Custom Wood Case IV- Antique Zenith Radio Build

[Alexandr0s]

You know voigts, although you might not tell it right away, one's build can inspire a lot of people. For example, it was partly due to your build that I now feel a strong urge to do my upcoming build in wood.

It's true we all like bling, however, there's nothing better than having a refreshing original build in here once in a while. Because sometimes there's just too much bling and all of it starts to look alike.

If you keep on building in your own style, I can assure you, you will have our attention, now and in the near future .

[QuietIce]

I really do appreciate the comments. I hesitate to say this, but to be honest, I have seriously considered not posting future logs here on XS. I like XS, and read the watercooling section on a daily basis, but my type of builds garner minimal attention or interest here. Most of the people here from my observations are only interested in the very bright, chromy, SLI, block on every chip type builds. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that style, but it isn't mine, and I will probably never have $2000+ to slap down on a build for the cutting edge latest and greatest. Some of the more popular builds I have seen here look nice, but really have very little creativity put into them.

That's actually one of the things I like about Shazza's builds. She always shows a sense of style, creativity, and color in her builds.

I'll follow your build logs wherever you decide to publish, you know that ...

[shazza]

Voigts - Folks have said it pretty well already. Your work is very much appreciated by many of us, and I sure hope you keep posting work logs. And, I'm sure you know there are many who read the forum posts, but do not post.

I love the fact that there are different types of work logs posted here, and it's important for the rest of us to see the truly original builds, because it inspires us to try something new. I am actually considering trying something in wood in the future - your build was the inspiration for that.

[nipper575]

+1 keep posting.

The thing that drew me to XS in the first place was the variety of builds that take place on this forum. Seeing somebody crafting their own case and making it look like an antique that should be on a wall unit is mighty impressive in my books.

[voigts]

I didn't expect to get replies like this to my comment. I didn't post my thoughts for the purpose of garnering replies, but I really do appreciate the kind words from you all.

Well, this place is "XtremeSystems".

I understand what you're saying though. You'll find a different atmosphere at different communities that are scattered out there on the web.

For example, your Zenith build was perfectly suited for bit-tech as those guys are more into the woodworking and homebrew type builds. A build like yours gets more attention there than a build like mine would/does. I think the most popular build over there now is a guy who's building a rig out of cardboard, so they're definitely a different crowd than what you'll find over here.

I think that you should check out The Best Case Scenario (www.thebestcasescenario.com) if you haven't yet as they're also into your type of projects. I think that they'd really appreciate something like this, and it's probably the most creative community that I've seen on the web for this sort of thing.

I frequent many communities but still consider XtremeSystems as my home and favorite community on the web. And I do enjoy seeing a variety of builds whether it's a more throwback build like yours or something new and flashy like Sniipe's "Flow."

Oh, and congrats on the bit-tech cover.

I'm going to take a look at that site. I haven't tripped across it yet. Your reflexion build is a very nice build and deserves the attention that it is getting here as well as other places. I know I've seen it on several forums that I do check out.

Not true at all, it's just that the people that appreciate your builds like those that like fine wine are generally the quieter folks.
Trust me when I tell you that I've heard from many saying 'Hey Dave, have you seen this?" with a link to your thread.
Very nice work.

I appreciate that Dave.

. . .. . .

voigts, don't even think about not posting further logs here. Seriously, I will hunt you down and beat you with the closest piece of your new project until you post it here if you don't post it.

There are very few logs I visit (only 9, including this one, of those on the first page ) but this was one of them. So few original builds these days, so it's extremely refreshing when someone does a real classy wood build from scratch, and yes, I'm following spotswoods current build as well.

Keep up the awesome work.

I got a good laugh out of the "beat you with the closest piece of your new project" comment. I read that to my wife and she laughed as well. Spotswood does some very nice, clean, original work. I could learn a thing or two (or ten for that matter) from folks like him.

You know voigts, although you might not tell it right away, one's build can inspire a lot of people. For example, it was partly due to your build that I now feel a strong urge to do my upcoming build in wood.

It's true we all like bling, however, there's nothing better than having a refreshing original build in here once in a while. Because sometimes there's just too much bling and all of it starts to look alike.

If you keep on building in your own style, I can assure you, you will have our attention, now and in the near future .

That is exactly what I see. Bling is fine and all, but after you've seen the 50th murdermod with 300' of sleeving, it loses something.

I'll follow your build logs wherever you decide to publish, you know that ...

I need to find out where you live and stop by for a visit one of these days and buy you a steak or something. You are an endless source of ideas and feedback.


I have always liked messing with building things, and really like the design/building process, so making cases is a natural extension of my interests, and it provides something enjoyable for me to tinker with given that my job is rather mundane. I enjoy working with wood and love the look of wood, but its not just the wood that is the crux of my interest. It is the design/building process. It is seeking to create something from a set of standards in mind, trying to come up with the best possible solutions I can think of to achieve this, and then transforming the plans into reality. Seeing as I enjoy tinkering with computers, scratch build modding fits the bill.

