HTPC First mod of hundreds :)

[Blackout]

Well here it is, I've been planing on doing something like this for a while but never had the time or the drive and i suppose if I'm completely honest a little intimidated by the level of workmanship in these forums and weather a mod of my own creation would stand up to it.
But I'm jumping in head first and a little audacious as well, my first real mod and its a complete custom build so bare with me and if it looks like I'm doing something wrong don't hesitate on jumping in and telling me, I'm not to proud to take advice.
I know how you guys like your updates (i know i do) so ill try to keep them regular and detailed for you to get ya teeth sunk in wish me luck!


Parts.
Well this morning i got a delivery, it was my mesh from acryan an antec tri cool fan (on special for £2.50) and my sand paper so im still waiting for my file/drill bits/rivets and a few other bits.
A friend has lent me quite a few supplies until i get my own as well so thank you Bill much appreciated!
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030329.jpg

Aluminum.
Got a nice surprise a few hours after my delivery, got a phone call from the aluminum place they had my pieces in ready for me to pick up so again my mate bill flew me down and i was quite pleased with the bits considering they were from the scrap bin :)
The angle was from a well known D.I.Y store here in the UK costs me £11.50 30mmx30mmx2000mm not bad if i do say so my self
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030332.jpg

next my plans I'm no good with the sketch program, I like it by hand the good old fashioned way here they are if you can make them out.
the panel in beside the center face plate are either going to be aluminum plate or mesh I'm not sure yet and the corners I'm not sure how i want to do these all i know is i want to try and keep rivets off of the face to keep a clean look all the aluminum will be brushed as well by me.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030333.jpg

but first of all and most important i have to clear this to make room for the work :( any one fancy jumping on a plane over to give me a hand :eek:
its a good job the missus is being bannister's from the room she would have me tidying up everything and leaving the room bare.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030334.jpg

well thats all for now, be back soon when the real work starts next update ill be brushing the aluminum, clear coating it and measuring up for the cuts.

bye for now

[Blackout]

I got up this morning ready to go and this is the result


*****TADAA**** WORKSPACE :D

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030343.jpg

I fitted my emry paper to the rig i had made for brushing my aluminum, I had found a tutorial over on the bit-tech forums thanks to of the-gnu so thanks to him.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030344.jpg

I set about work and straight off of the bat i new it was going to be far more challenging than i had thought, the aluminum sheet was larger than the sand paper sheets so it was a little challenging trying to avoid a defined line in the middle of the aluminum and i new this was going to be a learning curve for me.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030346.jpg

Then about half an hour in DISASTER one of the nails holding the sandpaper in place came loose arghhhhh.... needless to say i was furious with my self and a few choice words were delivered in timely fashion

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030350.jpg
so!......

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030351.jpg

i managed to make it look a bit more presentable finished up the brushing and then this, how do you cut your self on sand paper lol!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030354.jpg

enter the ghetto plaster :D
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030355.jpg

well this is it finished up ready for its clear coat, i tried my damdest (is that a word?) to get rid of the lines but for the life of me they would not budge

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030352-1.jpg

the pieces are all done waiting to be clear coated tommorow so ill be back then with some more updates

[Ouch!]

It's not a real mod, until you spill some blood on it!

Congratulations!

Ouch!

[Blackout]

your telling me i don't seem to be able to put my hands insides a pc case without cutting at least one finger on something.
im either really clumsy or it's a sign i should quit messing with cheap cases :D

***Update***

Today i got to an early start, this is the clear coat im using i got it from a auto parts shop at a reasonable price.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030358.jpg

heres a quick shot of the aluminum after its been clear coated sorry there are not more/better pictures the memory card was full and before i remembered to snap some more shots id taped them up ready for marking.
The clear coat seems to give the brushed effect a more unified look and it seems to work as a mild concealer as well, it makes the metal a lot more forgiving to inconsistency's.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030357.jpg

Then wouldn't you know it the battery's dies on the camera so i had to switch over to the phone so sorry for the lack of quality.
Heres the paper template i made so that i could cut the angles into the top brace section i was making.
Looks crude but i did not have anything to measure angles so the needs must :)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030360.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030361.jpg

Here is the cut, looks like its spot on

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030362.jpg

its off! not much but enough to tell by sight all though it shouldn't make any difference to the angle of the bend
once both cuts are made in this way i went about making the bend.
Its amazing how useful old roms are

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00278.jpg

even the xbox rom is getting in on the act :)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00279.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030363.jpg

time for some lunch this fr you guys :D

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00281.jpg

watered and fead i set to the task of cutting all the main posts for each corner and the strut bar i plan to use to help mount the psu.
I like to use the reinforced cutting discs as grinding discs its really good at removing material evenly

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00284.jpg

after some sanding with 100 grit and then 220 grit this is the result its a nice smooth edge, believe it or not mine is the one on the left
the one on, the right is the retail cut on the end of the piece of angle.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00283.jpg

well that me done for the day, time to sit with the girlfriend,show her i know she still lives here lol!
not bad for a days work ill probably spend an hour tomorrow making sure the ends are nice and smooth and then move onto cutting in detail like mounting gaps for the psu and fans. then its on to cutting the mesh to size and working out the best way to mount.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00286.jpg

on a side note our postman are on strike and im still waiting for supply's this could become a problem as there are supposed to be real bad back logs :(

[b4i7]

or both!
:D

looks like a good project!

