possible two 1/8"NPT x 1/4" barbs, and then epoxied them in after screwing them in. I'll use rubber vacuum caps to seal them, and I wanted to use fuel line type spring clamps on them as those would be very easy to remove with bent nose needle nose pliers. I am finding however that the fuel line clamps don't come in 7/16", so I either have to go with plastic hose clamps, or sand off the epoxy and change to 1/8"NPT to 5/16" barbs and re-epoxy them.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/26mar08/barbsBottom.jpg

I cut out the side panels. USplastics goofed and sent me 1/4" bronze acrylic instead of 1/8", so I am waiting for the 1/8" to come in and for UPS to pick up the 1/4".

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/26mar08/sides3.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/26mar08/sides2.jpg

I got a bright idea to dado out the edges so that the 3/16" wood panels sit flush since I only cut channels for 1/8" side panels.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/26mar08/sides1.jpg

I am running into a problem though in that the side panels are red oak, and hence are not staining the same as the case. I am going to model it but I may restain them the dark mahogany color of the insets. I don't think that the current difference in color looks right.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/26mar08/sides4.jpg

I got busy with some computers I was fixing last weekend, and still have a couple of more to work on. Hopefully I'll get to actually swapping parts this weekend.

[Kayin]

Looking great, bro-Mithril is getting some power tool lovin this morning too!

[voigts]

If I stain the sides dark to avoid the mis-matched color issue, this is what they will look like.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/26mar08/DarkSides.jpg


Kayin;2869882']Looking great, bro-Mithril is getting some power tool lovin this morning too!


Interesting project you have going there. I don't see any plans for how you are laying out the case components.

[Maxx103]

Looking good voights.

[Kayin]

All should become apparent in the next few days...

[Waterlogged]

A few updates for you.

I decided to try to make an easier way to drain the rads. I drilled and tapped as good as possible two 1/8"NPT x 1/4" barbs, and then epoxied them in after screwing them in. I'll use rubber vacuum caps to seal them, and I wanted to use fuel line type spring clamps on them as those would be very easy to remove with bent nose needle nose pliers. I am finding however that the fuel line clamps don't come in 7/16", so I either have to go with plastic hose clamps, or sand off the epoxy and change to 1/8"NPT to 5/16" barbs and re-epoxy them.

If you don't mind using round spring clamps go to Mcmaster.

5324K54 for Zinc-Plated Carbon Steel

and

5324K84 for 17-7 PH Stainless Steel

[voigts]

If you don't mind using round spring clamps go to Mcmaster.

5324K54 for Zinc-Plated Carbon Steel

and

5324K84 for 17-7 PH Stainless Steel

I was wanting to use the fuel hose type (wide-band self tightening at mcmaster), but I may settle for the spring type that you linked to. ACE hardware locally carries those, but I have to see if they have the size I need.

[malkiewicz]

If I stain the sides dark to avoid the mis-matched color issue, this is what they will look like.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/26mar08/DarkSides.jpg




Interesting project you have going there. I don't see any plans for how you are laying out the case components.

I love the colors on the computer generated version… The dark V looks great on top of the light mesh background… Ooo and the dark sides will look cool… :up: :up:

Your new case makes mine look like crap... Already looking for a new one...

[Maxx103]

Voigts - Can I ask what computer program you are using to make the computer generated drawings.

[Shadowtester]

A better question is Voigts when are you going into mass productions and whats the price :) That is one of the nicest looking cases I have seen in a long time very very nice job!!! Really love the retro radio look very very would go into my home decor along with the other antiques I have. I can not say that about my other computer case that looks out of place.

[voigts]

I love the colors on the computer generated version… The dark V looks great on top of the light mesh background… Ooo and the dark sides will look cool… :up: :up:

Your new case makes mine look like crap... Already looking for a new one...

If you look back a bit at the pics, the mesh actually is a brown color, but it works for me.

I was wanting to go with the sides being the same color, but I think that they will still look OK being dark. I'm going to try to get outside and put on the first coat of dark stain in a bit.


Voigts - Can I ask what computer program you are using to make the computer generated drawings.

Google sketchup (http://sketchup.google.com/). Many of the component models I got from http://scc.jezmckean.com/ which saves a ton of time.


A better question is Voigts when are you going into mass productions and whats the price :) That is one of the nicest looking cases I have seen in a long time very very nice job!!! Really love the retro radio look very very would go into my home decor along with the other antiques I have. I can not say that about my other computer case that looks out of place.

Thank you very much. As for cost, this would have to be mass produced as I just added up the receipts for how much I have spent so far, and this thing has cost me a whole lot more than I anticipated. It would have saved me quite a bit of money to buy stuff in quantity from the start instead of having to make a gizzillion runs to ACE. I also spent $30 on clear acrylic sides only to go back and order bronze side panels for $40 which I should have ordered in the first place.

[clokker]

A better question is Voigts when are you going into mass productions and whats the price :)
Please V., for the love of all that's holy, don't even consider mass producing these.
I speak from personal experience.

At most, take on individual commissions and refuse to duplicate any given design.
Not only does each piece retain it's value because it's unique but more importantly, your interest and involvement remains high since each piece is an unknown.

Duplicating the same thing over and over is a soul killer and the reason we have robots.

[QuietIce]

Please V., for the love of all that's holy, don't even consider mass producing these.
I speak from personal experience.

At most, take on individual commissions and refuse to duplicate any given design.
Not only does each piece retain it's value because it's unique but more importantly, your interest and involvement remains high since each piece is an unknown.

Duplicating the same thing over and over is a soul killer and the reason we have robots. :up:

Never turn a hobby into a demanding business unless you're ready to give up the hobby for good ...

[voigts]

Please V., for the love of all that's holy, don't even consider mass producing these.
I speak from personal experience.

At most, take on individual commissions and refuse to duplicate any given design.
Not only does each piece retain it's value because it's unique but more importantly, your interest and involvement remains high since each piece is an unknown.

Duplicating the same thing over and over is a soul killer and the reason we have robots.

I have no intention of going anywhere near taking on some kind of mass or even small quantity production. And I have no intention of duplicating my design at all. I haven't gone through all of this work to make my own, unique setup just to have others post pictures of their replicas.

