Project Stealthlow

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Originally Posted by BS Mods

This build just got even better!

Those strips were exactly what it needed. It looks so smooth and clean now. I just can't believe what a difference it made. I like it before but now I LOVE it.

Great job on this thing. Keep up the good work. :up:

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:D Thanks mate, yeah I was trying to kid myself the tabs were better because of the difficulty I had with the 3mm thick copper but this solution works nicely without excess force pulling the curve out, yep glad I persisted :):up: I've uninstalled & installed the strips a few times already & they are even easier to install or remove with it only being 2 bolts but still I might although not for certain yet add a couple more bolts.

Thought I was in the clear with hiccups :facepalm:.

I'll try to keep this short but ended up going on & on & on like usual lol :).

The front copper mesh grill got more damaged than I thought when I drilled the final hole which is why it wouldn't sit flush to the acrylic, it bulges out by 1mm.

Tried whacking it into better shape at the time & then again today & seems nice & flat but not perfectly flat & it needs to be.

Decided I really like the copper mesh grill panel & going to alu for this front detail just would have been a come down for this, so ordered a 250x250mm x 2mm sheet & just in case I have more probs a 250x250mm x 1mm sheet so I can re-make it, but this time i'm going to go overkill with the clamping :D, thought I did before with 2 G clamps nice & tight but I guess not, really couldn't believe it when it completely deformed, really should have taken a picture, it was so twisted out of shape I instantly thought well that's that then :D but was using the kodak with it's internal memory with room for 6 or 7 shots.

I tried the original blank 3mm alu panel I made in the early stages of this project & it still fits perfect so at least the form of the case is still good, was getting worried it lost form some how :D.

I'll be a bit busy tomorrow but if I get chance & I'm up for it I'll get something done even if it's just finishing off the strips & then I'll have to use gloves so I don't get dirt or grease on them, the more the copper gets handled the duller it gets & the strips have already started showing clear dulling signs :eek:, so I ordered some brass lacquer for it to keep it's fresh look after I give it a re-brush & clean :).

The little copper vents are staying out of the build :D, they just don't look good after seeing them with the strips & they'd be quite restrictive for air flow so laters to them :D, I'll either leave the vents open or if I can think up something good enough I'll make something else but the edges got a good wet sanding so are near polished so theres a good chance I'll leave them as they are.

Just when I thought I was getting into some solid progress lol.

Don't stress too bad.

It's just part of modding. If it was too easy then everyone could do it!

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Originally Posted by BS Mods

Don't stress too bad.

It's just part of modding. If it was too easy then everyone could do it!

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:) I was stuck in a very bad sleep pattern so been getting stressed a bit easier than normal, but got it straight again for the time being but once I've completed this case I'm gonna get myself back in good shape before I tackle another mod :D.

I knew going into this one it wouldn't be a walk in the park lol, the majority of it was though :) but the stuff that was difficult really was :D but yeah I think all the difficult stuff is complete & just needs tidying up & waiting for the new copper to arrive :up:.

Just got the metal lacquer & brush so just waiting on the bottom front copper sheet now :) :crossed: it'll come today.

I think if I was to make another one of these I'd forget about the top short opposing curve as that is what caused the higher difficulty & really I'd find it difficult to reproduce, usually once you've done something in a mod it's easier to do again but not that lol or if I did I'd use plain polycarbonate & put a tint film over it as it has more strength from cracking & is more flexible, acrylic can be a real pain to curve for some stuff :D.

Hmmm, I started filing the excess edges off the ends of the strips & left side went fine, right side I got impatient filing 1 way & went both ways & with the 10mm x 1mm alu strips being uber flexible it pulled back & detatched from the case :( so was knackered, then I went & made another 10mm x 1mm strip & drilled in the same spots where the original had them & when I installed it it had a good bit of baggy flex so really not good, my disc sander seems like it's past it's best but I need to open it up to see what's wrong it spins well but it's making a ton of extra noise & vibrates heavily so needs opening & looking to see whats wrong, some of the case screws had come very loose so I'm guessing it's something similar inside the machine, hopefully it's fixable.

Only way I'll get these alu strips done now is if I use button head bolts as countersinking these extremely flexible strips just makes them even more so, so yeah I'll re-make the 10mm alu strips tomorrow & get them on with button head bolts for a better connection :).

Anyway heres some shots of the case with correct length strips & shortened internal tabs.

And because it was doing my head in I needed to see it in a fuller form so re-brushed the left panel & put the side windows in too :D.

The bottom front grill I'm using a tripple layer of alu until the copper arrives.

Fixed the disc sander which is a relief :) & re-made both the slim strips & underneath the slim strips I added 4 extra bolts on each side to hold it all down nicer so the slim strips are held in with just 2 button head bolts so the bottom front panel is held in better also now :).

Back on track now I think after mucking up the other slim alu strips :) but I don't know what's going on with the copper delivery.

I can't remember back since I've been watching the build for a while, but, did you ever think about the feet being copper colored?

I can picture it and I think it would look great. It would go good with the copper accent strips.

