Project: Talonsbane

[Talon]

Hi All,

Taken from my very first post a few hours ago.

"I would first like to say WOW!! Some/most of the work on this site is amazing. In particular I would like to congratulate Defyant. It is his/her work that I was really impressed with and made me want to start this neat little hobby.

So without further blowing the smoke I grabbed a couple of cases lying around at work a couple of days ago, and I just went out to the hardware store to get a couple of tools to start. My plan with this cases to start with is a bit vague. I kind of went "Great this looks fun", got the gear and now I dont quite know where to start. I thought these first 2 cases would be kind of a trial to practice on. So I was going with simple stuff first (I think)."

And so the saga begins:

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/521/dsc00891fn0.jpg

This is what I started with. These two cases are what I picked up from work. I know they are not fantastic but great to learn on I think. (The compac has a few quirky features that I dont quite know how to utilise yet)

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5332/dsc00894kw6.jpg

After a little bit more reading (this site) I went straight into cutting my blowhole! FYI I have never used these tools before and everything I am picking up along the way is from this site!

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/9991/dsc00899iu1.jpg

As you can see I have never used these tools before lol obviously got the wrong cutting tool

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/2638/dsc00900gh5.jpg

I'll try this one

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/192/dsc00902ai1.jpg

Well that seemed to work better. Now to clean it up and have a look!

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4903/dsc00903dr1.jpg

Not too bad I think for a first attempt

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/728/dsc00907ll9.jpg

So I trimmed it up a little bit more, and glued it to the front. Hopefully it will be enough to hold it for some filler and smoothing.

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/476/dsc00909zw7.jpg

Now as this is a learning attempt, I thought I would give painting a panel a try.

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/180/dsc00910fb8.jpg

This is just the primer, but it is actually quite even much to my surpise. I will have to give it a few hours for it to dry so I can sand it and put on another coat. Also have to give my blowhole time to dry as well.

Everything seems to be working for me thus far, ill go back to the posts and learn more!!

[jdbnsn]

Great start! Defyant would be proud.

[Trace]

Great start! Better then mine! :p

[Talon]

Ok now to finish my first day on the job as a modder ;) I have attempted to finish the blowhole

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3736/dsc00913vr8.jpg

So as you can see I had a fair amount of excess to get rid of.

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1951/dsc00914fe1.jpg

After a lot of sanding and grinding I managed to get it down to something a little more respectable

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/2420/dsc00915zl5.jpg

Ha! respectable! as if! then I did this! and threw all that hard work of sanding out the window!

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4060/dsc00916cg5.jpg

This is the rescue effort! MORE FILLER NEEDED!!

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/451/dsc00917he8.jpg

This would be alright if I was making a volcano!

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1833/dsc00918em7.jpg

Well, at the end of the day I finally managed to come up with something. I am pretty happy at the things I have learnt today:

#1 Dont leave to much excess of PVC pipe
#2 Always wear eye protection when grinding PVC pipe
#3 WEAR A RESPERATOR WHEN USING BODY FILLER/BOG/MUD/BONDO

Wow I learnt three things today, I didnt learn that much when I went to school 8) Ah well tomorrows another day, i am not working (thankyou Easter) and I will continue work on my first case!

[BerticusPryme]

good job keep it up.

[p0Pe]

learn by doing:P... great start imo:)

[Talon]

Ok so day 2 begins!

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9439/dsc00920wh1.jpg

This is what I am starting with today. I need to further sand all the filler and do something with that ugly moon shape

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/4576/dsc00922vw9.jpg

Alright so I cant think of anything creative at the moment, so I used the pieces that I took out as a back fill for the filler to go on top of. I am thinking at the moment that a few cool switches here would be cool at the end. Of course I will need some help but I was going to go with 3 little toggle switches and one big "arming" switch, somehow all chained together so to turn the computer on you would have to "flick up" all the toggle switches and then "arm" the arming switch - but that is later on.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9498/dsc00924lv2.jpg

So I have filled in all the gaps (pretty messy effort at the moment)

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/5250/dsc00925lv3.jpg

I dont know if you can see from this picture but I am having a lot of trouble trying to get all the filler smooth. There is always some little "craters" in the finish. Does anyone know how I can get rid of these?