I would however entertain the notion of making custom cases for people, but the problem with that is most people don't realize the expense involved in time and materials. I have over $500 just in materials in this case so far, not including any new watercooling parts. I hardly could believe it when I added up the stack of receipts and about fell over. I hadn't realized I had spent that much. If I had planned better and bought some things in larger quantities I could have saved money as the many trips to ACE for small quantities is very inefficient. I do have some stuff to take back that I didn't use, but that notwithstanding, something like this isn't cheap.

[clokker]

Good.

$500 in materials seems awfully high...where did the bulk of that cost come from?

[voigts]

Good.

$500 in materials seems awfully high...where did the bulk of that cost come from?

I spent about $175 total in lumber, about $100 on miscellaneous screw and stuff from ACE (this should have been a lot less but brass screws alone add up), about $90 in sanding, staining, and finishing materials (I have on can of stain to return, and the General Finishes Urethane was $16 by itself), $75 on acrylic for the sides ($35 which really was a waste as I bought clear acrylic when I should have just spent the $42 on the bronze in the first place), + sleeving, MB tray acrylic, etc., etc. I could have easily shaved $75 off of this thing, but it still costs more than meets the eye.

[systemviper]

I spent about $175 total in lumber, about $100 on miscellaneous screw and stuff from ACE (this should have been a lot less but brass screws alone add up), about $90 in sanding, staining, and finishing materials (I have on can of stain to return, and the General Finishes Urethane was $16 by itself), $75 on acrylic for the sides ($35 which really was a waste as I bought clear acrylic when I should have just spent the $42 on the bronze in the first place), + sleeving, MB tray acrylic, etc., etc. I could have easily shaved $75 off of this thing, but it still costs more than meets the eye.


That sounds so true, when i am working on a project that is a lot in my head or a first timer and the design keeps varing, it seems that i purchase a little excess stuff to make sure i have what I need when i need it.

This is such a great project, there is something about working with wood, the smells, the way you can make it do so many cool things and get different looks. I just love it!

The time and effort is TOP NOTCH, you should be very proud of your vision and skillz, :up:

[clokker]

In the future you need to ditch Ace/Lowes/Home Depot and find some specialist suppliers, V.- probably shave your materials cost by 30-40%.

I do agree that custom work is more expensive than you might think though.

When does final assembly begin?

[voigts]

In the future you need to ditch Ace/Lowes/Home Depot and find some specialist suppliers, V.- probably shave your materials cost by 30-40%.

I do agree that custom work is more expensive than you might think though.

When does final assembly begin?

I should have ordered a bunch of screws from Mcmaster right from the start when I ordered acrylic tubing and other stuff.

I am hoping to get at it this weekend as I have to go out of town next weekend, and I have less than a month before I leave for Germany for month.

[QuietIce]

Not exactly on point but as you're nearing completion of this project ...

What ever happened to the car rad? Is that what you're using right now or have you already sold it? ;)

[voigts]

Not exactly on point but as you're nearing completion of this project ...

What ever happened to the car rad? Is that what you're using right now or have you already sold it? ;)

I sold it a while back. It really however was the ideal rad for a passive setup as it had no trans cooler or fittings, and no radiator cap or spot at all. It was for an older Austin Martin if I remember right.

I am using dual MCR320s for this. On my current case I still have the PA120.3, but I am going to sell it along with the case when I move to the new one.

[Martinm210]

That looks reallly really great! I love the unique and classic feel to it.

I know what you mean about cost on materials, I've been building my kitchen cabinets from solid hickory and 1/4" A grade hickory for the door panel inserts. Even shopping at a specialty plywood center, I still end up paying $55 a sheet for just the 1/4" hickory plywood. Never fun ripping a brand new sheet on the tablesaw when a screwup can mean $55 scrapped. Needless to say I measure and remeasure that saw fence a few times and having 5 rollers around to assist still doesn't seem like enough.

The only thing I've really saved on materials is buying solid rough cut lumber for the solid wood. It comes in 10' lengths and random widths with 3 good sides and sold by the boardfoot. You then have to rip your pieces down to the size you want and there is a bit of waste, but that save quite a bit over the preprocesseed and finished pieces you can buy at home depot. Also since I was building my cabinets from Hickory, I had no choice...can't buy hickory there..only oak, poplar, pine, cedar.

By the time I'm done with my kitchen I will have probably spent $2,000 just in wood. Good quality wood is expensive, but it looks sooo good!

[imapwnu]

I love it man,

it reminds me of the Sangaku

http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/11/0,1425,sz=1&i=114482,00.jpg

[voigts]

That looks reallly really great! I love the unique and classic feel to it.

I know what you mean about cost on materials, I've been building my kitchen cabinets from solid hickory and 1/4" A grade hickory for the door panel inserts. Even shopping at a specialty plywood center, I still end up paying $55 a sheet for just the 1/4" hickory plywood. Never fun ripping a brand new sheet on the tablesaw when a screwup can mean $55 scrapped. Needless to say I measure and remeasure that saw fence a few times and having 5 rollers around to assist still doesn't seem like enough.

The only thing I've really saved on materials is buying solid rough cut lumber for the solid wood. It comes in 10' lengths and random widths with 3 good sides and sold by the boardfoot. You then have to rip your pieces down to the size you want and there is a bit of waste, but that save quite a bit over the preprocesseed and finished pieces you can buy at home depot. Also since I was building my cabinets from Hickory, I had no choice...can't buy hickory there..only oak, poplar, pine, cedar.

By the time I'm done with my kitchen I will have probably spent $2,000 just in wood. Good quality wood is expensive, but it looks sooo good!

Sound like you have quite a project on your hands there. Hardwood in general is expensive no matter how you go about it. My shed is made out of rough sawn lumber, and the problem with it is that it warps so easily, at least with pine anyway. There isn't a square wall or floor in the shed due to the warpage. Its also amazing how much the little things add up to. Some sandpaper here, glue there, screws here, stain there, more screws, more acrylic, more small pieces, saw bits, drill bits, taps, wiring, wire sleeving, molex and sata power connectors, leds, capacitors, heatshrink in various sizes, acrylic solvent, etc. etc.


I love it man,

it reminds me of the Sangaku

My case doesn't even begin to compare to that case. That case is something else.

