Project: Black Oak

[blueonblack]

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Header.jpg


All RIGHT, time for another build! :banana:

This time around I will be going for something a little more elegant than Clockwork, and more functional than Onyx, but using lessons from both. I'm going to combine my two favorite materials, wood and acrylic, to make a case that's low-key and yet still makes people's eyes widen.

Stay tuned, this is only a teaser. Parts and supplies are being acquired and time allotted. I'll be taking lots of pics along the way, and hope you'll join in and follow along.

I'm looking forward to having this one on my desk.


A HUGE thanks goes out to my sponsor:


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Sponsors/Thermaltake/ThermalTake_Logo.jpg

[blueonblack]

The folks at Thermaltake were kind enough to sponsor me with a Toughpower Grand 850-watt modular PSU, and it's a thing of beauty.


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Sponsors/Thermaltake/PSU_1_final.jpg

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Sponsors/Thermaltake/PSU_2_final.JPG

I can only think Thermaltake hired someone new in their marketing team in the last couple of years because their packaging went from good to insane. This PSU came in a cloth bag, plus there was another for the modular power cables, and another bag with velcro closure for the PCIe cables, plus some very nice wide velcro cable ties and four hard plastic cable clips. They even included two formed rubber isolators for the rear corners of the PSU since it has unusual rounded corners.

So far I'm impressed. We'll see how it handles later.

[SXRguyinMA]

I've got the 1050W version of that for MS, and it came the same way. Those velvety bags make nice parts holders :D

Oh and +sub :D

[Waynio]

Subbed, sounds good & nice header too :) off to a good start with the psu :):up:.

[Snowman]

It's funny that your project banner is the same image off the water tower in Black Oak, Arkansas.

[blueonblack]

It's funny that your project banner is the same image off the water tower in Black Oak, Arkansas.

Pics or it didn't happen.

[Snowman]

Pics or it didn't happen.

I aint driving all the way back to Arkansas for that sorry.

[TheGreatSatan]

At first I thought it was that white tree from LotR

[TheMainMan]

I'll sub to this, looks like it should be to my taste.

[blueonblack]

I'll sub to this, looks like it should be to my taste.

Thanks sir. It seems I was a bit premature in my official announcement on this build, as I've been having some supply issues, but I should have the first real update in a couple of days.

Got some new tools today too. I love new tools!

[TheGreatSatan]

:pics:

[blueonblack]

:pics:

Yeah, OK OK I get it.

Some of you might remember the router table I made out of my old maple butcher-block top kitchen table and steel 1970's-era office desk:


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/RouterTable.jpg

I loved this thing. It was huge, it was just the right height for me (since I made it), it had all the storage I could possibly need, and it had an outstanding fence setup. Unfortunately, when I moved in January I moved into a smaller shop and there simply wasn't enough room for this monster. :(

The good news is that I was able to sell it and buy some new things. I got a MUCH smaller router table:


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Pics/Router/Router_Table.JPG

It came with spindly little angle-iron legs but I knew I would be using it on my workbench so I made the wooden legs in the picture. Since I'm able to store it under my bench it has zero footprint in my shop, as opposed to roughly 12 square feet with the old one. It also has a much nicer miter track and while the fence isn't as nice as my old one, being a split fence with t-track installed it is more versatile.

Even better, I had been using a less-than-stellar consumer-grade Craftsman router with my kick-ass router table, and it was beginning to show its age. Since I sold it with the router table I was able to buy a new Milwaukee router!


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Pics/Router/Router.JPG

Comparing this thing with that old Craftsman is night and day. Power, balance, control, this thing is first-class all the way. They call this the "body-grip" model (one of many), as it has a molded rubber body with an adjustable strap that lets you hold the body of the router with one hand and use the left handle (in any of three positions) to control it. MUCH better control. I haven't tried but I can probably control this thing just fine with one hand. And I finally have a router that will take 1/2" bits! Look at the size of the collets for this thing:


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Pics/Router/Collets.JPG

And anyone who has owned a consumer-grade router is familiar with the worthless stamped-steel collet "wrenches" that come with them. Look at these:


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Pics/Router/Wrenches.JPG

:eek:

Pure awesome.

