They should have called it n00b nook...

[burntheland]

Hello all,

Myself and a friend have been doing a little modding here and there. Due to some demand for us to take on new projects we've decided to start getting a little more serious about what was once just a fun hobby. I will be posting photos at a later point of some of our builds, for those of you who are already curious.

Up until now everything we had done just kind of fell in our lap. This is in reference to things like;
design, ideas, accessibility to CNC machinery, etc...
Most of our jobs up to this point were also more geared around a paint job and some sweet fan covers. Now that we're ready to take things into our own hands our biggest question yet is, "What does the list of MUST HAVE tools entail?"

Thus far our wish list has been satisfied to the following;
dremel (variable speeds with 200 pc bit set)
Air Compressor (for paint gun)
Tamper-Proof bit set (a must for every modder)
Frisk-it tape
a copy of CAD
Measuring instruments
Exact-O knife set for fine cutting
and finally a scroll saw (several questions following concerning this piece of equipment)

These are the projects we will be taking on immediately.
Several XBOX 360 consoles
Several XBOX 360 controllers and wireless headsets
1 PC
and in our spare time we'll be restoring a 1948 Westinghouse refrigerator.
....as I'm sure you can tell most of our customers are big time gamers, a community that we are both proud members of.

Now for our questions....:banana:

1.) The scroll saw. Is this an adequate approach to cutting windows in the xbox console? If anyone else uses one, is it easy to remove and reset the blade? Is this a sufficient means for cutting plexiglass? Tips and FYI's? Is there another piece of equipment I should consider instead of the scroll saw?

2.) Plexiglass. What are some techniques used to etch plexiglass? Is it wiser to buy one large sheet of plexiglass and cut it to cater to the needs of each job? Or just buy sheets close to the size needed for application and just slightly modify?

3.) Plexiglass installation. This is something the two of us have gone around the bend about. Say you have an intricate design. Is it possible to cut the plexiglass small enough to fit in the holes in the design and mount them so they are totally flush with the outside of the enclosure? I'm sure it's possible, but weather the outcome would look good enough to account for the time spent on cutting to get those pieces "just right"....I can't say it would be worth the effort. Has anyone else attempted this? Thought about it? Have an idea for a slightly different approach?

4.) LED's. I see a LOT of mods out there with really impressive LED setups. I'm a technician by profession and I've always been curious....in these xbox mods, do they typically just solder these LED's right onto the MB? Also I've seen what appears to be like a "LED rope" sort of guy. It looks like they're just daisy chained and then put in a plastic tubing. Any information on what this is and were I can get my hands on it? Or do my eyes deceive me and this is actually something else? Mostly though, this question is in reference to the installation. "Do's and dont's" would be ideal.

5.) Sanding air brushed paint jobs. Anyone out there have a lot of experience with this? My partner is an extremely talented artist and is just getting his hands dirty with the air brush. Our upcoming project will be his fourth encounter with air brushing. My only suggestion to him was that the layers of the paint job were visible and needed to be sanded flush if not just enough so the layers appear to blend....if that makes sense.

6.) Is there anything our tools list is missing? Anything you can think of that you got in the middle of another project, and shot yourself in the foot because you didn't think about this particular tool or piece of equipment?

Any and all input on these questions is much appreciated. Like I said we'll be posting the mod's we've already done sometime soon so look for that. (They mostly entail just a custom paint job) And we both look forward to being long-time members of this forum and gathering all the knowledge we can from you masters of the art.

Thanks for your input!

-Told You So Studios

Danny

[x88x]

A scroll saw should work just fine for cutting plexi. A lot of people around here use jigsaws for that, and a scroll saw operates on a similar property, just stationary and more stable. As for how easy it is to change the blade on a scroll saw, that depends on your saw, but once you know how it shouldn't be too difficult. Tools are designed to be used, so from my experience, they're generally pretty user-friendly once you know how they work.

Purchasing methods for plexi really depend on your own economics. Like any material, it's often cheaper to buy it in single large sheets than the same amount in smaller sheets, but if you're only going to ever use 1 ft^2, you might not want to invest in a full 4'x8' sheet (32 ft^2).

It is possible to fit plexi windows flush with a surface, though I can't remember right now where I saw it done. Think similar to installing a car window. Generally though, because it's so much easier and cheaper, people just mount the plexi behind the existing material (also makes it easier to do small, intricate windows). You might also want to consider completely replacing the body panel with a new plexi sheet and making 'windows' by not painting/etching/etc certain portions.