[malkiewicz]

Is this project on hold????

[Martinm210]

Since this thread is about woodworking, I thought I'd share a few pics of my side project.

We woodworkers have to stick togther....:D

Here is the status of my woodworking project, about done with stage one. Just need to finish up some countertop (thinking concrete?)

Not a single piece in these cabinets that wasn't ripped either from rough cut solid 10' hardwood or an 8' sheet :)

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/803/cabinets1rx3.jpg

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/7056/cabinets2rf5.jpg

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/8413/cabinets3nz9.jpg

Internal door mounted shelving on some, I even made the pine dowels on this one myself...couldn't find pine dowels that would match the rest of the shelf.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/382/cabinets4yv4.jpg

Custom built lazy suzans in the corner made from 3/4" hardwood plywood and 200lb ball bearing turn tables that uses up every last inch of space and after ripping the hickory to 1/4" thicknesses, I had to give these pieces a steam bath to bend them around....harder than I thought.
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/4423/cabinets5bw7.jpg

All of the drawers get 100lb full extension stainless glides...
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/3540/cabinets6hp3.jpg

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/8798/cabinets7yf0.jpg


Some of the joinery...biscuit joints for all the doors and face frames.
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/9295/cabinets8cw4.jpg

Dovetail joints and dados for the drawer boxes
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/2549/cabinets9xo9.jpg

But unfortunately the mill has been collecting dust in the corner...it'll get it's turn again soon enough.:D
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/1123/cabinets10zz9.jpg

Alright, back to the case building...:D

[Kayin]

You make me sad. I wish I had that skill, or budget...

Oh well, I can't win em all... And Mithril will be a looker, just not the same kind as that.

I will steal that when you're not looking, both of you. Just so you know.

[DavidNJ]

Question, where do the radiators vent? It looks like the back of the motherboard is just a couple if inches from the exhaust of the fans.

[Breezyjr]

Darn nice work Martin... The computer case isn't too shabby either... <grin>

I only wish I had a work area like that. You guys both seem to have nice shops to work in.

Here's what I get to work in.... my wife kicked me out of the "HUGE" basement area, and forced me, and all my "equipment" into my tiny little office..

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r14/breezyjr/PC%20Build/CIMG0750.jpg

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r14/breezyjr/PC%20Build/CIMG0754.jpg

I have since squeezed a 6ft table in there, so now only about enough room for my chair to sit on. hehe

Yes, I'm envious! But, at least I have one thing to make me feel better... even if I had the room, I don't have the tools, or the "ability" to do what you guys have accomplished.... <big grin>

Nice work, both of you!

breezyjr

[Lagaaja]

Absolutely beautiful.

AND:eek2:

[Shadowtester]

I think Norm Abram would be proud :)

Great wood work both of you!

[Polizei]

Martin, high five. :clap:

Stellar work, that's about all I have to say. Well done. :up:

Something is to be said about taking nothing and turning it into something using your hands.

As far as counter tops... black marble?

[Shadowtester]

On Counter tops all I can say is one word Granite

[voigts]

Good night, Martinm210. Those cabinets are incredibly well done.My wife is sitting next to me looking at this and all she can say it that those look really sweet. The bad thing is that you may be poisoning her mind with ideas...

That is one nice table saw you have there. That is going to be next on my hit list as mine is mediocre at best.

Seeing your kitchen seriously puts this little project to shame. But you are right, us amateur woodworkers have to stick together! Some of us however are more amateur than others...

I had planned on getting this thing wrapped up already, but just ran into some time and other snafoos. I started leaktesting the setup a few days ago (with air pressure) and sure enough I hear pssssssss. It turns out that in my brilliance I managed to bust just enough of an internal seam where a tube meets the end tank to cause a leak. I tried to fix it, but ended up causing more damage, so I just had to bit the bullet Tuesday and order a new rad to replace it. $65 down the drain-ouch!

I also have should get in today some beige 3/4" sleeving. I am going to see how it looks to sleeve the tubing as having the tubing a mix of brown painted copper and black vinyl just doesn't look right. I also don't like the Home Depot black 1/2"ID 5/8"OD tubing, so I ordered some Norprene from Sidewinder that should be here Friday or Saturday. I've got to get this thing wrapped up this weekend as I'll be going out of country for almost a month in just under 2 weeks, and my wife is going to have my head if I don't get it back up and running. She is currently experiencing email and news withdrawal symptoms.

This all the while I was working on setting up a new HP DV9700t laptop I got for a couple of days only to discover a stuck pixel toward the left bottom of the screen. No manner of poking, rubbing, rapid flasher program, etc. would unstick it, so I imaged the partitions and sent it back for exchange yesterday. Now I'm having to reformat and reload my old laptop for the guy at work that is buying it from me. Otherwise I would have posted a few more pics.

I should have more info and pics this weekend.


Question, where do the radiators vent? It looks like the back of the motherboard is just a couple if inches from the exhaust of the fans.

The MB is only about an inch or so from the rad fans. They will draw air from in the case and exhaust out of the side. There is a slot just below the fans in the bottom of the case for intake, as well as space in the top box area.

[clokker]

I've got to get this thing wrapped up this weekend as I'll be going out of country for almost a month in just under 2 weeks, and my wife is going to have my head if I don't get it back up and running. She is currently experiencing email and news withdrawal symptoms.

While you're abroad- guzzling lager and clogging the arteries with schnitzel, no doubt- will Mrs. V. be logging in to keep us abreast on how this beast actually works?

[voigts]

She says that if I die, she'll post an obituary, otherwise, I wouldn't anticipate any feedback. However, If it doesn't work right, I know I will hear about it!

Now as for the schnitzel, well, I won't get to indulge as much as I would like. My entire family is from Germany, but go figure, I honestly don't care one bit for beer. However, give me a GOOD bratwurst with real sauerkraut and I will be in bliss as there is no such thing in TN.

[Vinas]

I was going to ask if you considered using some type of see through cloth on the sides rather than acrylic? What about making the top of the archways on the side panels even with the one in front? Other than that I can't even put into words how sweet that case is! Hope your new rad gets to you quickly.