One other new toy I got was a set of carbide-tipped slot cutters:


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Pics/Router/Slot_Cutters_1.JPG

Installed:


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Pics/Router/Slot_Cutters_2.JPG

The set is even made so that you can stack the cutters like you would with a dado set on a table saw:


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Pics/Router/Slot_Cutters_3.JPG

So here I am, geared up with new toys, the first of my acrylic is scheduled to be here tomorrow, and I have a couple of days off. Let's hope we see an update with actual work in this log by the end of the weekend!

[OvRiDe]

I want video!! I would love some more info on that table!

[blueonblack]

I want video!! I would love some more info on that table!

I was actually thinking of trying to catch some video for this log, I'll see what I can do.

I got the table at Grizzly. (linky) (http://www.grizzly.com/products/Router-Table-with-Stand/T10432) I'm in Springfield MO and they have their largest showroom/warehouse right here in town. I was originally looking to buy something thick and flat and build my own but I couldn't have built one this nice for this price.

Once you get some new wheels you should drive up here and pick one up, I'll take you and the family out to dinner! :up: (Heck, I'll pick you one up and meet you half way)

[xr4man]

grizzly makes nice stuff. we had a small grizzly desk milling machine at my last job. i miss having access to a milling machine.

[blueonblack]

grizzly makes nice stuff. we had a small grizzly desk milling machine at my last job. i miss having access to a milling machine.

You know, I've found that Grizzly is either the same Chinese tools sold at Harbor Freight (in a different color) or rock-solid cast-iron heavy duty tools. Nothing in between.

They do make some very nice stuff!

[blueonblack]

Ok, here's an actual progress update!

To start with, my materials: Red oak and grey tinted cell cast acrylic.

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100920.JPG

I spent quite a while truing up the lumber with the jointer and planer and rounding over the shorter thicker pieces with my new router. :D Working with acrylic and tight tolerances, this project is going to involve a lot of trial and error. 3/16" acrylic is NOT 3/16" thick. I spent a lot of time playing with my new slot cutter set today.

Here's the setup to cut grooves across the grain on the thicker pieces:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100925.JPG

And with the two grooves on the end of each done:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100928.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100929.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100930.JPG

All was going very well when disaster struck. I'm cutting very close to the end of the pieces, cross grain. That makes for some weak areas right at the slot. While test fitting one joint I heard the dreaded "snap!"

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100931.JPG

But not to fear, red oak has a strong straight grain to it, and I have some awesome wood glues on hand. Bet you can't see where it was broken:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100932.JPG

So what are the grooves for? I went through a lot of options on joinery for this case, from mortise and tenon to dowels to pocket holes, and finally decided on spline joints. They're strong, attractive, and relatively easy to make with the right equipment. Here we have some little walnut splines all laid out and ready to be shoved into a groove:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100934.JPG

But wait! They're too thick! The last thing you want with a spline is something you have to force into the groove dry.

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100935.JPG

Again, this can be fixed. A touch on the sander...

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100936.JPG

and presto! Perfect fit:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100937.JPG

Now we need one in the other groove, but here I hit another problem: they interfere with each other...

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100938.JPG

So I had to actually notch half of them to fit around its mating spline:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100939.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100940.JPG

I'll be using pieces that are roughly 3/4" x 2" for the outer frame. Splines are glued into them and sanded flush:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100941.JPG

And assembly of the bottom section:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100942.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100943.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100944.JPG

Put that together with an identical top section and some uprights and it starts to look like a case!

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100945.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100946.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100947.JPG

So now to the acrylic. I want a contrast of wood and shiny black. I want to be able to see wood everywhere, so I'll be sandwiching a sheet of oak plywood and a sheet of the tinted acrylic over the top, into grooves in each of the pieces above to form the top, bottom, front and rear panels.

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100948.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100949.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100950.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100951.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100952.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100954.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100958.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100959.JPG

Didn't turn out too badly after a whole day's work. That's the bottom you're looking at in the last picture. I didn't want to peel any of the paper off of any of the acrylic but I had to test-fit the pieces to be sure the grooves were sized right, and the bottom will have the fewest cuts.

When I'm done the whole thing will look like this, with a wooden frame wrapped around a piece of tinted acrylic over a sheet of wood. All except the left side panel, it will be a window, no plywood sheet. The frame shown above will be the primary structure, though there will be a bottom piece put in for mounting and a rear panel for the motherboard, etc. Since the acrylic is on the outside and the wood is visible on the inside I'll have wooden trim outside (fan grills, etc) and acrylic trim inside (PSU cover, optical drive cover...)