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/5043/dsc00921sb1.jpg

Meanwhile back on painting land... I have given the back panel a spray of black to see how it all comes up. I am actually pretty happy given that I have never used a spray can before - BIG THUMBS UP TO COMMANDO FOR HIS TUTORIALS (though I really should have taken the rivets out and painted on each panel separatly)

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/97/dsc00926ol2.jpg

Just a pic of the guts I am working with

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3484/dsc00927ho2.jpg

And again...

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/5032/dsc00928vw9.jpg

I decided to give the guts a spray with primer really just to get some practise. Though a think I will end up giving the insides a go over with red.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2629/dsc00929bc0.jpg

More insides

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/191/dsc00930cz0.jpg

Just so I could get some results out of today I went and jumped the gun on painting the side and top panels

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3051/dsc00931vh3.jpg

Gave them a quick prime

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/8020/dsc00932lq8.jpg

And then a shot of gloss black. Now to play the waiting game for these panels to dry (for another coat) and more sanding on my front panel. I really should be trying to get a hold of a electric sander!!

[Tech-Daddy]

When you are applying bondo/filler putty, are you applying it with a putty scraper or putty knife? Or are you simply using your hands or something like that?

You need these:
http://www.3m.com/US/auto_marine_aero/Bondo/catalog_itemba17.html?itemNbr=304

and apply the bondo as smoothly as possible. The spreaders will put the putty into the crevices and make for a more even application.

After you have your surface about 98% defect free, follow up with glazing putty. It is a final step on the putty application, and is ready mixed, but should be used sparingly and not in deep gouges... it should only be used to finish up the minor, shallow surface imperfections.
http://www.3m.com/US/auto_marine_aero/Bondo/catalog_itemc211.html?itemNbr=736

[Talon]

Thanks mate!!

In a previous life I was a chef so I was using a palette knife! I think I was trying to play/work with the filler too long or I was trying to cover too big of an area at once. Oh well this is the first/learning mod for me so its all good. Thanks for your advice!

[Talon]

To finish off what was done today, I took a couple of shots with the sides back on and the front in place. It is getting there I think. I have found a electric sander which I can use tomorrow so couple that with some spray putty and I should be able to spray my front.

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/4826/dsc00934an8.jpg

A back shot taken here, nothing fancy at the moment. Maybe some new fan grilles to be added but I am not sure yet.

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1373/dsc00933si5.jpg

The front! I am getting pretty excited here, my first mod and its all comming together!

[Tech-Daddy]

Thanks mate!!

In a previous life I was a chef so I was using a palette knife! I think I was trying to play/work with the filler too long or I was trying to cover too big of an area at once. Oh well this is the first/learning mod for me so its all good. Thanks for your advice!

Yeah that will happen.

Rule of thumb, and using the scrapers makes this easy, you mix in the hardner to the same salmon color as the bondo scrapers. Too much hardner will do precisely what you are experiencing. If you have a large area, work in manageable chunks, Dont mix more bondo than what you can work with in about 45 seconds to a minute.

[Talon]

Well today I got to use a electric sander to try and polish of my front cover

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/2402/dsc00935yy1.jpg

Here is just what I started with

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8816/dsc00936bn5.jpg

As you can see I have my work cut out for me. This would have taken years to sand back by hand!

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8239/dsc00937ie9.jpg

After about 15min of sanding this was the result. I am not sure if you can see by the pictures but there is a HUGE difference.

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/5426/dsc00938ps4.jpg

Believe it or not this is a great result for me!

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1074/dsc00939ge9.jpg

I know there is more to fill here but thanks to Tech Daddy, I have my answer to smooth this all out

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3121/dsc00940zm1.jpg

Not the greatest of achievements for one day but I ran out of time to get some more putty, oh well I will have to wait until next weekend to get down to the hardware store. For the moment though all this one my first weekend modding has got me feeling pretty good with this new hobby. I am already planning my next one. ( A media case that will match my current entertainment centre )

[J-Roc]

Welcome to modding! ;)

To me it seemed like the bondo wasnt fully dry when you first sanded it. Spot putty will fix it all up though.

