Project: Swashbuckled!

[Munty]

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/6867/swashbuckledtu9.jpg (http://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=swashbuckledtu9.jpg)

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/1121/swashsponsordj5.jpg (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=swashsponsordj5.jpg)

About a year ago, just before the release of 'Pirates of the Burning Sea' I came up with a water cooled case mod concept on a theme that would perfectly complement said game. Unfortunately no sooner had the idea made its way into a basic .bmp file I moved house to start a family and things have kind of spiralled from there (don't even own the game let alone have the mod done!)

Recently though I was inspired anew, most likely by some of the mods here! So a month or so down the line I find myself with 90% of the materials I'm going to need, a working mockup of the system it'll be running and several more uber-basic .bmp images and I feel like it's time to dip into the community for some help and advice. This is an absolutely £0 budget scratch-build so I'm doing well to have got this far but I'm convinced I'm going to need a lot more than keen eyes for salvage to get me through the main body of the build itself!

Now I would put some pictures up here to show off my materials (generously 'donated' when a nearby neighbour replacd their old boiler!) nd the very fetching - if not slightly squashed - cardboard mockup of the system itself (which I'm using right now by th way, bully for me!) but not only does the missus have the digital camera (that the cat broke anyway) but I have no idea how to upload pictures or even a signature/mod header for use on this site!

So that's Q.1 for whoever reads this post! Before I ask any more it's probably best to explain the mo itself in a little more detail, so here goes!

The rig I'm using has a good few years behind it but thanks to a few donor parts from newer machines it's erfectly capable of most things I throw at it and it isn't intended to replace my primary gamer, just to complement it. If all goes to plan it ill probably be my primary platform for all my swashbuckling needs (Pirates, PotCaribbean, PotBurning Seas-one day- Caribbean Tales, Seadogs, the list goes on) hence the whole purpose of this mod and its theme!

So what I've taken from the donor machine and added from elsewhere amounts to 2xCDDs, 2xFDDs (yes 2 floppy disk drives! It'll make sense when I'm able to link pics but I don't expect they'll get much/any use!) 1xHDD because the other is in use elsewhere but I'd like to leave space for it and a P4 CPU on whatever mobo its on! I believe the GFX card is an Nvidia Geforce 7600 or something similar but th cat's on me so I can't check. Not that it really matters a I'm on the computer in question now so it clearly works!

{THIS IS DESCRIPTIVE - SKIP AHEAD FOR PICS}
Now for what I want to put it inside of... First of all, think horizontal, like the computers at my old school where the monitor was sat on top of the tower (is it still a tower if it's lying down?) They were back to back so we ued to swap each others cables over so it looked like the mouse was out of control, classic times :D Moving on... Picture a rectangularbase, 400x460mm with a maximum height of 140mm and then remove one corner down to a height of 50mm to create an L shaped top and a rectangular 'chunk' missing from the front right side. That makes the front elevation a true L shape and places the 2xCDDs in the upright on the left and the 2xfloppies in the horizontal 50mm high part (that's why I have them, because they fit nicely there and I wanted 1 anyway!) The mobo is behind the CDDs laying flat with the PCI slots and Interface panel to the rear of the case (400mm face) The hard drive fills up space alongside the mobo and the PSU (bought specifically for its dimensions) will reside towards the rear of the case alongside the outputs from the mobo.

The PSU hasn't arrived yet but everything else has. This includes rounded cables for the CD and Floppy driv datas and UV everything else exceptthe lights which I'll need in order to illuminate it. Basically the whole interior will be UV reactive providing a blue glow throughout, the two side panels (460mm lengths) will then be either custom cut to allow appropriate viewing of the interior or they will be entirely transparent. This is really an after thought in the grand scale of thngs but is hoped to dd to the naval/aquatic theme of the case.

To the detail itself, the case will be representing a caribbean port, complete with buildings, moorings and yes, even water! The original plan (which developed with no prior knowledge) was to make this case water cooled but this proved impossble for several compelling reasons! The 'missing chunk' I referred to earlier will be enclosed on the two exposed sides with plastic, glass or whatever is the most suitable, transparent material for the job in order to create a cutaway harbour if you like. In this harbour will be a boat, on the L shaped case top will be a street/market area and further detail in the way of housing and shops and in the corner directly opposite the tank will be a clocktower which will be one of the extraction fans. This fan will in turn blow over our dockside scene and give the boat and water some movement, adding a nice touch to an otherwise still diorama!
{END OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXT - READ ON!}

As I said however, I currently have some way to go! This is literally a no budget build so everything I have so far has been begged and borrowed, or scavenged if I'm honest! As I said, the actual case itself consists of several panels from a neighbours old boiler which give me a rigid base and a fairly lightweight case all in one (the base of this boiler was actually so perfect a size that I simply extended the planned length of the case by 1cm so that I didn't have to make a single cut!) Anyway, I finished making the last cuts in this material earlier today and now need to get it all together. Unfortunately the only way I can think of doing this is with a bit of welding and I have neither the skills nor the tools!