So far so good, the design is turning out exactly as I had hoped. More to come!


Edit: Shiny black acrylic and sawdust are a nightmare together!

[Fuganater]

Now that looks perfect. Awesome job on the joints!

[msmrx57]

:stupid: What he said. :up: definitely watching this come together.

[xr4man]

finally some progress pics.

i like the effect with the plexy over the wood. i'm assuming you will be staining the exposed wood?

i'll be keeping an eye on this. looks like it'll be epic.

[blueonblack]

Now that looks perfect. Awesome job on the joints!


:stupid: What he said. :up: definitely watching this come together.

Thanks guys! It did come out pretty well. There is a little touch-up to do on some of it but overall I'm happy with it so far.



finally some progress pics.

i like the effect with the plexy over the wood. i'm assuming you will be staining the exposed wood?

Yeah, I wasn't sure how the plexi-over-wood would come out but it did come out well. The pictures don't so it justice of course, you can see the grain even better in person. And yes, I'll be staining it something dark, somewhere between oak and walnut. I'll have to experiment with the wood behind the plexi to see if the grain comes out more bare or stained, but it will at least get a sealer.

I can tell you the main difficulty of this project is going to be that I will not be able to glue up the frame to make a case to work with until all four plexi/plywood panels have been cut to fit fans, drives, I/O plates, etc etc. There will be a lot of assembly and disassembly until that's done. :dead:

[SXRguyinMA]

looking good so far!!

[x88x]

Looks like a great start. I expect great things to come. :D

I love that plexi over wood; creates a really interesting effect.

[OvRiDe]

Nice work!! Even though I must curse you for the link I requested. I spent WAY too much time looking at all the various equipment that's IS probably going to make me go broke! :facepalm:

I think I am definitely in on one of those router tables in the hopefully near future.

Awesome job on the joints. Ever since I got my Kregg pocket hole jig, I have been partial to them, BUT they are in no way as elegant your joints. Amazingly cool!

I'll be watching this one for sure!

[blueonblack]

I must curse you...

Yes!! Cursed by an admin! WIN.

(Pay attention, all you noobs here, this is what you should aspire to.)

:D

[blueonblack]

Well, I had a setback. The beautiful walnut splines that I so painstakingly cut, sized and grooved for are not going to work. I made them so that the end grain would be the exposed portion of the joint, so that they would soak up the stain and turn black, making a nice contrast to the oak.

I'm sure this would have been just fine if I'd been able to just assemble the case and glue it up and move on, but I'm going to have to assemble and disassemble it several times during the course of the build, as I measure for and cut the acrylic panels. Once it's glued up they're never coming out again.

The stress of continual disassembly took its toll on the splines:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100991.JPG

&*(##&*!!! :dead:

Had this been the only one I'd have glued it up and moved on, but this is three. Obviously not going to work. So I got to set up my router table and slot cutter again, figure out exactly which combination of cutters and shims I used to make the original slots, set the height and cutting depth exactly where they were before and bore all the splines out again...

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100992.JPG

Didn't turn out too badly, a couple of them have tiny slivers of walnut left in them but you'll never see them in the finished product.

So, this was an example of form over function; I chose to orient the splines in the weakest way possible for aesthetic effect. It failed. But in the end it turned out for the best. Instead of making sixteen more walnut splines with the grain oriented the other way, and having to notch eight of them like I just did, I decided to make acrylic splines. I can cut them in an L shape and only have to make eight instead of sixteen and they will look even better than the walnut.

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100994.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100995.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100996.JPG

I tested the wood glue I'm using to see how it held the acrylic, not so well. But if I rough up the joining surfaces and drill some small holes to give it some grip it does very well.

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1110003.JPG

Instead of trying to notch them, since I'll have this same polished acrylic inside the case anyway, I decided to just round it over and polish it.

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100998.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1100999.JPG

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/blueonblack/Black_Oak/Construction/P1110001.JPG

Thanks to very minor irregularites in each joint, each spline has to be custom-made to each joint for everything to line up flush and tight. Oh, joy. One down, seven to go. More pics when those are done, but I think this is going to work out much better.

[Fuganater]

Awesome fix!

[SXRguyinMA]

nice bit of ingenuity there Shane! +rep

[BS Mods]

That looks cool. Great fix for sure.

I'm definitely keeping an eye on this!:up: