Custom Wood Case IV- Antique Zenith Radio Build

[Semicycle]

Very Nice Work. Subscribed!!

[voigts]

Nice!

I do have to wonder why you didn't turn the CPU outlet run before the res and run it into the rad air chamber between the board and res? Seems like it would; 1) be a shorter run, and 2) look cleaner with the res view unobstructed. Taking it over the top of the board would also work, though I'm not sure it would be as aesthetically pleasing for some reason.

I don't quite follow you on the "turn the CPU outlet run before the res and run it into the rad air chamber between the board and res" part. Exactly which run of tubing are you referring to?

As for running any tubing through the air chamber, there really isn't enough clearance in there to run tubing in there without obstructing the airflow.

[Rise]

I don't quite follow you on the "turn the CPU outlet run before the res and run it into the rad air chamber between the board and res" part. Exactly which run of tubing are you referring to?

As for running any tubing through the air chamber, there really isn't enough clearance in there to run tubing in there without obstructing the airflow.

i think (s)he's referring to the tube that crosses the res (from the radiator to the CPU), and is suggesting it either go behind the res rather than in front of it so its not blocked at all or perhaps a hole put into the mobo tray so that it can go to the other side of the case without every having to pass the res.

Also, I think its actually the CPU *inlet* tubing, FWIW.

[voigts]

I've got you now. It is the CPU inlet, correct. That must be what Quietice means. I just hadn't thought of routing it through there, and looking back at the design, I could do this. The tube would simply go on top of the rad fans where clearance isn't a problem. I would have to use two or three 90s to do so, but that is no big deal to me especially since I am looking at having 2 pumps. It just had never crossed my mind to do so. Its funny how you can look at something so many times over and never have something this simple dawn on you.

Very interesting idea. I'll have to draw it up tonight in Sketchup.

[QuietIce]

I've got you now. It is the CPU inlet, correct. That must be what Quietice means. I just hadn't thought of routing it through there, and looking back at the design, I could do this. The tube would simply go on top of the rad fans where clearance isn't a problem. I would have to use two or three 90s to do so, but that is no big deal to me especially since I am looking at having 2 pumps. It just had never crossed my mind to do so. Its funny how you can look at something so many times over and never have something this simple dawn on you.

Very interesting idea. I'll have to draw it up tonight in Sketchup.

Yes, it's the CPU inlet, not the outlet - that's what I get for typing before I've finished my first cup in the morning!

I think you guys figured it out even with my faux pas. I was just looking at the Sketch with the loop routing and - well, you know how those things work.



Edit:
I just figured out that the rads are on their sides instead of upright!
Now I can see why you didn't think of it - it does add two 90° elbows to the run (or at least a long, lazy "S" in the tubing). But as you pointed out, I doubt that would hurt anything ...

[charles_h]

I really love your work Voigts!

When I was young, I used to sit quietly - mesmerized while watching my Grandfather create things from wood. As I got older, I tried my hand at woodworking but just never seemed to have the aptitude for it. There's nothing like the result produced by those who posses that special ability like CyberDruid, Spotswood, and yourself.

I really look forward to seeing this beauty come together as you do your thing... keep up the great work Mate.

[liguhy]

The waiting is killing me!

But I know once you do get some work done and post pictures (lots, LOTS!), it will be awesome.

[voigts]

I really love your work Voigts!

When I was young, I used to sit quietly - mesmerized while watching my Grandfather create things from wood. As I got older, I tried my hand at woodworking but just never seemed to have the aptitude for it. There's nothing like the result produced by those who posses that special ability like CyberDruid, Spotswood, and yourself.

I really look forward to seeing this beauty come together as you do your thing... keep up the great work Mate.

Thank you and every one else as well for the kind comments. I feel personally that I am in no way some expert woodworker. I just have a knack for design and enjoy planning and designing something like this and doing my best to make it a reality. There are plenty of others that could do a much better job on the woodworking and detail than I can. I personally think that some of the work that I have seen by Cyberdruid and Spotswood are far better than mine.

I will however say that so far I am overall very pleased with how this project is going. I am just itching to get more time to spend on it this week. I really want to get is finished as soon as possible. My wife and daughter are out of town this week, so I am going to try to get busy again on this.

[dengyong]

You can connect the rpm sensor wire on your new pump to the cpu fan connector on your motherboard and set it to shut down the computer if the pump stops.