So for now at least this is where I stop, there's a bodyshop next door but when I went to see them it was closed so it'll be Monday befoe I try that avenue. In the meantime I'd love some feedback from anyone who has enough time to read this gargantuan post whatever it may be. Worried about water so close to electricity, got some UV cathodes to donat or just want your old boiler back let me know what you're thinking!

Something I'd quite like to see is a good 3D representation of how this case looks in my mind but I am once again totally lacking the skills and tools. I do however have several scale drawings and diagrams though so if anyone wanted to get the noob a greeting gift you could always bring my imagination to life!!! (Oh yeah and how do I upload pics etc?)

Thanks for sticking with me! None of the other posts are going to be quite this long, promise!!!

[theshoeshineman]

Sounds like a very interesting case build!

First of all the easiest way by far to upload images I have found is to just use http://www.imageshack.us/ (it is free and will resize your image aswell).

Water and electricity don't mix so assuming it's well sealed and the insides are protected from spashes that will occure when case is bumped.

One thought that instantly came to my mind was instead of using "water" was to use a "coolant" and have the bay act as a resivour for potential watercooling.

Keeping it all clean would be the next concern but I'm sure you could pick up something from an old aquarium to filter it.

I know you were pretty descriptive but I think I'll need a sketch or diagram to give me a better picture.

[Munty]

The water v. electricity is by far my bigest concern in the long run but knowing that means I can take every possible precaution so it shouldn't be an issue.

I had wondered whether it would be possible to use the bay as some sort of cooling medium but the way everythingis arranged inside the only thing it will be near to is the floppy drives so there won't be much heat there. Cooling stands on just a few fans atm but should be plenty. The 80mm mobo fan will need some guidance but that will blow out of the back of the case as will the PSU fan and I'm thinking about a PSI slot extractor for prolonged usage (it will give my GFX set the extra oomph it needs to chuck out the heatits producing) The clocktower fan is mostly for visual effect so although it will be dcted it will most likely provide minimal cooling

I had thought about things growing and living in the water but to be honest that's probably not a bad thing! The case itself (including the bay) will be very angular before the detailing begins but before the water goes in I'll model a more natural dock, ground and walls, so it wil very likely resemble a fishtank! I'm awar that it will need fairly regular maintenance though, don't want green water :s

I'm going to pop over to image shack now I think! I may see if I can turn my bitmaps into some more representative images too, after all a picture is a thousand words so three o them could replace my first post :D

As an afterthought, the water/coolant in the bay could possibly serve to cool the HDD which isn't far from it but I would need a way to convey it from the drive to the drink! Any thoughts let me know, I'll try and post later with some pics even if they are crappy bmps :p

[Munty]

Ok so I officially hate imageshack... I had a play with Sketchup after seeing it used in so many other mods here and I love it! It's turned out great and took virtually no time at all as I was able to take the measurements directly from my mockups!

On the otherhand... The nd result of producing these images was that they needed uploading to iageshack... I'm still trying to do it as I type (wireless net not helping with speed) It just seems to be uploading totally the wrong images, I ave 2 of one image and none of another. The only ones I've been able to upload with minimal stress so far are the full sized ones which will be too big for use here. Then I started trying to upload smaller ones and file management has become my greatest enemy..

Bear in mind I'm uploading the same 3 images twice each, and then take into account that imageshack doesn't give any information on a particular image until I've opened it up in wo new browsers... Why does it not say '640x480' when I hover over the thumbnail or something? That's what I want!

To make matters worse my IE now seems to have a problem with the site itself so I'm having to upload each image 3 times before it even works... That's enough moaning though, I think I'm getting there so here (hopefully) aresome sketchups of the planned case;

(Note there are 4 pics now as I realised I wasn't showing PCI, I/O or PSU locations) (And then note that I'm only uploading 2 as the others don't really add anything new!)

Here's a front view showing CD and Floppy drives. The clockface (although white) s a fan 60-80mm not decided yet
http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/6531/sb3dbi2.jpg (http://img235.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sb3dbi2.jpg)

And here is a back view showing PCI slots, mobo intrface and the PSU input and fan (though this sn't guaranteed as the PSU hasn't arrived yet!)
http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/3377/sbbackbz7.jpg (http://img235.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sbbackbz7.jpg)

Feedback as before is more than welcome!

[DonT-FeaR]

nice gunna be sweet good luck

[Munty]

Thanks DF I hope so but it's money I need more than luck right now! Still I've not done badly so far and I've spent practically nothing, it won't last through detailing though unfortunately...