[voigts]

I was going to ask if you considered using some type of see through cloth on the sides rather than acrylic? What about making the top of the archways on the side panels even with the one in front? Other than that I can't even put into words how sweet that case is! Hope your new rad gets to you quickly.

I can't really use cloth on the side panels as that would make them too weak. I am only using 3/16" thick oak plywood for them. The acrylic helps firm them up.

As for the side archways, I can't go any higher with them as they are just below the top wiring box now. Any higher and you would just be looking at the top wiring box through the top of the side arches.

I got my rad in today, so hopefully I can get it set up tomorrow. I also got in my beige 3/4" sleeving that I am going to sleeve the tubing in. Hopefully my tubing from Sidewinder will come in tomorrow and I will be in business. If I can keep from getting torn up by all of this pollen I still hope to get this together this weekend.

[polar bear]

Been reading this thread with awe - subscribed long time ago lol. Very inspiring to see such skill put to good use.

I had a laugh when I read about rad though. Same thing happened to me recently with a PA120.3, expensive too. Luckily I had ordered two at the same time - was planning to upgrade two systems at the same time.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

[voigts]

Its been a while since I last posted on this. I have been chipping away at this, and ran into a few problems that really slowed me down.

I killed a rad and had to reorder a new one (stupid mistake). I normally use narrow plastic double jaw clamps, but opted for screw clamps while swapping a CPU out, and had a leak that killed my VC (yes using new, clean, plain distilled water) Given that this is my first hardware casualty in 4 yrs of watercooling, I count myself as having done well all in all. Not to mention I did this while being sick and pushing myself to get this done as I am leaving for Europe in a week for 3 1/2" weeks.

Anyway, on to some more pics.

I originally made the DVD/HDs cover one piece, but realized that it needed to come apart. So I gently worked the glue loose (which didn't hold well anyway). This way I can easily get to the HD box underneath.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/HDcoverApart.jpg

When making the side panels, I cut the acrylic to overlap the arch in the sides by about 3/8". I mounted the acrylic to both sides using tiny #2x1/4" brass screws. This way the acrylic can be removed, and it helps give rigidity to the side panels.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/MakingSidePanels2.jpg

I put the rad side in place, and seeing through, marked where the cutouts needed to be. I cut them out with a scroll saw.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/MakingSidePanels1.jpg

This little piece is one of the handiest ideas to cross my mind in this build. I was looking for a way to have a nice, compact drain piece. I dawned on me to use the same 1/8"NPTx5/16" barb as I had used on the rad drains when I redid the drain barbs (epoxy didn't hold well, so I sanded it off and used JBweld). I took a long sweep elbow, drilled hole, cut off most of the threads on the barb with a dremel, cut one barb length off of the barb to shorten it, soldered it in place, and ground down the wrench nut and smoothed it all out.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/DrainElbow.jpg

I got 5/16" rubber vacuum caps from Oreilly's Auto parts, as the OD on them is just over 1/2". These little fuel line spring clamps fit perfectly. I used them for the rad drains as well. They are easy to remove with pliers, but do the job. The rubber caps really don't need them to stay on leaktight, but I prefer to have a bit of assurance.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/DrainSpringClip.jpg

[voigts]

I painted the Dtek Fuzion mount to match and added a new NB block.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/PaintedDtekNB.jpg

Here are all of the wires neatly tucked away in the top with room to spare.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/PowerCables1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/PowerCables2.jpg

This is a little mount I made out of some of the side panel acrylic to hold a 92mm fan to blow over the RAM and NB.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/RamNBfanHolder1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/RamNBfanHolder2.jpg

[voigts]

I got a set of Iandh's BGA sinks, and they are worth every dime.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/VC1_IandhSinks.jpg

I had to do some work to get my card support mounted though as the heatsink used two of the same screw holes that I did. I ended up just using 2 long screws to go through my card support through the card and into the heatsinks. I also have a 3rd screw through the card into the support on the end. The support is made out of 1/4" acrylic painted to match. I really like using this as it keeps the card firmly mounted with no bending or sagging.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/VC2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/VC3.jpg

[voigts]

I mentioned that while working on the loop while swapping out the CPU, I killed the VC. After having done this, I decided to rip out all of the tubing and start over. Part of the problem along with the clamp error (I didn't pay attention and had the screw clamp over the barb nut instead of just on the tubing) was that I tried some rubber Norprene tubing from Sidewinder that I hadn't used before. I also was using some 1/2"ID 5/8"OD black vinyl tubing from Home Depot for the ends. I just wasn't satisfied that any of it was going to hold long term.

I also was unsure about leaving tubing just stretched over straight copper, particularly just using zip ties. So, I went to Lowe's and got some PEX solder in barbs. The barbs solder into or onto 1/2" copper pipe, and the barb is actually 7/16". I had a bunch of 7/16"ID 5/8"OD Masterkleer I bought a while back, so I put barbs on all of the copper joints (except going into the VC as there isn't enough clearance between it and the side panel to fit the barbs on). I used dual zip ties in the middle of lines, and plastic dual locking clamps from Mcmaster for the ends.

Here are some raw pics of the tubing assembled before covering. I used the boiling water trick as I worked on the kitchen counter next to the stove. That sure makes the 7/16" go on really easy.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/RawTubing4.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/RawTubing3.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/RawTubing2.jpg

Another handy idea I had to come up with came when trying to fill. A fillport is nice, but I found doesn't work worth squat when just pouring into as physics works against you and the water pools up in the fillport without going into the res. So realizing I needed a small funnel, I got a funnel, and using various sizes of tubing inside of one another, got the last line down to 1/8"ID 1/4"OD. I slide it through the fillport into the res and pour away. The small tube allows air to escape around the sides, and with this, filling took no time.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/16apr08/Funnel.jpg

I gorilla glued the lines together after this pic.

[voigts]

I had ordered some beige sleeving and tried using that, but it just didn't work that well. The sleeving tended to fray way before the ends, and I just wasn't satisfied with it. So I revisited the idea of wrapping the plumbing lines. Antique radio wires were wrapped instead of sleeved (if my memory serves me right). I got some elastic polyester brown cloth, cut it into strips, and wrapped everything. It gives the lines a bit of a mummy approach, but I hope it fits the look.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/TubingWrapped1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LsideNoPanel1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LsideNoPanel2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LsideNoPanel3.jpg

[voigts]

And now just more pics. Thank heaven it finally is done! :)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/Front1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/Front2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/Front3.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/Front4.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/Front5.jpg

[voigts]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/FrontTop.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LsidePanel1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LsidePanel2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LsideRearPanel.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LsideRearTopPanel.jpg

[voigts]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/RsideNoPanel1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/RsideNoPanel2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/RsideNoPanel3.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/RsideNoPanel4.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/RsidePanel1.jpg

[voigts]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/RsidePanel2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/RsidePanel3.jpg

It is so hard to get the camera to do justice to the lighting. The camera washes out the globe image, but in reality it is a nice, glowing red.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LightsDark.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LightsFront.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/Lights.jpg

There are so many small tweaks, adjustments, etc. that I had to do that it would take me forever to document them all.

The one thing that I will at some point add it either a red LED fan behind the "V", or some kind of lighting to bring it out more. Other than that, I am very, very satisfied with how this turned out. The watercooling is easy to fill, easy to drain, and by simply tipping the case back, most of the air comes right out. This res design works great, and most of the air bleeds out in about 2 minutes. With the barbs on all of the copper fittings and using 7/16"ID, this thing is as leak-free as its going to get, and should stay that way.

The ease of wiring and accessibility is wonderful. I have very easy access to wiring, but it is all well hidden and/or neat.

So I think I have been able to achieve my objectives with this.

A special word of thanks goes out to Clokker and Quietice for their help, feedback, and ideas, along with a number of others who pitched in. This project would not have turned out well as I think it has without the feedback and ideas of others.

One kicker to this is that when I had the leak and fried the VC, I was swapping out my E6400 for an E8400 that I bought at Microcenter. It was a return, but they said it was tested and works fine. It ends up that even with the latest BIOS, the system won't post with the E8400 in. So much for their testing. I'll have to return it this weekend.

[Liquid.]

Nice, One of the best cases ive ever seen.

[QuietIce]

Excellent job! :up: You really made it all come together quite nicely!

The brown "mummy wrap" for the tubing looks fine. Indeed, most radios of that era were "sleeved" in that manor - no doubt for the same reason you gave. ;)

The barb in the curve was an excellent idea, too bad it cost a rad to come up with it. :(

The only thing I would've changed is the addition of barbs to the copper lines. I understand your caution but it was unnecessary. I've had 1/2" tubing over 1/2" copper for almost 2 years now with nary a drop spilt, but I did use screw clamps for those connections. The fuel clamps would have worked just as well to secure them w/out issue - IDK about 2x zip-ties.


Again, Great Job Voigts!!! You've created another masterpiece and should be proud ...! :woot:

[Voo Doo]

Very very beautiful. I would be proud to own that let alone make it.
Kudos to you good sir.

[clokker]

It's been very enjoyable watching you proceed through the stages of the project...thanks for taking us along on the ride.

So, what's next?

[voigts]

It's been very enjoyable watching you proceed through the stages of the project...thanks for taking us along on the ride.

So, what's next?


So what's next?????????????

You are just plain evil.

I just checked and I started modeling this back in the beginning of January. I have been working on this from planning to finish for just over 3 months. I spent a bit over 3 weeks on and off planning in Sketchup, and have spent almost 2 1/2 months building this. I am ready for a rest.

I'll probably come up with a few more things to tinker with on this one, like the lighting for the V and a couple of other minor things. Otherwise, I'm not delving into anything like this for a while.

I think I'm going to go ahead and see if there are any contests like MaximumPC and such I can send in for. I don't know that I have a shot at anything, but why not?

I especially thank you Steve for your input. Especially you and Quietice really helped shape this project. I very much appreciate your involvement and input, along of course with everyone else's.


The barb in the curve was an excellent idea, too bad it cost a rad to come up with it. :(

The only thing I would've changed is the addition of barbs to the copper lines. I understand your caution but it was unnecessary. I've had 1/2" tubing over 1/2" copper for almost 2 years now with nary a drop spilt, but I did use screw clamps for those connections. The fuel clamps would have worked just as well to secure them w/out issue - IDK about 2x zip-ties.

Again, Great Job Voigts!!! You've created another masterpiece and should be proud ...! :woot:

I too have used 1/2" tubing over copper with no issues, but always with clamps, not zip ties. I just wanted that extra bit of insurance, which was worth the $10 in PEX fittings. The fuel line spring clamps don't come large enough to work for the tubing connections, not to mention that they are kind of expensive as you have to buy an assortment just to get the size you want as I couldn't find them sold individually. There are 2 of the size I needed for the drain barbs at about $3.50 a pack.

It didn't cost me the rad to come up with the idea for the drain. Actually if I remember right, I messed up the rad about the time I made the curved drain. I just got mad and inpatient. If I had taken more time, all I had to do was JBweld the damaged part where the tube meets the end tank and I could have kept on rolling. It was a $65 mistake nonetheless.

[Maarten-NForce]

Very nice mod :)
That 2 x 360 Radiators :shocked:

[krusu70]

what about fans on the rads?
do they blow out or in?

anyway, best wood case i have ever seen.

[voigts]

what about fans on the rads?
do they blow out or in?

anyway, best wood case i have ever seen.

Thank you. They blow out. With 2-320 rads, it only made sense to have them blow out to me, otherwise, there would have to be more forced exhaust air to keep the heat out of the case.

I have all of my fans turned way down, like around maybe 5v or so. The loudest thing is the DDC if that tells you anything, except for when the hard drives seek and they are the loudest of all by far.

[krusu70]

hmm... the rad temperature should be then same as in the case.
Best way is turn em around and switch some fans to blow out.
Then the rad have better temperature.
Even in the case should have better temps.

[mike8913]

hmm... the rad temperature should be then same as in the case.
Best way is turn em around and switch some fans to blow out.
Then the rad have better temperature.
Even in the case should have better temps.

Thats not really true, as long as he has good airflow in the case his temperatures should not be effected by the orientation of his rad fans as they are now.

[royalmarine]

amazing finish. love the color structure.
gave me some great idea's on my wood case but sadly its nothing compared to your's.
love the tool collection aswel!

[voigts]

Thats not really true, as long as he has good airflow in the case his temperatures should not be effected by the orientation of his rad fans as they are now.

I agree. The slight difference between outside air and case air just isn't enough for me to worry about, and with this design, it only made sense to push air out. I could have put the fans pulling air out, but I didn't want to look at fans on the right side of the case. Rads look a lot better. I think there should be enough passive and active intake that airflow shouldn't be an issue.


amazing finish. love the color structure.
gave me some great idea's on my wood case but sadly its nothing compared to your's.
love the tool collection aswel!

Do you have a link to a thread of your case? I always like seeing what others are up to.

[Martinm210]

Wow, that is simply awesome!!!!! I love it!!

[Waterlogged]

Thats not really true, as long as he has good airflow in the case his temperatures should not be effected by the orientation of his rad fans as they are now.

+2

As long as there is enough passive open space (grills/mesh/filter/fabric) to allow the fans to properly vent the air, there'll be no problems.

[voigts]

Wow, that is simply awesome!!!!! I love it!!

Thanks, but those cabinets are really looking sweet...

If you have the tools to make those, you could smoke me in what you could come up with if you really wanted to.


+2

As long as there is enough passive open space (grills/mesh/filter/fabric) to allow the fans to properly vent the air, there'll be no problems.

That's why I put an open grill under the rads, the cloth area in front, and the open cloth area in the top as well as two intake fans, one blowing on the GPU and the other on the HDs. I learned my lesson in a previous setup a few years ago about negative air pressure. I had dust getting sucked into the CD drive and every nook, crack, and cranny of the case.

[Nate P.]

[IMG]It is so hard to get the camera to do justice to the lighting. The camera washes out the globe image, but in reality it is a nice, glowing red.
HDR (http://www.hdrsoft.com/) my friend.

Excellent build!

[Yeknom]

Very nice work!

I will surely be using this as a reference if I build a wooden case :up:

[fireice2]

nice! really nice!

[MoreGooder]

It's really nice to see how well that case turned out. This is an example of what devotion, talent and skill can achieve!

I've seen someone else post pics of their kitchen in this thread, so I thought I'd share my own. Seems that I'm not the only crazy person that visits these forums.

http://www.tacticalsites.com/~moregooder/Kitchen/DSCF0168.JPG

http://www.tacticalsites.com/~moregooder/Kitchen/DSCF0173.JPG

http://www.tacticalsites.com/~moregooder/Kitchen/DSCF0174.JPG

http://www.tacticalsites.com/~moregooder/Kitchen/DSCF0194.JPG

http://www.tacticalsites.com/~moregooder/Kitchen/DSCF0208.JPG

[voigts]

It's really nice to see how well that case turned out. This is an example of what devotion, talent and skill can achieve!

I've seen someone else post pics of their kitchen in this thread, so I thought I'd share my own. Seems that I'm not the only crazy person that visits these forums.

You should know first off that there are many crazy people that visit these forums. You know you are crazy when you spent way too many hours working on some obscure case detail on a mod that no one but you is going to see.

That General Finishes Urethane you recommended is excellent stuff. It is a good thing I bought a quart when I did because the Oak Unfinished Furniture place that I got it from just went out of business, so now I can't get it anywhere locally.

Where have you kitchen building people been while I have been working on this? I need folks like you locally when I get into projects like this.

On another note, so far it seems that my temps are running about 3-4c cooler on idle, and the difference from idle to dual prime 95 is only about 6c. This is on stock voltages/speeds. I haven't had a chance to mess with cranking it up yet given that I ended up returning the E8400 that I couldn't get to work.

[disruptfam]

very nice work

[MoreGooder]

That General Finishes Urethane you recommended is excellent stuff. It is a good thing I bought a quart when I did because the Oak Unfinished Furniture place that I got it from just went out of business, so now I can't get it anywhere locally.




You can buy the General Finishes stuff from Rockler's online store.
I stumbled on that stuff while browsing through a Rockler store. They did a demo for me. I was astonished as to how easy it was to achieve a flawless finish.

I'm glad you found the finish to be as awesome as I did! (Of course, that's like saying I'm glad you found that piece of cheese cake fattening)

[Breezyjr]

OK< which one of you crazy folks want to come out to Michigan and redo my kitchen?!! heh

@Moregooder. I see the crockpot/slow cooker in the corner... You should send me some good recipes! heh With 4 kids to take care of, I love using it. Put the stuff in, in the morning, and dinner time, it's done!

[/off_topic]

good work though guys! I wish I had that kind of talent. I guess I'll just have to stick to raising kids and saving lives... heh

Breezyjr

[MoreGooder]

I only make stew and chilli in my crock pot. Still, though.... YUM!

[voigts]

:shocked: Yes! We need more kitchen :banana::banana::banana::banana: here on XS. :up: :rofl:

Oh, ehem...Awesome job voigts.

Well we know what you spend your free time looking at, and it ain't kitchens for sure!

Thanks! :)


I only make stew and chilli in my crock pot. Still, though.... YUM!

You guys are making me hungry.

I appreciate the info for the finish. This stuff is great compared to regular polyurethane. It is so easy to apply it smoothly without any drips.

[voigts]

A really funny thing happened to day with my case that I can't resist to post.

I finally set down to update my BIOS to the latest full release F12 and see if I can get this stupid MB to reliably overclock. I gave up a few months ago as with the F10 BIOS (I think) or anything earlier, this MB had cold boot issues. I was seriously considering just getting another MB.

I've noticed that my temps stayed about the same with the same parts since my previous build, and really thought nothing about it even though now I have 2-MCR320 rads vs 1-PA120.3.

I was running Prime95 today with my E6400 (finally settled on 3.2ghz at 1.3825v with +2v fsb and mch) and noticed the temps getting up into the mid 50s (using Realtemp). Of course, wondering about the temps, I did some investigating to find that the channel of my fan controller that I had my rad fans on has gone out, and the system was running completely passively. And this is with the comp sitting inside of a mostly enclosed desk area (with the door off and a couple or undervolted yate loons for rear exhaust fans in the desk).

So overclocked running completely passive, the loop never got above about 54c. Pretty good if you ask me. I unplugged an intake fan and switched to another channel with the yates running at maybe 7v ea (if that), and now the idle/delta is about 7c.

I got some additional LED clusters and plan on setting about fixing the uneven lighting in the front panel and taking some good pics in the next couple of weeks. I only have a basic camera so trying to take shots with the LEDs on without overexposing the lighting is a challenge, plus the fact that I am no photographer. See what I mean?

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Final_16Apr08/LightsFront.jpg

[leo_bsb]

You shouldn't revive this thread... you are making us jealous again on this beautiful job. ;)

[Martinm210]

No kidding, that case is just beautiful!!

[voigts]

I'm still looking for yours MartinM210 given how those cabinets turned out.

Then again, I may not want you to show me up!

[disruptfam]

fantastic case!!

[roofsniper]

i bet if you made a few of those and sold them you would make a fortune. it looks really nice :up:

[Martinm210]

I'm still looking for yours MartinM210 given how those cabinets turned out.

Then again, I may not want you to show me up!

I wish...I gotta finish that cabinet project first. It's too hot in the garage now, or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!..:)

I havn't figured out what I want yet, I'm always changing parts around and I'm a bit abusive.

Maybe a nice hickory tech station...:D

[voigts]

Mods, please move this to the new case log section.

With all of the live.com cashback deals and Ebay coupons, I got a number of very good deals over the Black Friday weekend on some needed upgrades. Core I7 is just a bit too expensive for me yet, so I'll wait for that down the road. I made a number of changes to include MB, CPU, GPU, RAM, some fittings, and tubing routing, especially the pump-GPU.

The way I had it before, this line just barely fit inside of the case up against the case side, and whenever it contacted the case side, the pump vibrations would transfer to the case which made it a lot louder. I rotated the GPU block and with the help of a few Bitspower fittings, changed things around. I also had to make another drain elbow fitting. I would have preferred to avoid the sharp elbows, but in order to incorporate the drain, they were necessary. Those Bitspower fittings really do help tremendously when you have to make tight bends.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01327.jpg

The one main change I made was to fix a problem with the front lighting that had been bugging me since I made the case last spring. The front grill area and res just didn't get even lighting. I cut back the HD mounting box, and changed the front fan to a Yate Loon LED red fan.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01404.jpg

This case design was to create a computer case that would loosely represent what a computer case that was built earlier in the 20th century might look like. In that time period, even radios were built with sweeping architectural elements. Overall, I am still very satisfied with this case. It accomplished the goals I set out for it, and given that I am pretty perfectionistic, this is pretty good. Of course there are minor things that could be improved on, but they are minor enough that they really don't bother me.

Thanks to a post by Skinee, I made a light box out of PVC and used it to take these shots. They could be a lot better, but given that all I have is a homemade lightbox with a crappy Sony point and shoot camera, I'm pretty pleased. I did spend quite a bit of time in Photoshop on them mainly cleaning up backgrounds as the fabric I used for the lightbox reflected off of the plexi sides, the camera doesn't have a manual white point setting, and I am only an amateur photographer at best.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01415.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01395.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01412.jpg

[voigts]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01410.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01398.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01388.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01389.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01364.jpg

[voigts]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01369.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01340.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCaseIII/Nov08updates/DSC01322.jpg

[basserdan]

Saweet!

[voigts]

Thank you!

[nipper575]

Inspiring, I will build a wooden pc case one day.

[Astratuner]

Wow that's something exclusive mate!

[voigts]

Inspiring, I will build a wooden pc case one day.

Cmon, do it, you know you want to...

Astratuner: That is one thing I really like about making a case like this. It is a one-of-a-kind, not a modded prebuilt something that everyone else has.

[CyberDruid]

Gorgeous case. I love your Aesthetic Principles. If I might be so bold as to suggest a different material to wrap the tubes and wires. I like the idea but the material is perhaps too broad and too modern of a finish. Something a bit nubbier and with more texture would look "older" to me.

But that aside what a great piece of work you have here. I enjoyed the log. I promise not to post any pictures of my kitchen.

[xguntherc]

that is just one of the best looking custom built cases I've ever seen, you have some serious talent, I love it.

Nice work, Enjoy it.

[jellyrole]

That looks amazing!! Wish you would make one for me though..

[voigts]

Gorgeous case. I love your Aesthetic Principles. If I might be so bold as to suggest a different material to wrap the tubes and wires. I like the idea but the material is perhaps too broad and too modern of a finish. Something a bit nubbier and with more texture would look "older" to me.

But that aside what a great piece of work you have here. I enjoyed the log. I promise not to post any pictures of my kitchen.

The hard part is that in order to get the cloth to wrap over the tubing and wires, it had to be a bit stretchy to keep it from wadding up. I found that stretchy cloth at the fabric store on clearance. I'll have to chew on your suggestion.

I got a laugh at the not posting kitchen pics. Martin and a couple of the others somehow migrated the thread into a kitchen cabinet show and tell there for a bit. :shrug:


that is just one of the best looking custom built cases I've ever seen, you have some serious talent, I love it.

Nice work, Enjoy it.

Thank you. As far as having talent goes, I just have enough to be dangerous and that is about it.


That looks amazing!! Wish you would make one for me though.

Keep dreaming... ;)
This is a one of a kind.

[CyberDruid]

I always thought of scrollsaws as relatively harmless until I managed to stick the tip of my finger into the blade :eek: Until you spill a few drops of blood the project just isn't properly christened :D

[voigts]

I always thought of scrollsaws as relatively harmless until I managed to stick the tip of my finger into the blade :eek: Until you spill a few drops of blood the project just isn't properly christened :D

That is so true. I probably lost a couple of drops on this one plus a few band aids-nothing major though. Much better than the time I was wrestling with my router on a previous build trying to change out the plunge base to a straight base and forgot to unplug it. Of course somehow I hit the "on" switch and took a nice gouge out of my finger.

[QuietIce]

Did it manage to leave a permanent reminder about power cords ...? :slapass:



;)

[voigts]

Did it manage to leave a permanent reminder about power cords ...? :slapass:
;)

Fortunately it didn't leave a scar, but I can assure you that I haven't forgotten the experience, especially given that it tore up a fingernail pretty good in the process. Pain is an effective teacher!

[liguhy]

Voigts,

Really sad to have lost the recent posts about your case and the sangaku case, but really glad I remembered to re-subscribe to this thread.

Anyways, found this awesome wood case design site and thought you'd love it as much as I did.
*drool* http://www.slipperyskip.com */drool*
He actually built one case out of a cigar humidor! I couldn't imagine cutting up my humidor, not to mention figuring out where I'd put all my cigars.

[voigts]

I'm glad you chimed back in. Just a cursory look at that site makes my jaw drop. I'll have to take a better look at it tomorrow. I haven't posted anything yet on the design that I'm working on, but you can take a look at http://img23.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=right3.png to see screenshots of the Sketchup model along with a few pics I got online of the actual radio.

[liguhy]

I'm glad you chimed back in. Just a cursory look at that site makes my jaw drop.

So I was bored today and didn't want to cram for my studio finals....

Looked around http://slipperyskip.com some more and noticed he had a handful of humidor-converted PC cases. Some others were wood and veneer-covered small form factor (SFF) cases, but I got thinking about using a humidor as a SFF pc. I have a 150 ct. humidor and while I'll never cut it up for a computer, there's tons of humidors on Ebay, especially if you dont' care about putting cigars in it.

So I started by looking at iTX and miniATX boards and found this cool one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136066
http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/ProductImageCompressAll200/13-136-066-03.jpg

With a footprint of 9.64" square you could easily fit it into a 150ct or possibly 100ct humidor, depending on how you oriented the board. That slipperyskip.com guy often mounted his upside down for CPU cooling, but I found this awesome case and figured you could mount the IO plate on the bottom to hid nearly everything! The humidor measures 10 L x 10 W x 12 H according to eBay, so assuming a 4.75" height perpendicular to the motherboard for expansion cards, you'd have more than enough room to mount a microATX board. Depending on how you finesse it, the common ATX form factor is 10" x 12" so who knows what you could fit in a 150ct or higher! The 10" depth would provide what looks like enough room for an ATX power supply and optical drive behind the mobo as well!
http://cgi.ebay.com/CLEAR-FRONT-CABINET-DOOR-120-ct-UNIQUE-CIGAR-HUMIDOR_W0QQitemZ290313794556QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH _DefaultDomain_0?hash=item43980cf3fc&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A4|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0 |293%3A6|294%3A200
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_FHHx2dWqYJk/Sgr_SKqTB0I/AAAAAAAAARM/omiakWmOtPM/2703852254598080_1.jpg

Obviously getting everything to fit would be difficult, even when assuming possible. But think of the awesomness of a i7, dual SLI graphics computer in a humidor with only the bottom getting modded! As an idea, it really seems freaking awesome!

[voigts]

I did more looking at his website after the last post, and while his work is very detail oriented and clean, I am not impressed by the fact that all of his builds are non-performance to say the least. I'm just not that impressed at cramming a mini ITX with integrated video into something.

I haven't posted a project log yet, but I have gotten started on my next case. I will probably post a log here on XS, but I think that this time I will focus more on posting on Bit-Tech. The builds lately on XS that seem to get the most attention to me are mainly shiny chrome paint-the-case neon light mods. Not that there is anything wrong with that per se, but I'm not sure there is much appreciation for a wooden type case.

[tool_462]

I did more looking at his website after the last post, and while his work is very detail oriented and clean, I am not impressed by the fact that all of his builds are non-performance to say the least. I'm just not that impressed at cramming a mini ITX with integrated video into something.

I haven't posted a project log yet, but I have gotten started on my next case. I will probably post a log here on XS, but I think that this time I will focus more on posting on Bit-Tech. The builds lately on XS that seem to get the most attention to me are mainly shiny chrome paint-the-case neon light mods. Not that there is anything wrong with that per se, but I'm not sure there is much appreciation for a wooden type case.


+1 :)

When I posted my wood build a couple years ago I was flamed within the first few posts on my choice of pump location and inlet/outlet setup :down:

Constructive criticism is one thing but downright bashing is another, it got pretty sad. Even though I was proud of my build I knew it wasn't anything spectacular (considering it was my first REAL PC build I was happy to have my own wood case :))

You and I are both looking at building a m-ATX setup of some sort, maybe that is a natural progression going from a wood + water setup :shrug:

I've already got DFI Lanparty Jr. P45 + 3870X2 w/ EK Full Coverage Block (Fuzion V2 on CPU) so hoping to build a m-ATX water setup, either in an already made enclosure (old shipping crate/chest?) or make my own :)

Here is my aging 2 1/2 year old case that has been through a half dozen moves and probably 30 hardware changes :rofl:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/tool_462/Picture024.jpg

[voigts]

Where is your pump? I can't see it in the picture.

[tool_462]

Where is your pump? I can't see it in the picture.

Behind the hard drive cage on a little mount I made for it. Just an MCP655 with the bracket removed.

It was in a different location initially, but like I said, the case has been through a couple dozen major hardware changes so I moved it back there to more easily swap motherboards without taking the loop down :)

[liguhy]

Maybe just put a starter post here with a link? I don't follow that forum very closely. Something to remind me it's started would be awesome so I don't miss the action!

[shazza]

Maybe just put a starter post here with a link? I don't follow that forum very closely. Something to remind me it's started would be awesome so I don't miss the action!

Definitely agree with this. I'd love to be able to follow your progress on the new build. Your work is stunning.

[voigts]

Maybe just put a starter post here with a link? I don't follow that forum very closely. Something to remind me it's started would be awesome so I don't miss the action!

I will gladly do that. As I said I will probably post on here as well.

I had debated about using a DFI Lanparty JR motherboard for this new case, but I decided against it. The proportions with the original radio I'm modeling after really don't need a micro ATX form factor, and although the Lanparty JR MBs rate very well, it seems to me that micro-ATX MBs in general have been a hit or miss as far as performance goes.


Definitely agree with this. I'd love to be able to follow your progress on the new build. Your work is stunning.

Coming from you, I'll accept that as a complement. As you can probably imagine, in general I'm not really a big fan of prebuilt metal case setups. But the setups you've posted are very neat, clean, and organized. Your tri-color MM case is very well done.

[voigts]

Maybe just put a starter post here with a link? I don't follow that forum very closely. Something to remind me it's started would be awesome so I don't miss the action!

I just posted the new log.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=225441