[voigts]

MB Tray Mounted

I mentioned in the last post that I got the MB tray mounted to the air chamber. Here is a better pic. The MB tray mounts directly to the radiator air chamber. This way it is stable. I originally didn't plan on the air chamber idea, so I was going to be leaving some room behind the MB tray for wiring. With the air chamber however, that space is gone. I however am not too worried about it though as I think it won't be a big deal as far as wiring goes, and the benefit of having the rad air isolated far outweighs this.



Top Trim

I got the top sanded the way I wanted and have glued down the front curve and top trim pieces.



Front Grillcloth Mount

I made a piece to fit inside of the front grill to use to mount the grillcloth with. It completely hides the area where I routed the thickness down. I spent too much time on this piece as it really was a pain to make.





This is how it will look in place.



Front Oval Trim

I made the front oval trimpiece. This is made out of 3 pieces so that I could route the edges of the curves. I used a 1/8" cove router bit to cut the edges of the curved pieces, and then glued them to the center trim piece.





Since taking this photo I've gone ahead and glued the oval piece on the front and used 2 small screws on the backside for extra reinforcement.

Side Panels Mount Strips

I cut and glued in all of the 1/2" x 1/2" strips that the side panels mount to. I had to do some cutting and measuring to make sure that the metal air chamber would still properly mount with them in place. I was thinking about just having the side panels stick on with magnetic strips, but I decided against it and am using threaded inserts to screw the sides on instead.



I've cut both side panels. Here is a pic of the panel partially mounted. Instead of using the round head brass screws on the panel, I've got brass flat head screws in the mail coming my way so that the screws will sit flush with the sides.



Rads and Fans Mounted

In order to know exactly where the holes need to be cut into the side panel for the radiators, I needed to mount the radiators and fans onto the mount. I took both rads, cleaned them with hot soapy water, then DOW Scrubbing Bubbles, then more soapy water, then lots of rinsing, then distilled water rinses, and baked them both at 170f for a few hours to dry them out. I cut and soldered in wires for the fans, cut a hole and mounted a grommet in the air chamber, and mounted the fans and rads.

While I was screwing in the Bitspower fittings, I noticed that the metal on the fittings was going all the way down against the rads. The o-rings are too thin to seal properly on the MCR rads. So I took a trip to ACE hardware and got some thicker o-rings. I'm really glad I noticed this as I am pretty sure it would otherwise end up leaking, and taking this back apart later would be a real pain.







I plan on cutting out the grills for the rads and fan on both sides tomorrow. I have a few more knick knacks still to do, but I should be ready to start staining soon.

[busterben]

fantastic work so far man!
now if only manufacturers pick up the idea of rads behind the mobotray.
that would safe much space

[voigts]

fantastic work so far man!
now if only manufacturers pick up the idea of rads behind the mobotray.
that would safe much space

Thank you. I really don't see why no one has done this. Of all of the mounting options I've considered, mounting dual rads behind the MB tray simply works out the best and can be done easily in a midtower case size.

[busterben]

indeed.
just like your previous case it just shows it can be petite & pretty but still with room for wc-ing
also rads doesn't have to be that thick either. magicool elegant showed some pretty good results.

*wonders off and imagens a mini tj07 with radchamber*

[voigts]

Rads Grill

Instead of going with just plain rectangles for the radiators in the side panel, I opted for a arched design. I had to drill every one of these 1/2"dia holes first with a forstner bit in order to get clean cuts.



Then I had to cut each one out with my scroll saw, and sand and clean up each arch. I wanted as much air space as possible, but I probably should have made the dividers between the arches wider than 1/4" as this is only 3/16" thick plywood. Some of them are kind a little fragile.



Here is what it looks like held on the side of the case.



One issue I am wrestling with is what to do for a filter of some kind on the rads. I'm not worried about dust, but I would like something enough to filter out my wife and daughter's long hairs. Between the two of them, I find long hairs everywhere in this house! I want to keep those out of the rads, but I don't want to add much restriction. I have some modder's mesh, and I thought about painting it hammered copper or something and putting that behind the side panel grill. I don't think I can use fabric here as fabric of any kind is going to be just too restrictive to good airflow for the rads. I've also thought about panty hose, but I'm concerned that will be too restrictive too.