I finished my last it of cutting yesterday and mocked up the majority of the case to get a feel for hat I'm making and it's turnedout pretty well albeit rough for now. Below is a picture of how it looks taken on my crappy old webcam as th cat actually has totally destroyed our digi somehow. I hate cats...

As I was tying to prop everything up to get a picture and also while I was working with Sketchup I gave some thought to how exactly I could achieve a nice finish to such a low budgt build. The metal is all hand cut (2 sizes of hacksaw and a value jig!) and my workbench has consisted of the garden step and a piece of damp wood. See what I mean about no budget?!

Anyhoo, I liked the look of the wooden txture I used for siding in sktchup and decided that tat would be a good way to present a nice clean case and much eaier to work with than meta (especially once all th brackets, rivets and welds are done, it'll look horrible!) I also revisited sketchup for some detailing, including adding the side windows and the arious drives although no mob or PSU models were up tthe specs of what I'll be using sothey're still mising.

Basically though, theidea is that oce the case is structurally complete - the base, front and back panel together, all top panels together ad the side panels seperately giving me a four part case - I'll get some thin sheets of wood or realistic laminate or something similar which will cover the four sides (this will allow for the eventual join between the case and houses tooso no nasty lines) The side panels will be sheet plastic with the material applied directly to it to provide the frames.

So here are some more pics anyway, one of the case itself so far and two of the detailing in Sketchup, I tried to align the sketchup image similarly to the atual photo for comparison.

Again I apologise for my numerous spelling mistakes, my keyboardis really playing up lately and I can't be bothered correcting everything (though I did add a missing 'S' earlier on so people don't think I detailed on ketchup!)

Feedback and any advise always good!

Back view ino case cavity with drives in situ and HDD floating but representative of its actual position!
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/7593/sbdbackrf7.jpg (http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sbdbackrf7.jpg)

Front view including pirates for scale! Arr!!! Try to picture it without the boat and people, they detract somewhat but serve well as visual aids!
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/9869/sbdfrontmi3.jpg (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sbdfrontmi3.jpg)

An here is the actual case itself! Not much to look at but it gives a good idea of what a little scrounging can do. There's nothingto see on the back, I'm not going to cut interface or PCI slots until the mobo is mounted and I can take exact measurements.
Note that the small hole on top (already in the sheet so it's nice and rounded) will house the on/of switch and the middle (smallest) piece of sheet is actually cardboard as it's not yet been cut but soon will be.
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/5145/picture073rz7.jpg (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture073rz7.jpg)

[SgtM]

Looks like good plans. One question though.. why 2 Optical and of all things.. 2 floppies?

[Munty]

Thanks Sarge! A lot of the hardware coes straight from the donor pc to be honest, the original comp had 2 opticals and one floppy and I don't recall the last computer I had with only 1CDD to be honest...

As far as floppy drives, they are fairly redundant if I'm honest, the computer would be just as useable without them. It all stems from my second most recent tower purchase which didn't have a floppy drive at all which gave me a real headache as I was offline and not networked so I had no really good way to transfer files between computers. Obviously 1.4mb doesn't store much by modern standards but it was mostly small images, word or other documents and save game files I wanted to transfer so floppy was ideal most of the time!

A large reason for the inclusion of floppies though (and the sole reason for there being two of them!) is that they fit well with the overall design. The original component specific case design was arranged with cardboard cut outs of the drives etc I was using and this layout made most sense so its what I've ended up sticking with! 2CDDs and 2floppies fill out the front of the case perfectly so I'm happy with the setup.

I'm at a bit of a standstill now waiting for my PSU (which I had to pay for, gasp!) and some material for internal component support to arrive hopefully this week. I still need to find a welder for my base plate before any more can happen though so I'm shortly off to visit my friendly neighbourhood chopshop!

[Munty]

So the last few days seem to have been beset v bad news (although possibly not entirely) The garage next door seems to be in the process of closing down and I was typically a matter of days too late to catch the resident welder who has now left! I've had a few hits online in my search but most of the welders close to home seem to be too commercial for my needs and those more suitable are miles away!

Still the good news should be mere moments away as I'm expecting my PSU and internal materials hopefully any day now! When that arrives I'll be able to finalise the internal hardware positioning and I need to make 3 mounting brackets for the CDDrives, floppy drives and hard drive. They're all planned to be as simple as possible and sould allow easy component access for all of the generic hardware in the case.

Unless I have more luck finding a welder tomorrow for m base plate the next update will be when my materials arrive. Once that happens though things should speed up, it'll only be lack of tools holding me back!!!

[jdbnsn]

Great mockup! Very cool looking design and concept, good luck on your project and I'll be watching. As for imageshack, I hate it too. I use an ftp on our site now but before that I dropped imageshack for photobucket which seemed much easier to use. You might give it a try.