[Blackout]

need a little info if any one who looks in can help.
what the diamiter if a vandal switch the one with the lit surround around the button.

[b4i7]

http://www.mnpctech.com/VandalResistantSwitchDiagram.jpg

straight from mnpctech

[Blackout]

thanks man now i can measure up and drill the copper :D

[Blackout]

ok update on the project.

Today i set about the task of cutting the mesh which turned out to be a bigger job than i had first thought, and now i realize just how soft aluminum is bloody stainless steel :(

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00296.jpg

this is what was left of the cheapo cutting discs at this point as you can see the pile is a lot smaller than the plastic tub which was full at the start.
It worked out i was getting roughly an inch a disc :eek:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00297.jpg

as you can expect this was very depressing having to change the discs every minute or two.
so i cheated :o and bent it till it snapped but it was nothing a quick go over with the sand wheel on the old rotary tool didn't solve

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00301.jpg

so im up to this point and i decided to have a dry fit of the parts to see were i am work out were certain cuts need to be and just have a look at the overall progress and just what its gonna look like.

bad idea this is going to change the whole project :eek: ill explain

i used some masking tape and started to build the dry fit, the missus was sitting next to me watching and waiting in anticipation, i finish up and here she is.(keep in mind it is a rough fit and there are cuts needed to get rid of gaps and make things flush)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00308.jpg

i looked at my girlfriend, looked at the case, and said "well what do you think"
she looked at the case looked at me and replied "i think it would look better on its side"
:mad:
yes you can imagine i was not pleased lol! but i entertained the idea and up hinged it onto its side

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00307.jpg

well thing is i sorta think she is right grrrrrrrrrr , i have been looking it over and its not to hard to pull off with a little modification it isnt to far off the desighn cosmetically it will look the same as the picture just would need modified to mountings inside the case,

help me out guys i need some advice what do you think?

[crenn]

I think on the side looks better. But that's just me.

[Blackout]

Well, thats what im after your oppinions.
Looks like its going to be on its side then :/ think ill rund it upside down lian li style with a nice window

[Blackout]

****UPDATE TIME****


Hello all back again, had a productive day today.
started cutting the fittings so that every6thing is accessible heres my day!



I started off by cutting the corners of the top bar to acomidate the fitting screws of the P.S.U here it is being filed flat and true.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00311.jpg

looks good time to to the P.S.U brace to match

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00312.jpg

looking pretty good i think?

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00313.jpg

i done the bottom angle section aswell so it can acomidate the back I/O panel heres a snap of that.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00315.jpg

its really starting to take shape the back actually looks like it could be a P.C :D

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00316.jpg

then i heard knock knock on the door, i open the door to find a man in a bright red jumper standing here, it was my masking tape and rivets, still no damn drill bits.
the day had been moving on so well i thought id go get a lend of one from a friend and start committing some of the parts to placement buy drilling the holes ready for when its finally riveted together.
this is when i made what can only be described as a schoolboy error!!!
i marked and measured up for the first hole, center punched it ready and heald the parts in place tight to drill,
the drill went through the first layer easily but the second layer was a little more tricky so i applied a bit more pressure then all of a sudden it broke through the other side :) ,well actually <----- wasn't my face it was more like :eek: as i felt my flesh churn.
i had managed to drill into the end of my thumb up under the nail :( yes the joy of it was very overwhelming NOT.
heres a snap for you i know you want it lol!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00318.jpg

this is it after i cleaned it up a bit and managed to stop the bleeding, all i can say is im sure glad it was only a 3.3mm bit.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00320.jpg

[OrsoDesigns]

Ouch! I know the pain of that as I have done it many time(not working on a case) but a drill bit under the nail hurts! Anyways, nice progress. I like the case on its side better too!

[Ouch!]

You know what I'm gonna say....

It's not a proper mod untill you spill some blood on it!

But, that's twice now, so please stop the injuries!

Take things slowly and carefully. The health services are strapped enough, without a glut of modders drilling holes in themselves! ;)

Ouch!

[Logic Zero]

Wow nice modding!

If you wanna see modders drilling holes in themselves, I have a rather graphic image of my thumb which had a drill bit through it! :p

[Blackout]

go on then stick it up :P

[Blackout]

****UPDATE****

Here i am again, so another days work is done. im pretty much held up on the main case as i need another 1000mm length of aluminum angle which i will be purchasing Friday.
so todays tasks were to cut the window in the side panel and a dvd drive cover for the external of the case to hide the dvd drive behind the face so as the only visible part fits in more with the design.