There do exist LED 'ropes', but you might be more interested in LED strips. Basically smd LEDs and resistors run in series, cut to desired length. (Not sure on sourcing; check the wiki suppliers page.)

I don't have any experience with airbrushing, but we have some real artists here...maybe Commando or SgtM will stumble across this thread. ;)

As for your tools list, really it depends on what tools you're comfortable with, what you're doing, and what your budget is. I think the cleanest plexi cuts I've ever seen have been by CNC and router table (same basic cutting technique).

The one thing I would definitely add to your list is a drill (hand or tower, up to your needs/preference/budget). You'll always need holes in things. :P

[mDust]

Welcome to TBCS.
Concerning cutting acrylic with a scroll/jigsaw, use a relatively low operating speed or the acrylic will melt around the blade and potentially ruin the sheet, blade, and saw. Also, a scroll saw can only cut so far into a material. A band saw might work better for you, but it can only cut relatively small strips. If you have really large sheets, these stationary tools just won't cut it. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) A jigsaw with a cutting guide will produce just as straight a cut, and will cut as far as your power cord will reach. And no matter which tool you use, get the highest tpi blades you can find...it will save you a lot of edge-finishing time.
I don't know if you have a local supplier for acrylic or not, but if you do, buy big sheets from them. Large sheets ordered online will cost you a fortune to ship and is not worth it at all. Not even in emergencies. And extra large sheets will be delivered by a private delivery company as FedEx, UPS, DHL etc won't deliver packages over certain dimensions. This will cost you an arm and two legs per delivery. Another thought if ordering online, most suppliers will give a discount based on the number of sheets you buy...size doesn't matter. So if handling 100 small sheets rather than 10 large sheets doesn't make a difference to you, then get the higher number of sheets and reap the rewards.
To get the acrylic to sit flush with the outside of the case just use a router to take off the thickness of the case material around the edge of the sheet. You can temporarily mount the sheet in place and use a hobby knife to score the sheet where the router will cut. A very fine tipped sharpie can also work to mark the line.
If you get a drill press, I guess this applies to any tool that uses bits/blades/etc, make sure it can use a wide variety of types/sizes/etc. I almost bought a drillpress a couple weeks ago before I realized it only had a 3/8" chuck. That's why it seemed like a steal...had I bought it, it wouldn't even have worked for what I needed.:facepalm:
I, and several others that won't speak up, look forward to many interesting worklogs.

[burntheland]

@x88x-thanks for the heads up. I've already got a few hand drills. Are there any certain bits that are NOT going to work for plexi? All the concerns are really just because I've heard so many horror stories about people working with plexi.

@mDust-I really can't say how greatful I am to hear some good input on the saw. I tend to get really anal about any purchases I have to make over 100 bones. As for a jigsaw, my old man has one he would be more than happy to lend me. So I think I'll stick with something stationary for my own little shop and borrow tools from his as needed. My associate keeps telling me about "abrasive wire" blades....is this the same as the high tpi blade you mentioned?

[mDust]

Are there any certain bits that are NOT going to work for plexi? All the concerns are really just because I've heard so many horror stories about people working with plexi.I've been told that any drill bit will work fine as long as you keep the RPMs down. Too much friction will melt the acrylic and leave hardened goo around the hole and on the bit (which is very difficult to get off). I've used HSS bits to drill dozens of holes in some scrap acrylic I've been experimenting with lately. They were cheapo bits that I expected to ruin, but they worked really well.



My associate keeps telling me about "abrasive wire" blades....is this the same as the high tpi blade you mentioned?It's not the same. I used a 32tpi blade just fine, and the edges didn't have 'tool marks' on them, which makes the sanding process easier. 24tpi and up are officially recommended for cutting acrylic. Chances are the abrasive wire will melt through the acrylic leaving an ugly mess behind it. I've never tried it though, so I can't say for certain.

[burntheland]

Yeah that's kind of what I figured. I googled the difference between an abrasive wire and others but it didn't turn up much concrete info. That's also really useful info on the bits, as the good lord knows I love saving me some monies!

[x88x]

Yeah that's kind of what I figured. I googled the difference between an abrasive wire and others but it didn't turn up much concrete info.

Think of it like the difference between a saw blade and a cut-off disk. An abrasive wire blade operates largely on friction, whereas a normal blade actually has cutting teeth. TPI refers to Teeth Per Inch, so thie higher TPI, the smaller and closer together the teeth, and the smoother the cut.

[burntheland]

Thanks x88x! I gotta' say...as a new member here you guys are awesome! +rep all around!