There's not a whole lot exciting to show in this update. I finished cutting out the areas in the bottom panel that needed to go. I also countersunk, drilled, and tapped out 30 holes, 15 per side, to screw the MB tray and the back side to the center 1/2” square tube spacer/support that fits between them. Its amazing how much time little stupid stuff can take.

Transferring MB Tray and PCI Panel Spacing

I set about today getting markings transferred to the MB tray and PCI panel so that I can cut and drill for the PCI/IO panel and MB mounts. I bought a Lian Li Micro ATX MB from Performance-PCS so use as a guide to trace from. According to my Sketchup plans, the MB should sit 13/16” from the bottom of the case. Using clear 1/16” thick acrylic, I cut a piece the size of the PCI panel area, and one the size of the MB tray.





I spaced the Lian Li MB tray 13/16” up from the bottom of the acrylic, and traced out the shape of the PCI panel and the holes for the mounting screws.



I drilled out the corners of the PCI markings in the acrylic with a small 1/16” drill bit, and then used an ultra fine sharpie to dot those corner locations on the aluminum. I did the same for the MB tray. I've got the MB tray mounting holes all drilled and tapped out.





I also marked on the center spacer piece where I need to cut out to allow for the PCI panel slot covers. I used a carbide Dremel cutting bit to hack out the spaces in the steel spacer.



I'll have to take an after picture on this one tomorrow. It took a while, but the carbide bit did the trick, along with some grinding.

Hopefully I'll get started cutting out the slots and IO panel area on the PCI panel tomorrow. I'll be so glad when I'm done messing with metal. I'll take wood any day over metal.

It has dawned on me that I am going to need to have a MB in hand before this project is finished and I get the metal powdercoated. I have to make sure everything fits right as once everything is powdercoated, there is no further drilling/adjusting to be done on the metal without potentially ruining the finish. I have been looking and researching socket 1156 Mbs, and I think at this point, I am going to go with an ASUS P7H55D-M EVO for $124. I would like to go with a Maximus Gene III, but its hard for me to justify the $65 price difference. I have to go out of town next week for a week, so I am hoping to get the back panel cut out and done before then.

Thanks for stopping by.