The fund part of today is the fact im undertaking major cuts in the case without the aid of a jigsaw, dremal or hacksaw :D oh the joy of it lol!
i set about this task in the same way i would if i was making a fan hole without a holesaw.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00321.jpg

getting there :\

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00323.jpg

fineally finished and this is what it looks like, seems like im gonna have a lot of filing doesnt it lol!
this is how im gonna snip it to remove the center piece

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00325.jpg

TADAA!!!!!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00327.jpg

This is what i wasn't looking foreword to, but hey it needs to be done

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00328.jpg

but we will fast foreword a bit to an hour later and this is what im sitting looking at

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00329.jpg

I could not resist a peak at how it looked, so i got the old masking tape off to take a gander and i must say im quite pleased with the end result, the lines are nice and straight and seem to be nice and flowing with the corners (if you know what i mean)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00330.jpg

and i have a loverly chunk of aluminum left wich will come in very handy for hard drive mounts/ strut brace for stability.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00331.jpg

and here is the dvd drive tray cover ive made, this is all you will see on the out side of the case on mesh to indicate an optical drive.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00335.jpg

little bit of masking tape doubled up and it has a nice fit just need to work out how to mount it with a bit of clearance from the proper drive tray cover (about 3 1/4 of an inch i think )

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00334.jpg

[slytherock]

Nice cutting. Really slick :up:

+rep

[calumc]

lookin good!
i really love the look of the brushed alu.
and +rep while im here!

[Blackout]

thanks alot fellas glad you approve :D

[Ouch!]

That's very nice, but isn't it time for your 4 o'clock accident?

Ouch!

[Blackout]

lol! had a good day today maybe tomorrow :D

[Blackout]

****UPDATE****

ok this morning i was bored so i re designed the full front of my pc, i know i know its a bit late but i cant help my self and the other one just seem a bit blanned.
now i understand how case designers find it hard to come up with unique and likable designs.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00338.jpg

heres a quick sneak peak of the sort of look im going for now, theres still a load of detail that will make this look alot more attractive.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00339.jpg

i started making the side trims for the face from the scrap i had from the window cut out, i told you it would come in handy lol!
i really am sick of filing :( must be some machine out there that can do it for you :D

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00340.jpg

heres the left and right done and paired, only niggle is i have the brush on them going a differant direction to the front panel, shouldnt be a problem but its still annoying.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00341.jpg

hmm nice fit, the lip will be hidden behind the front panel but this just gives you an idea of there use.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00342.jpg

then i start cutting in the detail so they fit snuggly around the other pieces

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00344.jpg

well thats it for now, enjoy lads and speak soon.

[NocturnaL]

Pretty good mod so far man. Liking the aluminum work. You need to be more careful tho, you seem to be accident prone like me lol +rep

[alexanderH]

This is shaping up really nicely. I' m not sure I see what the issues is with how the case was sitting. I only noticed it sitting vertical and it looked good like that to me. But I guess it's too late for that! haha, anyways keep up the great work!

[Blackout]

ok update

sorry for the gap but have had a busy few days, the plasterers have been in to take care of my bedroom ceiling before i was sleeping with it in my bed :)
heres some pics of the job they done.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00356.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00357.jpg

not bad just need to wait for it to dry and then im sorted, so that means work can start back on the mod :D just what i like to hear.

I wanted to get into constructing the face plate and making sure all my mesuremants were correct and see how this thing was gonna take shape
this is what i got

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00347.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00348.jpg

oooooo looks perdy :D looks real tasty doesnt she

As you can see i couldn't find a way to mount all the pieces without hiding the rivets so i went rite to the other end of the scale and put them rite in plane sight, i think its looking good allot better than i thought they would look.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00349.jpg

and hear i fitted the top piece that will join to the top struts

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00350.jpg

starting to realy take shape im getting excited now :D
ok then the camera crapped out on me!!! fast forword to this stage.

got the sides put up and the mesh in by now and this is how its looking with some hardware installed

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00353.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00351.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00352.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/DSC00354.jpg

ok this is it far from finished i still need to make 2 small panels for the top front side mesh pieces, fit plexi to the side panel window, fit a momentery switch and make a hard drive mount but i could do without the pc so it is in use at the moment, that and another good coat of clear coat when its all together to give it a nice glass like surface.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030364.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030363-1.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/comradpoplin/S5030367.jpg

There will be more detailed pictures up close and a couple outdoors to give it a real shine effect that you get in person, theres still alot of work to be done so plenty more updates.
i have a sata dvdrw to get rid of that horrible ide cable but the dvdrw is going to be outside the case, im making a matching custom aluminum external dvdrw case.

im gonna have to get some fan filters for when they are fitted cause this case is gonna be a dust magnet :D
hope yas all like the progress so far

[Ap1thy]

sweet.. wish i had the patience, skillz and tools to design a case from scratch like that