Just my 2 cents.;)

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Originally Posted by BS Mods

I can't remember back since I've been watching the build for a while, but, did you ever think about the feet being copper colored?

I can picture it and I think it would look great. It would go good with the copper accent strips.

Just my 2 cents.;)

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:D Would be sweet if Bill did a copper version but they would cost a fair bit more :).

Suppose if I could anodise them it could work & also get them in line with the strips would make a nice touch, just got them up to the edge of the case so they can clearly be seen since they are sponsored :D no need for any logos if all the bits can be clearly seen :), but I think they'll be left raw :D.

Anodising is something I should try doing myself some time but I have a lot of research to do so I don't have any bad accidents & so I know how to store & dispose excess & waste properly, or could just go with powder coating which can be nice, simple, cheap & safe to do diy style.

Ok some pictures of where it's at with added stainless steel mirror polished 2nd floor installed & everything fits perfect incuding the ssd mount & made sure the psu is still mountable & is :).

I had a go at doing the optical tray cover but the blades I have aren't adequate to do what I wanted to do, they are great for sheet materials but I tried going through 12mm diameter copper rod & it just takes ages, did cut all the way through it though but also wanted to split the rod down the middle to use a half circle on the tray but yeah it would have overworked the scroll saw for such a small part so need different blades for that really, it's doable but would take hours & hours & don't fancy risking burning out the new saw :) it is possible to use bandsaw blades cut up for this scroll saw though so I'll do that for pieces like this & it should breeze through it & much thicker material :D.

Got all the fan mount stubs made & installed, did 1 of them wrong so just re made it :).

So close to finished :banana:.

Took a few pictures with some nice daylight & with the side panel off :).

Also the curved acrylic piece looks good on most shots & to the eye but some shots I took it shows how messed up the surface of the acrylic is so a question for you all, how do I get it restored to perfection? :).

And ordered a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS standard lens so I can take certain shots that I just can't with this macro lens, the macro lens really is awesome but also really need a normal lens so I don't have to be so far away from what I'm shooting & can't afford the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG I really wanted so went for the nice & cheap 1 but it's meant to be good image quality anyway just low build quality.

Also I said I had all I need to complete the case but that isn't true since I decided to do the fan wire work properly so I'm gonna have to wait for soldering gear & supplies to arrive but hopefully they won't take long to arrive (not ordered yet but it's the weekend so have chance to decide before buying), I could wire twist & heatshrink like I used to do which is probably as good as soldering but I dunno, what you guys think, get the soldering gear or twist & shrink? :D.

Did a test run of the installed fans running & woo hoo no vibrations at all, 1 of the fans has a faint wobble but isn't causing any vibrations with them being solidly secured but it's all genuinely silent, I had to stick my head inside the case to be able to hear them running lol so it will definitely live up to it's stealth part of the name & the air flow goes as expected :up:, just hope it can cope with the overclock I have on it, it's only just above a faint breeze going through the case so should be ok just about, people think those Fractal Design Define R3 cases are quiet, I've built a rig for my bro with 1 & they aren't so quiet but this is silent as if it's a passively cooled rig so if anything is going to make any noise on this it will be the gtx 580 :) really can't believe how silent it is, if there were no spinning fans or lights you couldn't tell it was on :eek::up:.

Also done a little smoke test so I could see the flow working correct & it does although the bottom front fan is cutting it fine, ideally it needs pulling 10mm further into the case so it flows that little bit better, either that or add a seperator piece between the 2 front fans.

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Originally Posted by Blibbax

A question on cooling.

This is what you want to happen:

But because you've got the intake fan not directly against its vents, and those vents aren't directly lined up, I think you might end up with a loop around the intake fan.

And because this will result in negative pressure inside the case, and you have a perforated rear, I think you might end up with a loop around the exhaust too.

Between those two effects, you'd end up with very little airflow across the components. What say you?

(Not trying to pick holes here, just trying to be helpful :))

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:D I had to dig out this post as I remembered you saying this & I finally got to the part where I found out for sure :up: & you was absolutely correct about the bottom front fan :D, at the time when you said it I really wasn't sure if the air could do that but yes it did, however all the rest works as it should thank goodness :D.

Sorted it out though by adding extra vent in front of that particular fan & it all works as planned now, quite nicely too :):up: I'll get a picture update on tomorrow when it's light :).

So I found the acrylic cover prevented the lower fan from catching air properly, so I added extra ventage :D this introduced a bit more fine scratches but I found a solution for it & already ordered it so all the scratches will be removed & the acrylic will be restored back to perfect :up:.

These last 2 shots I took in sniper position without tripod :D.

And in case anyones wondering why the alu strips aren't perfectly in the middle they can move a little side to side so not a problem :D.

LOL A good old winge about the corsair cables being crap & it forced me to do something with the 3mm copper rods :D but not entirely sure I'll stick with this although it immediately tidied the wires up nicely but the dark tint makes it hide almost completely so either I'm on to something ok with the copper spiral rods that needs more work or I should just go with the MDPCX cable clips :D.