Oh just somthing worth mentioning. You can usually find rivet guns at the dollar store with just enough rivets to put a frame back together. It totaly helps with the overall appearance of the painted frame. Also, you should tape some news paper together and make a make shift spray area. Little blemishes from grass blades and dirt allways ticked me off. Oh, here one other thing i just remembered. If your spray bombing your side panels, lay them in an electric oven at about 250c. Its just like baking paint in a body shop. It helps speed drying and hardening by probly 300%

[AMD_TaT3rs]

yea you need to work super quick and in small areas at a time. the paint looks good though. nice job so far.

[Talon]

Yeah I really need to set up a workstation somewhere at home. At the moment its your typical "backyard operation" lol. Nice idea about the oven though J-Roc! Ive ordered the fans now, so hopefully they will arrive by the weekend. I am also chasing some chrome "toggle" swiches. Does anyone know where I can find them?

[Lord Ned]

As for your 3 switch toggle and an arm thing, You can buy just up/down switches, then for the third one they have ones where you need to flip up the cover and press the button down.

You can wire the +on the first to the minus on the second, etc etc, and then have the - on the first one and the + on the second one connect to your mobo.

[Talon]

Nice thanks very much Ned!!

[Talon]

Ok just quick mid-week update. Finally my fans and grilles arrived.

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6485/dsc00941oj6.jpg

I got a few Antec Red LED fans for the case, a couple of grilles for the back and a sweet power switch

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/8437/dsc00942pi0.jpg

Ok so I am a little crazy about these switches! What can I say? I love em!

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5894/dsc00944xv1.jpg

I had a little play with the grilles on the back of the case, but I did not like the "red" they came in.

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5859/dsc00945zq3.jpg

So on went the primer, and a touch of "my" red!

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/807/dsc00947la3.jpg

And this is sort of the result! Sorry about the photos, I wasnt paying attention! EDIT: Hmm looking at this photo the colour is quite dull. The red is actually a lot more vibrant and clean.

As I said just a small update, but on the weekend I will do some more work. I am going to take the case apart, repaint it, fresh rivets back in and hopefully finish the front cover. With a little bit of luck and some patience I should get close to finishing my "learning" mod!

[Talon]

And quickly again - I am cutting out that mesh behind the red grilles, I wont leave it like that :)

[chaksq]

That switch may not work right for what you want. Power switches are momentary in other words you press to make contact but when you aren't pressing the switch it is not contacting. It looks to me though like the flip up cover you have can be removed from the switch so maybe you can find a small momentary and swap the cover over.

Good work otherwise though. Your mods seem to be going well. Keep it up man, this can turn out nicely.

[mofo]

I think the switch idea should work, just as explained a few posts ago. The first three switches would have to be normally open, non-momentary switches. The final switch would be a momentary switch.
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8232/circuitgb3.jpg

This would work because the circuit is broke until all the switches are closed except the final momentary switch, which closes only momentarily.

So if that switch is one of the three normally open switches its all good, but if thats the momentary then a mod is in order!

[Talon]

Thanks guys, I now understand the theory behind the switches, but the actual mechanics of putting it together....... No idea! I can usually put together (or take apart) anything I put my mind to but electronics have always eluded me. If anyone has any step by step instructions or can point me in the right direction that would be great!

[mofo]

The switch is hard to see but if it has a spade connector, you have two choices. You can slip the wire through the hole in the spade ( |o|), or you can use a female spade connector (cheap at any Radioshack, etc.) which simply crimps onto the end of the wire and provides the best connection to that type.

The wire from the motherboard connector would be cut ( if you have the scrap switch), split, and then striped. Then connected to the negative of the first throw switch.

Then a wire with two striped ends and female spades attached to it would run from that switches positive to the next throw switched negative. Repeat for the next throw switch.

The final momentary switch (which you haven't bought yet, right?) would be connected the same as above, except the positive spade on the momentary switch would be then connected to the motherboard's positive wire.

The mobo lead should look something like this from mountain mods:
http://www.mountainmods.com/images/images_big/22MBW.jpg

A spade connector is like this:
http://www.dclinearactuators.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/spade-connectors-female.jpg

If your switch has a spade it would look like one of these 7 things:
http://forums.wakeboarder.com/files/switch.jpg

[The boy 4rm oz]

Nice start. Good luck.