[Munty]

Thanks J, do keep watching as hopefully things should start happening soon! The good news I was hoping for came today and my PSU is on the way so hopefully will be here by the end of the week. I just hope it fits as well as I think it should!!! I haven't heard from my mount material guy yet but have shot off an email to him to try and get things sped up. I need this stuf to arrive before I can mount my mobo which I didn't mention in my last post and I need my mobo mounted before I can cut my interfaces in the back panel.

Still nothing but more bad news in my hunt for a welder thogh. My lack of money makes it a tricky enough process as it is but so far of the three possibilities I've contacted 2 are wrong numbers and the third is retired! I'm starting to run out of options a bit now so the possibility that I may have to travel is looming its ugly head. It seems so ridiculous for such a small join though.

On that note if anyone has any ideas on alternative methods of joingin please let me know! It's the baseplate of the case itself so has to be rigid as it will be supporting most of the internal weight but the front and back panels will be permanently attached to it offering some extra strength. Any htoughts at all pass them my way and I'll update (maybe with pics) when my next lot of parts arrive.

Edit : I think I used to use photobucket a while back but doesn't it require a log in every few months in order to stay active? Can't remember but I know I had that trouble with my old hosting site! I'll just have to give the shack benefit of the doubt for now I guess...

[Munty]

Ok so I haven't heard back from my material guy yet but there have been a few new developments, namely my new PSU!

So here she is, significantly smaller than a standard box and still making the 400W that is al I'll ever need for this setup! Here are some more crappy webcam pics for scale;

Here's one next o the PSU I'm currently running this mod off
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/1997/picture074lr7.jpg (http://img68.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture074lr7.jpg)

And here's one next to a spare HDD, (the PSU actually has a smaller footprint than my contraversial floppy drives!)
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3866/picture075qc4.jpg (http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture075qc4.jpg)

I've booted up on the old bricky PSU for now just so I can get some pics up before I plug her in but when I log off later I'll be swapping everything over to its final configuration, my hardware is nearly 100% complete! (need the clocktower fan, UV cathodes and a PCI extractor if I choose to use one)

Also, after finally gettng in touch with a local industrial welder I've learned that my baseplate is mostlikely too thin to weld so now I'm resorting to a second plate inside the centre of the first which will be riveted over the cut in such a way that its integrity will be restored (you'll get it when you see the pics!)

For now though I ned to get back to waiting for my mounting material and also need to find myself a drill. Worse case scenario I'll buy one in a week or so but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

[for interest here's a list of the tools I've used so far; 2xhacksaws, 1xjigsaw(2xblades), 1xset square, 1xcraft knife, 1xhammer, 1xchisel, 1xtapemeasure and a cardboard box and lots of tape for the mockups! Amazing hat you can make do with aint it!!]

Next update when I start on the mounts and maybe have a picture of the final setup + what I'm planning with the base plate.

[Munty]

Finally some progress and some great news to boot!

Still no material for my internal mounts yet which is the only bit of bad news for this update but I have had some luck with my base plate which is now almost finished. Pictures will follow with the next update which should be sometime tonight but as things stand I'm only a drill and some rivets away from finally having a strong enough base for this build!

The new PSU is wired in now and it fits perfectly size wise but not quite so ideally as far as cable length goes. Most of the connections are fine but the 20/24 pin mobo connector is about 10cm too short for me to place the PSU exactly where I wanted to. That's really bugging me so I think I'll be resorting to an extension at some point to place it in the corner of the case where I want it but the only ones I've found so far are about 44cm long on ebay! I don't need to point out how much excess cable this will leave me so I may buy one to shorten to between 10-20cm for a more suitable fit.

Nothin else has changed much case wise but anyone who sees the first post of this thread after today will see a sponsor under my project logo. Thanks go to all at Flying Lab Software who somehow managed to find this project themselves and contacted me with some very encouraging words!

For anyone not quite sure of the name Flying Lab Software is the Seattle based developer responsible for the game that inspired this case, the MMORPG Pirates of the Burning Sea. I've already been told to expect a copy of the game gratis and bearing in mind my earlier comments about being unable to buy or play the game since its release early this year it's a fantastic Christmas gift and will be gratefully received!

That's it for now, just a quick update regarding my newfound sponsor! The next will follow soon with some pics of the baseplate, hopefully drilled and riveted by the end of the post!!!

[Munty]

Well it turns out I didn't progress much further after my last post due to crappy tools but here are the pictures I was going to upload anyway. What I have managed to get done leaves the base plate almost finished but I can't go any further with it until I get a drill!!! Thinking of checking my local freeads if I go out tomorrow but what with it being Xmas and me still being broke they'll have to be giving one away!!!