It is just a bit discouraging to me however when what you see 95% of the time seems only to be an interest in the shiniest chrome, newest GPU, and how many cathodes can be crammed into a given space. Everyone that mods does so for their own reasons and has their own preferences/tastes, which is of course fine, but it is nice to see others share the same interests that you do. Does this make sense?

[voigts]

PSU Mount Change

I've been using this case, and must say that it has been pleasantly doing its thing. I've gone from a dual core Conroe to an I7, and with two triple rads, the cooling has made the change with hardly a burp. Having gotten some recent motivation to do so, I decided to finally fix the one thing with this case that really needed to be done. The acrylic PSU mount never really fit the case. I set about this week to come up with a way to internally mount it without having the need for a piece attached to the back.

After some brainstorming, I came up with the idea to widen the PSU hole a bit and internally mount two aluminum pieces that are attached to the frame and to which the PSU would attach. I used a Dremel with a carbide cutting bit, my Mouse sander, and a file to widen the hole.

One issue however would be how to drill pilot holes for the screws to attach the new PSU mounts to the case due to the small space. I happened across this neat gadget by Milescraft for only $20 that fit the bill perfectly. I used a short countersink bit to drill the hole as the end is hex which this right angle driver uses. I also looked at a Dremel right angle attachment, but it is quite a bit longer than this is.





Here are the brackets unpainted and mounted.





I painted them with the same brown hammertone paint that I used on the backpanel.



And here they are with the PSU mounted.



New Final Pics

Now that I've got a halfway decent camera (Canon SX120),a decent tripod, and a much better picture taking setup, I retook pics of the case. I'm waiting on some real softboxes to come in that I've ordered before I retake the interior shots as I found them very hard to take the first time around.

[Church]

Hmm, stupid idea, but how about incrustating borders/sides of cut holes with some metal?
(trying to imagine how cuts on case front and sides would look, if their borders would be covered with some gold/copper/bronze/silver tin)

Also when box will be connected with all the standart wires hanging on back in plastic/rubber black/white/grey colors, imho case looks will take heavy hit. :/ - it would help if power/lan and rest of wires would be connected to box from below. Though then again maybe outside wires can be sleeved with some retro-looking patern fabric sleeves?

[Waterlogged]

voigts, kind of curious, how come you didn't go with a Lian Li PSU mount (silver) (black version)?

[voigts]

Hmm, stupid idea, but how about incrustating borders/sides of cut holes with some metal?
(trying to imagine how cuts on case front and sides would look, if their borders would be covered with some gold/copper/bronze/silver tin)

Also when box will be connected with all the standart wires hanging on back in plastic/rubber black/white/grey colors, imho case looks will take heavy hit. :/ - it would help if power/lan and rest of wires would be connected to box from below. Though then again maybe outside wires can be sleeved with some retro-looking patern fabric sleeves?

Thank you for your ideas. I think that putting metal on the cutouts would ruin the look in keeping with the radio. The front is made to be exactly like the real radio. The sides of course have to be deeper to accommodate the PC and watercooling, but I tried to use a pattern similar to the front design on the sides to keep the look as uniform as possible.

As for the MB, there is no way to change the orientation and make the design work. As for the wires, I'm not going to go so far as to try to sleeve them. To me that would be a bit of overkill. The wires don't bother me though as you don't see them when looking at the PC.

voigts, kind of curious, how come you didn't go with a Lian Li PSU mount (silver) (black version)?

I honestly haven't seen that Lian Li mount. I may have been able to get that to work, but I don't think it would have offered any advantages over the current mounts. I do like the look of having the mounts not sitting flush on the outside surface of the case.

[Church]

Voigts: I was more thinking not about changing motherboard direction, but something like hiding slots on back / PSU's back, route cables internally and then pass out from bottom. Or at least sleeve them together right by case as single cable (+possibly painting connectors) with some retro-looking sleeving, eg. like these - #1, #2, #3

[Creekin]

i like that idea churchy, retro radio would look perfect with retro cables

[Church]

On farther thought about hiding/routing cables one could make some shallow (just enough to bend cables down. it should be easier with power cable, as those can be bought with L angled end, but hardest might be video cable with long connector .. though if box ends right above video connector?) wooden box/cover to be bolted ontop of slots/back of case with opening in bottom to have less total rework of case back. With some mesh for air to go through from back of PSU for it to not overheat of course. But well, it really starts sounding like too much work for little gain, after all you've already said, that nobody is gonna see back of case.

[Creekin]

thats what i thought you meant originally..
make a cover for the back of the case to stealth the IO cables.


i would bundle all the cables together and retro sleeve them, so it looks like a single power cable for the radio.

[nipper575]

Love it voigts, fantastic detail.