[Talon]

Well unfortunalty I did not get any work done on the weekend. I was distracted by the fact that I got engagged on the weekend!!! :D Yay for me!!

I thought it would be a bit selfish

"Hey babe, will you marry me?"

"Of course I will!"

"Great, Well im going to get back to modding now!"

Hmmm that would have been the shortest engaggment in history! lol - Hopefully back to it next weekend though!

[jdbnsn]

Hey, congratulations dude! :yellow_green: Happy Days indeed!!!!

[OvRiDe]

Way to go!! Best wishes and have you tried modding the ring yet? I hear a strategically placed LED under the diamond can be quite the attention getter.. :D

[DonT-FeaR]

good work did the whole one knee im guessing? lol im sure he would of but theres no room for batterys :P

[The boy 4rm oz]

Great news mate, congratulations.

[Talon]

Thanks for the well wishes all!

Yeah I took her out for a picnic and champagne, did all the right things, then I took her out to dinner to celebrate. It was a great day!!!

Hmmm modding the ring, now thats a good idea lol I wonder how she would react?

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Aye, congrats! Wish I had a reason like that... :D

[Talon]

Well there just doesnt seem to be enough time!!! I could only get back to this project today!

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/3429/dsc01096gh3.jpg

Well this is just a recap shot. I have decided to strip the case down and paint again!

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4116/dsc01097vf2.jpg

My switches all arrived - well the rest of them anyways

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9081/dsc01098yu9.jpg

And I painted the fan grilles and holding device!

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/3503/dsc01099ct3.jpg

This is the stripped case - I didnt realise there was so many rivets. Quick drill and they come out easy!

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/1663/dsc01101eq0.jpg

I set up a painting table. Damn I wish I had a garage - it will do the job, better than the grass anyways

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9802/dsc01102sj2.jpg

DAMN!! yet another setback, ive run out of primer :mad: and its ANZAC day here so nothing is open!!

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9008/dsc01105sn2.jpg

This is kind of the effect im going for with the front of the case. All this switches lined up like this.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9384/dsc01109oy4.jpg

Here is the back of the switches I am using. If you are reading this Mofo, I could sure use some help here designing the circuit i will need to make the system power up. These are all the switches I will use.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/3720/dsc01106jr4.jpg

Ok, so I got impatient and prob caused a lot more work for myself - but I starting painting, just a first coat. I really wanted to see what it looks like!!

EDIT: Yes I did paint the mobo tray, but its more for practise than anything.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/3774/dsc01108ah8.jpg

Yes I even did the front cover :eek: lol I will have to redo it now, but at least I will be able to see what it looks like soon. There is still a lot more work to be done on the front, well im sure you all know that - just letting you know I do to :)

Thanks for reading all, I will try and get the "mock up" done in a few hours. Tomorrow I should be able to get to the hardware store for a couple of things!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Nice paint. Nice progress.

[Talon]

Ok so I waited a bit to let the first coat dry and....

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/3154/dsc01110mt0.jpg

Its not too bad. All this is for, is so I can see how it is comming together. Definatly not the finished job.

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/1995/dsc01111ni6.jpg

From the angle

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5201/dsc01112gq4.jpg

And then inside. I didnt bother to put the fans in but you get the idea. All the rivets will be that red colour as well.

Next on the agenda:

Strip it down again
Wet sand the lot smooth
Finish the front panel - More bondo, sanding, filling, painting
Cut out the two fan holes in the back (the grilles will replace that perferated mess)
Re paint, a proper job in a good clean area ( I will need to find one though :) )
Paint the rivets - Yes I will do that before I put them in lol

And I hope that will get me a hell of a lot closer than where I am now. For the moment however I am happy that something is happening again. :D

[The boy 4rm oz]

You can get black rivets you know, or green or cream. My local Mitre 10 have them where they sell all the fencing and out door wood. I also forgot to cut off my rear fan grill, half my case is painted and put back together so I have to remove the rear panel and cut it out when I have some time later this week.

[Talon]

Yeah I know you can get coloured ones, but I want them to be red, and the same red as the inside. Thanks anyways

[psychowit]

I like the front all rough like that