Here's the donor material (it's the side panel off the boiler I nabbed! Here's to progress!)
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/5738/picture076ml3.jpg (http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture076ml3.jpg)

And here's the brace plate it made
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5995/picture078ri8.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture078ri8.jpg)

This is the much discussed base plate, see it's tougher metal? This image shows the cuts I made to resize it to my desired dimensions
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/8371/picture080sd4.jpg (http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture080sd4.jpg)

And this is the size I've ended up with, 400x460mm, 10 longer than planned but it workes even better that way
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5681/picture081hi9.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture081hi9.jpg)

And here's a final shot showing how I suprisingly managed to cut and shape the brace perectly for the job it's intended!
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/17/picture082cf7.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture082cf7.jpg)

The last shot obviously doesn't show drilling o rivets as the only tool I was able to get hold of was an aging pillar drill that seriously resents me keeping it in the garage unused for so long... I managed to drill the braceplate before I gave up in disgust but only got 1 of 10 holes drilled into the base plate and I need to drill a further 3 holes on either end of the baseplate righ through the bracing plate and the front and back upright panels. That'll have to wait for more precise measurements to allow accurate cutting for interface ports and disk drives anyway but even if the pillar drill was up to the job it couldn't handle the angle.

Next update will probably be fairly unrelated as I am now back to the fact that I need a drill to continue with the base plate! (probably some new bits too based on the rate I'm burning them up) My material man says I should only be a day away from receiving my bits for the mounts so I can at least measure, cut and mock up those, though I need the base riveted befoe I can mount the mobo...

Anyone anywhere in Southern England have a drill I can brrow!?!?!

[Munty]

So my materials finally arrived yesterday so I've been mounting everything I can get my hands on! What I've got is basically some 2+3mm plasticard (sheet styrene for you lot across the pond :p) which is intended for use in the simplest possible way.

I'm half way to having the CD mounts finished but I need more screws (the little case/PCI slot/drive screws) before I can test fit the drives to it and finish off which will involve countersinking the screwheads by about 1.5 mill (turns out that rusty old pillar drill is much better at dealing with plastic than it is with metal!!!)

The only mounts actually finished(ish) so far are a very simple cradle for the HDD - needs some cross support for when the drive is removed and to aid in securing to the baseplate - and the floppy drive plate - finished as far as it can be without having the base+frontplates finished +riveted.

The floppy mount is more complicated than the HDD and pretty unique I think (but then so is having two floppies in a build!) but it exists out of necessity, allowing easy removal of the drives when necessary. What with the CDDs right next door and the frame for them being a permanant part of the frame the normal method for securing the floppies (via the side screws) was basically impossible. What I've gone for instead is a sort of tray that both drives are screwed to from beneath that will in turn screw to a mount of its own via a couple of screws between the two drives (no holes cut yet)

As far as test fits and such go everything is turning out really well so far, though I think I've got the CDD mounts a bit on the wonk so they may give me a little trouble when I'm able to carry on with a test fit.

For now though here are a few more crapcam pics for your entertainment!

Here's the HDD I'm actually working off now, showing the very simple mount I've used jst to provide an airgap beneath it.
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6439/picture004ud5.jpg (http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture004ud5.jpg)

Here are the floppies on their tray (fronts were removed for more precise measuring)
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/230/picture006te6.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture006te6.jpg)

And here's the arrangement I've used to attach the floppies to their trolly, this will all be hidden when fully assembled.
http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/1465/picture012rm1.jpg (http://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture012rm1.jpg)

Anyhoo, that's all there is for now but as Xmas approaches I'm pretty sure that if noone has bought me a new drill I should at least be given enough cash to buy a cheap one myself!

The newest addition to my wish list is bout 2 dozen of the little screws I mentioned earlier. I'm on ebay but I can't use paypal for direct paments until I add a new card - bah - so if anyone has some spares lying around feel free to shove 'em in the post!

Next update should be the mounting tray for the mobo but that'll be a bit tricky until (you guessed it) the baseplate is finished! Still need a drill btw :p

[Munty]

Well once again we have progress! Not been a bad few days for it actually, despite the woman's houseguests! Still no drill but we have apparently just been bought a new digital camera! yay! It's only a cheapie but I'm guessing it'll probably be better than my webcam!

Still need more screws for real prgress and it turns out I need 2/3 extra mobo mounts, I forget how many now... That said though, the biggest single piece of progress was the mounting of the motherboard which has allowed me to mockup the entire rig with 90% of its final hardware which is very cool. That means I'm no longer using a cardboard computer! double yay!