[voigts]

Voigts: I was more thinking not about changing motherboard direction, but something like hiding slots on back / PSU's back, route cables internally and then pass out from bottom. Or at least sleeve them together right by case as single cable (+possibly painting connectors) with some retro-looking sleeving, eg. like these - #1, #2, #3

i like that idea churchy, retro radio would look perfect with retro cables

On farther thought about hiding/routing cables one could make some shallow (just enough to bend cables down. it should be easier with power cable, as those can be bought with L angled end, but hardest might be video cable with long connector .. though if box ends right above video connector?) wooden box/cover to be bolted ontop of slots/back of case with opening in bottom to have less total rework of case back. With some mesh for air to go through from back of PSU for it to not overheat of course. But well, it really starts sounding like too much work for little gain, after all you've already said, that nobody is gonna see back of case.

thats what i thought you meant originally..
make a cover for the back of the case to stealth the IO cables.

i would bundle all the cables together and retro sleeve them, so it looks like a single power cable for the radio.

I appreciate the suggestions regarding the cables, and wrapping them would probably look pretty neat, but the cabling in the back of the computer just doesn't bother me. It is after all a computer, and the cables are a necessary evil. I would have to individually wrap each cable to make this idea really work, and I just don't think it is practical to do so.

Love it voigts, fantastic detail.

Thank you.

[Movieman]

I appreciate the suggestions regarding the cables, and wrapping them would probably look pretty neat, but the cabling in the back of the computer just doesn't bother me. It is after all a computer, and the cables are a necessary evil. I would have to individually wrap each cable to make this idea really work, and I just don't think it is practical to do so.

Actually I would disagree.
It is a work of art that every time I see it that love jumpsout at you.
In the 5 years I've been at this forum if I had to pick the top builds I've seen based on overall impression when first seen I would put yours and sweepers build in the LC section at the top of the list.

[Creekin]

+1 ^
this is NOT "just a computer" this is art.

[callen_1]

I agree with the last 2 posts 100%. This is a work of art, and if i can accomplish half of what you've done here i would be a very happy chappy indeed .

I also think the new PSU bracket fits the theme much better than the acrylic and it looks great sitting flush with the back of the case. The new studio setup is also doing this masterpiece some much needed justice!

Great work mate and best of luck with your current project, i'm sure that'll be a stunner too!

[voigts]

Actually I would disagree.
It is a work of art that every time I see it that love jumpsout at you.
In the 5 years I've been at this forum if I had to pick the top builds I've seen based on overall impression when first seen I would put yours and sweepers build in the LC section at the top of the list.

You're too kind Dave. I changed the back and retook the pictures because Combatus (Anthony), a senior staff writer over on Bit-tech, is going to put this build in for their mod of the year contest. I don't have a chance in the world of winning given the competition, but just to be included is an honor to me.

+1 ^
this is NOT "just a computer" this is art.

Thanks a lot.

I agree with the last 2 posts 100%. This is a work of art, and if i can accomplish half of what you've done here i would be a very happy chappy indeed .

Coming from someone who is capable of the kind of work I've seen you do, I appreciate the comments. I also think the new PSU bracket fits the theme much better than the acrylic and it looks great sitting flush with the back of the case. The new studio setup is also doing this masterpiece some much needed justice!

Great work mate and best of luck with your current project, i'm sure that'll be a stunner too!

I really like the look of the new PSU bracket better myself. I think the criticisms I got of the old acrylic piece were correct. As for the studio, I've learned the hard way and am steadily making improvements. I just got two 2'x' 2' photography softboxes in that I ordered off of Ebay, so I'm hoping to be able to take better internal shots here in the next couple of days.

I've got to get off of my butt and spend some more time in Quintessence. The scrollsaw work is very time consuming.

[Movieman]

I'll toss my money where my mouth is.
You had this for sale a while backand I came "this" close to buying but money was tight then.
If you ever put this up for sale I call "first dibs"..

[voigts]

I'll toss my money where my mouth is.
You had this for sale a while backand I came "this" close to buying but money was tight then.
If you ever put this up for sale I call "first dibs"..

It wasn't this case I had for sale a while back. It was the case before this one. If I ever do decide to sell it, I'll be sure to let you know. Knowing me, I probably will eventually.

[shazza]

This is such a classic, I'd think it would be very hard to part with. But then ... I know you've always got another one up your sleeve. Really like the new photos - they do a nice job of showing your beautiful work.

[Movieman]

It wasn't this case I had for sale a while back. It was the case before this one. If I ever do decide to sell it, I'll be sure to let you know. Knowing me, I probably will eventually.

Just shows you I need to keep up more with what your doing.
I had to look twice to realise this was a different build.
Offer still stands though.
It really is a thing of beauty.

[CptDreadFlint]

Arrr Gary! Was always a big fan of this wooden beauty. The intricate cutting you're doing on the front design of your current build has me lurking here checking for updates everyday and twice on Sundays.