I'm open to any suggestions.

I should have taken pictures of the other side, but I cut out a much smaller grill area for the side intake fan. I also made mounts out of acrylic for fabric on the left side fan intake and top air vent.

I finally was able to start staining today. The first coat of walnut is on and drying, and I think it looks sweet!

[Semicycle]

Beautiful work as always.

I have an idea for you....

This is going to sound crazy but how about buying 1-2 dryer lint filters, cutting the filter out the frame and mounting it behind the holes?

Dryer Lint Catcher

[voigts]

Beautiful work as always.

I have an idea for you....

This is going to sound crazy but how about buying 1-2 dryer lint filters, cutting the filter out the frame and mounting it behind the holes?

My concern with something like that is that it is going to be very restrictive to airflow for the rads. Especially since the rads are isolated from the case, I'm not that worried about a bit of dust, but I don't want to "choke" the rads.

[DarkCow]

great work Voigts, she's looking beautiful. I wish I had the patience to do that kind of detail work... I just slap pieces of wood together

I really like the idea of the radiators behind the motherboard tray. Great idea. Also I'm up in arms on how to cut out a grill for my radiators. What you did there is a cool idea.

also what are you using for the motherboard tray?


and also many thanks for the great detail, just reading through is making me think about completely redesign elements of my build.

[charles_h]

Great job on the rad grill!

There's nothing like making something that at any moment can get farked and all your hard work is down the turlet!

My vote to combat the hair issue is the hammered copper modders mesh. I think it will look great and offer a complementary texture to the wood.

[sirheck]

Nice!

[defect9]

use common window screen. should be available in black, gray or silver (and maybe white) at any home improvement store. or, get some of the screen for them screen-doors you see on cheap mobile homes and homes in the south. Its usually the same stuff.

[Semicycle]

or, get some of the screen for them screen-doors you see on cheap mobile homes and homes in the south. Its usually the same stuff.

Hey, don't joke on the south man

[voigts]

great work Voigts, she's looking beautiful. I wish I had the patience to do that kind of detail work... I just slap pieces of wood together

I really like the idea of the radiators behind the motherboard tray. Great idea. Also I'm up in arms on how to cut out a grill for my radiators. What you did there is a cool idea.

also what are you using for the motherboard tray?

and also many thanks for the great detail, just reading through is making me think about completely redesign elements of my build.

For the MB tray, I like to use the Lian Li replacement trays from Performance-PCS. They are worth the $30 for something like this.

I'm glad the detail is helpful. That is one reason that I try to post things as they go step by step so that hopefully others can benefit. As for making you redesign elements of your build, that is why this time I spent so much time in Sketchup before doing this build. I wanted to have this thing hashed down as much as possible to the smallest detail that I could.

Great job on the rad grill!

There's nothing like making something that at any moment can get farked and all your hard work is down the turlet!

My vote to combat the hair issue is the hammered copper modders mesh. I think it will look great and offer a complementary texture to the wood.

I sure hope that i don't kill my side panel. I would not be a happy camper. The modders mesh has the advantage that it will help stiffen up the side as I can gorilla glue it to the panel.

use common window screen. should be available in black, gray or silver (and maybe white) at any home improvement store. or, get some of the screen for them screen-doors you see on cheap mobile homes and homes in the south. Its usually the same stuff.

All right now, watch where you step on the "southern" stereotype there! I do however realize that no one would want to have a screen door in the desert southwest lest they choke on dust, not to mention the heat...

I think that I'm going to try paint the modders mesh to see how it looks, and also take a look at mosquito screening as well and just see which one I like better.

[Rise]

Hey Voigts, nice progress since I last posted

I was debating on whether or not to post this but I feel like I have to I don't like the rad grill cover piece. I think its sub standard compared to everything else you've done on this build and I was a little surprised that you went with it. The cuts don't look straight and the ribs aren't lined up very well. It looks like it was a lot of work but I don't think it's the best you can do! this is just some constructive criticism... I really think you should give that panel a 2nd go.

Again, I think you have done a fantastic job so far I just think that you could do better on that 1 piece. Regardless of what you decide to do, I'm going to continue to follow in awe of your wood working skillz

[bianco]

amazing woodwork voigts. and that rad placement is a fresh idea.

[Rasmus66]

Amazing wood work