For the main mobo mount I've just cut a samesized piece of styrene and used the board itself to help me position the mounts for it. I drilled out a 2.5mm guide and then used the mounts to basically selftap whcih is actually harder than you'd think but I'd got a technique down by the end! I used 3 mm sheet for the main mount so its nice and rigid and almost exactly the same depth as the mounting screw threads are long but I'll still need a little sinking on the lower supports for it to sit completely flush. I had to bring the mobo up 6mm on one side and 4 on the other, as the braceplate adds a few extra mil of depths to the centre of the baseplate, and I did this with a frame of 2mm styrene, I may phtograph it when it goes in for the final time to aid description a bit.

As all of the other mounts save the cdds are already mostly complete there was nothing stopping me from mocking up the entire computer out of its final components so I did! I've used some polystyrene blocks to osition the CDDs at the correct levels but the faceplate means you can't see them anyway, or the floppies. Apart from the PSU being a little on the piss this is exactly how and where everything will be positioned inthe final case give a mm or 2! Just need to extend the mobo power connector a little to stand the PSU up properly and get the cables away from the CPU fan a bit more, will need to duct that fan as well before the end.

So that's really all I've done to be honest, the biggest success for me is having the case mocked up as it will eventually be and everything fitting in and working the way it's supposed to! I found a few 'pc repair kit' type items on ebay with drive screws and mobo standoffs but not enough of the screws and my paypal still needs me to add a new card (and have some money!) before I can use it.

So here are a ncie lot of pics to pass a little ore time, feel fre to ask any questions or just voice opinions as it gets bloody lonely in here all on my own :(

Here's the case exterior, still that one piece of cardboard and a clearer shot of the hole that will house the power switch.
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3968/picture013nw5.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture013nw5.jpg)

And here's a side view of said power switch!The visible styrene is one side of the CDD mount which is not finished yet. The other side has been removed for the mock p (noticeable in later pictures)
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2119/picture014rd4.jpg (http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture014rd4.jpg)

Here's a shot of the back corner showing my interfaces and PCI slots (currently wireless adaptr and graphics) Also visible is the PSU to the rear.
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2484/picture020sr2.jpg (http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture020sr2.jpg)

Here's a front view with the case cover off, cardboard left for scaling of tank etc. The floppy data cable isn't up to the job at its current dimensions so it's out of the case until I find enough donor cables to rebuild it!
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/1536/picture021po9.jpg (http://img68.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture021po9.jpg)

And here's one final shot with the top off showing virtually everything and illustrating just how tight things are inside this thing!
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/2349/picture023er6.jpg (http://img68.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture023er6.jpg)

As you may or may not see from these pictures, the mounts for the HDD and CDDs block a lot of the view through the case so I'm thinking about replacing a few choice pieces with see through stuff (whatever its called!) instead of plain hite plasticard to provide a little more visibility through the case. I'm already going to have to trim back some of the case edges to allow any view at all into the right side of the case so I may as well make it worthwhile!

So the shopping list has grown again since the last update! Now I'm after a drill, some case screws, some mobo mounts, some donor floppy data cables (just the connectors really), a molex powered 60/80mm fan, a 20/24pin extension cable, a PCI slot extractor fan and some UV cathodes! No problem! Add to that everything else I'm going to need to detal of course, then we have a problem :p

Next update, when I get a drill! Don't hold your breath...

[nevermind1534]

so I'm thinking about replacing a few choice pieces with see through stuff (whatever its called!)

plexi or acrylic

[Munty]

Aye that'll be the stuff! It can wait though, I need to make myself a nice solid case before I go about making stuff look fancy eh!

Anyhow I'm miraculously ready for another update already and a fairly decent one too after santa bought me my drill early! Yay! My girlfriend picked me up a little 12v cordless which is fine for what I have to do and I've already done most of it between then and now which is great!

It's been an eventful few days since my last post though. The drill was good news but then bad news came when it turned out that all of the drill bits I already had were too cheap for getting through the thicker metal of the base plate... Grr... Simple fix though at least. Popped into town the next morning and picked up a couple of decent metal bits which were more than up to the job!

Drilling complete riveting ensued, made particularly difficult by the fact that the tool I was using only cost slightly more than said drill bits... It turns out that it'll do the job fine but it seems to be single shot... Kinda like a pump-action shotgun without pump action... So I found myself dismantling and reassembling the riveter beteen shots which quickly gets tiring let me tell you...

I kept at it though and have now finally got the base plate finished WOO!!! Well apart from trimming down the sides for my plezi windows and measuring up the back for the interface and PCI slots anyway... But I'm beyond that now, I'm happy enough to not care at this point!

So anyway, with the base finally finished I went onto finalising the mounts, trimming one leg of both the CDD and HDD mounts (as they sit 2mm hgher on the bracing plate) and sinking some holes in the floppy tray. The latter gave me immense difficulties...

The problem with the floppy was that the 8 screws [shown last post] holding the drives to the mounting tray jut out about 1/2 a mil from the hole I've sunk - any more and they'd pull right through. So I neeed to sink holes in the piece that the tray mounts onto as well to allow a snug fit. Seems that every time I tried and every method I used to measure them out though I got it completely wrong! In the end I just cut big ol' holes in it and it works fine now :p

After that was done and my stress levels returned to normal I used the screws from said tray to finish drilling up the CDD mount and got that up to scratch. The mobo trays are all in a similar state to the last post I made (I think I mentioned them there?) There's a [really bad] pic showing how the support is given below.

After my mounts were all done (and during their construction at some points) I also cut the front of the base plate to allow proper location of the optical drives (see in the pics the floppies have fronts now?) Again it's amazing what you can do with so few tools!

Here are some pics of the last few days;

Here's one I took with a VERY bad camera, showing the basic layout of the mobo + floppy supports (not secured and missing main mobo support which is currently attached to the board itself)
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/3121/picture018vc3.jpg (http://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture018vc3.jpg)

Here's one showing the holes that resulted from my frustration in marking out the floppy tray mount and a close up[ish] of the CDD tower
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/3299/picture017mj1.jpg (http://img73.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture017mj1.jpg)

Here's a shot showing the only 2 screws that will actually attach the floppy tray assembly to the case itself, hope this whole construction makes sense!
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/792/picture039ir6.jpg (http://img73.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture039ir6.jpg)

And here's a final one showing an overview of the whole case, taken from the corner the bay will be in. You can see in the front of the baseplate where I've cut holes for these drives.
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/618/picture041ne2.jpg (http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture041ne2.jpg)

That's it for now, my next job will be to mark and cut the front panel with the holes for each of the four drives. Once that's done I'll be able to rivet the panel on to give the whole build a little more strength. Next after that will be to sort something out with the PCI slots and interfaces so I can cut and mount the back panel. Need to think about how I'll vent the CPU fan too before that's done.

Although the mounts are now 90% complete, none of them are actually mounted yet to allow me some extra freedom for the duration of the case build. Final mounting will be one of the last things I do.

Chances are I won't update until after Xmas now so everyone that celebrates it I hpe you have a good one!

[Munty]

I'm both happy and a little sad to be posting here again as I imagine it's fairly clear that this project has slowed somewhat since my last post over a month ago!

There is however good news as I've finally recieved my package from Flying Labs and it does indeed contain all sorts of goodies for me to enjoy while I'm waiting for someone to donate me a dremel! (or even a decent file!) Regardless of how long this package took to reach me I have to say the wait is in the end kind of worth it! I've got the pre-release 'pre-boarding' copy of the game which holds a few little bonuses in itself, a full copy of the main game and 2 30day play cards giving me two months to catch up on what I've missed out on so far! I also have 2 T-Shirts an assortment of stickers and even some PotBS temporary tatoos! Next time I meet some hairy bikers they'll know not to mess with me by God!!!

On top of my box arriving (which is the real inspirtion for this post after so long) I have made a little uncharted progress since december but as the pictures show it's not very much at all and you'd be amazed how hard it was to even accomplish that when the dimensions of this build seem to change every time I take a lav-break!

One of the reasons the case itself is lacking slightly of late is down to the fact I've been working on some of the detailing (I know its too early for it!!!) I managed to get my hands on plans and materials for a jolly looking little barque for my harbour though so I've been decking more than the halls this year! (sorry)

Below are pictures of my goodies from Flying Labs, 2 showing the rough openings for my CDDs and a final one showing the boat as it stands though quality means it really doesn't look much like what it really is. Believe it or not though the hull is nearly done, be only rigging soon! Unfortunately the weight of the boat itself means it sits about 10-15 mill to low in the water (tried it in my sons bath!) so it'll need some support but it's no problem really.

So here are some pics and do me a favour, if you're one of the people that reads this just let me know you have and tell me what you think cos this thread feels more like a blog than a forum based on the amount of comments its recieved! If I knew people were watching it may kickstart me a little, not that I can afford a file anyway but still...

So here's my goodies! Thanks Tom and same to Donna who sent the package!
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5853/cof020he8.jpg (http://img6.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cof020he8.jpg)

This is my face plate, drilled each corner then jig'd between them. Very rough.
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5937/cof026ep3.jpg (http://img6.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cof026ep3.jpg)

Here's exactly how rough! Finding where the edges really are is turning out tough!
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2585/cof027cw4.jpg (http://img6.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cof027cw4.jpg)

And here's a final image of me boat, yaargh! Aint she a beaut?
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/609/cof032ar9.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cof032ar9.jpg)

So that's all there is right now and I've not worked on it for a while now which is a shame but things won't change any time soon unfortunately. Too much happening in the real world...

But remember, do me a favour and if you read this thread tell me what you think! Otherwise believe it or not, I don't know!!!

[nevermind1534]

Nice. It's good to see another update.

[Munty]

Thanks NM! I know it's not much but I need to finish cutting the slots for my drives and I need a decent file or some kind of drill attachment to smooth off the edges. Thanks for your post, makes me want to get on with it again!!!

[Vision]

YARR!

Can't go wrong with pirates!

Vision

[THRASHER2]

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2438/jollyroger20031176tt6.gif

Polly say's it's a GGGGreat PPProject :up:
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2488/parrotguys0461569rp4.gif

[Munty]

lol thanks guys! Funnily enough Thrasher that parrot looks very similar to one of the in-game bonuses that comes with my pre-boarding pack! And I agree Vision, you can't go wrong with pirates!

[TheGreatSatan]

Water? Like actual open water in the case? Maybe attach hoses at the bottom for w/c?

[DonT-FeaR]

lol /\ what he said would be awsome

[Munty]

'lol's aside I actually was hoping to make this a water cooled case by integrating the harbour area as part of an open system but after not much consideration by people who know far more about this sort of stuff than I do it was deemed pretty much impossible (the reason being it wouldn't have a radiator and the surface area of the tank wouldn't provide enough cooling even with the evaporation which would require constant topups and the fact that I'd need to filter the system to hell and back to save it from dust and stupid flies...)

But that aside yeah I did think it would be cool! I did consider using the tank to provide some sort of secondary/latent heat transfer from its neighbouring components but the only ones close enough are the floppies(!) and hard drive and I don't think it would really work very well for either...

Anyway I'm guessing from that remark that this is your first visit to my topic Satan so welcome to the (albeit small) party and thanks for dropping by!

Best news ever to report on today as well since I've just spent the last nine hours... at a job!!! I'm only on a sort of trial at the moment but it's going really well so fingers crossed I might be back in the game!!! It feels bloody brilliant after so long out of work and I can now both sympathise with those out of work through no fault of their own AND criticise those who are just dossing.

Life is getting ever so slowly better...

[Munty]

Hi all its update time and for once I actually have something to show for it! Unfortunately my webcam's broken so you can't see it but it's pretty cool :p

Good news first though that I finally have a job again! Yay for me! It feels so good to be earning again, I believe its a feeling that one won't understand until having been through it themselves!

Now that I have a bit of cash to throw around though this project is very much back on, and more importantly I'm back in a workshop 6 days a week so I now have some proper tools for use in bringing my Sketchup to life!!!

This is most definitely not a picture of the front panel of my case but it would be if my camera was working... I've managed to cut out the slots for all of my drives (yes including both floppies!) and the fit is actually quite good. Unfortunately the panel itself was cut long ago, before I had so much as a vice to hold the piece steady so it is a bit rough around the edges but still...

This is a good step forward but more hopeful is the fact that my colleague/mentor/Gareth is a welder and says he can strengthen my baseplate for me by welding up the reinforcement plate that is currently only riveted on and allows a certain degree of flexing to occur. Not good... So I took it in last week and its still there! Sooner or later though, and with the right amount of nudging, I'm sure he'll get around to it (in his defence I don't much feel like working on someone else's project in my lunchbreak either!)

Once that's done the face plate is ready to go on (this will only be riveted on but that's fine as it's not structural) and I can finally mount the floppy tray and CD tower to the beginnings of a fully fledged case. Then the aforementioned hardware will be able to fill my freshly cut holes and give this pile of metal a bit of meaning!

Still first we need the baseplate welded and then I need to get hold of a digital camera to take a picture for you folk! In the meantime though please do comment!

[tk421storm]

Can't wait to see it - gratz on the job!

[Munty]

As promised I've managed to get hold of a digital camera this weekend so here's a pic of the finished(ish) faceplate with the accompanying drives in tow! The CD drives are in situ on their mount but the floppies are pretty much free range as I need some more little screws to attach them to their tray.

NB. Anyone with spare screws should contact me!!!

Hopefully my welding will have got done on Saturday afternoon but if not I can probably guilt him into it tomorrow morning back at work!!! As per the last several posts the next job will be attaching the front panel to the base and cutting the back plate to fit the PSU exhaust and the PCI slots and I/O panel (what does I/O mean by the way :p)

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/4631/pict0056.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0056.jpg)

Slowly but surely though we're back on the right track again! Next update will be when the base is done, as always feedback appreciated!

[Remy]

Keep at it Munty. Your ideas are beggining to take shape. Great Work and congrats on the job!!

[Munty]

Thanks Remy I appreciate it! As long as I keep moving ever so slowly towards what the sketchup looks like I'll be happy enough in the end!!!