The black wire I bought was useless & snaps easy when tightened so couldn't do what I intended with the copper wire supports so did spirals instead :).

Also I wouldn't mind making a right angle ATX power connector to keep the wires out of the way from the front fan (I seen such a technique done by Chiller :) so it's possible).

Before the copper.

Copper installed to tidy up.

Thoughts? possibly on to an ok thing with the copper rod or not :D.

The copper looks good.

1 question: What is the fan above the PSU doing? Its not pulling or pushing anything. It looks to be less than an inch away from a solid piece...

Copper wire management looks really good, kinda like watercooling anti-kink coils.

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Originally Posted by Fuganater

The copper looks good.

1 question: What is the fan above the PSU doing? Its not pulling or pushing anything. It looks to be less than an inch away from a solid piece...

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That's just for making sure all the heat gets guided upwards & outwards so theres no heat pockets :D an extra measure possibly not needed but it does aid in doing whats intended, I did a similar thing in air cube but on that it helped keep temps down a bit more but it was probably going at 1 of the mobo sensors lol :D thanks mate :).

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Originally Posted by TheMainMan

Copper wire management looks really good, kinda like watercooling anti-kink coils.

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Thanks mate, the overall feedback suggests it's quite good so I'll persist in making it a bit better still :).

Thanks guys :up:.

The acrylic scratch removal bits came today, it's novus 3 heavy scratch remover which I shouldn't need to use, 2 fine scratch remover which I'll use, 1 plastic clean & shine & a couple of 5 packs of 100% cotton fine polishing cloths.

Also the standard 18-55mm canon IS lens came today & give it a few shots to do, here they are :D.

Not bad, not nearly as good as the sigma lens & feels like a toy but not bad picture quality, much better than my dads older lenses so I'll be happy with that & it's not an expensive lens so I'll be happy to use this in the workshop also so much better being able to be much closer to what I'm shooting was quite a mistake not getting a zoom macro lens as my main lens (I'll still take care of it as if it was an expensive one though) :).

Just got all upper level fans installed & it's still silent but also with the push/pull fans the flow is rather good so the overclock should be perfectly fine :D so now I have all the fans ready to properly start on needed cable lengths & get the wire work done on them.

I also ordered 5 ATX right angle pieces from America (they are white though so I'll have to colour them) & thought I could double 2 of them up so it points to the other side of the mobo tray so will keep the airflow completely clear :).

If you decide to colour the ATX plugs, I just tried and had good luck with dying plastic using a fabric dye. From what I've read the black usually turns out really nice.

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Originally Posted by TheMainMan

If you decide to colour the ATX plugs, I just tried and had good luck with dying plastic using a fabric dye. From what I've read the black usually turns out really nice.

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Cheers for the tip mate :) I'll get some black dye ordered :), hopefully I won't be waiting too long for the plugs :crossed:.

Attila on bit-tech threw me an idea on how to make this case a good few notches higher in the appearence part but I just can't do it because of the way I designed it to be, these pictures are to show why, it boils down to there not being enough space between the tower heatsink & side panel & the mesh on the back, but I could add internal covering for below the heatsink but it might not look right so I think I'll pass & save something like that for another case.

Took a few shots to show why it would be a nightmare to make internal casing without causing a problem for air flow, the case width is designed perfectly for large tower heatsink & generous space on the other side for wires so there is only about 5mm gap between cooler & side panel.

And here is the result of some elbow polish & the scratch remover stuff, this is on a I think 10 to 15mm piece of acrylic & dark tint so it shows the scratches really well, I roughed it up a bit with 240 grit & had to use all 3 solutions of the novus system, #2 just didn't cut it so used #3 then #2 then #1 & believe it will be much easier to apply on bigger pieces.

Just to show how bad the scratches got on the main window, I'll update later when I can get a good photo of it restored (thought I got it fully done but was still some scratches there so had to get back onto it lol went over the whole piece on both sides just to be sure from 240 grit wet sanding to 2000 & then a few hours hand polishing until it's as close as possible to perfect condition) & in the meantime I'll do the fan wires & I've said that I don't know how many times now, it's just so much fun wire work lol :D.

Ok so I didn't get it quite right & all because I skipped a grit, d'oh I did 240 grit then skipped 600 because it wasn't around & went straight to 1200 & then 2000, it all seemed ok so went on to the scratch removal liquids, it seemed perfect until I seen it in broad daylight which helped it show many many many ultra fine scratches especially when I took some macro shots so next I'll wet sand starting at 600 grit & work back to 2000 & then get the polishing done right this time, should be doing the fan wires now but got to get this piece sorted before I move on :D.

Random shot :D

Before

After

Sorry about the continued mass of photos but I did take a few nice ones & showing how it looks in different light, without daylight reflecting direct onto the bad areas you can't tell theres anything wrong so I could cheat it if I wanted :D but I'm gonna get it back to it's original condition, next bunch will be of the main window sorted & fans extended & sleeved or I won't post any more updates until they are done :D.

Looking good dude. I really really like the copper cable magement.

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Originally Posted by Fuganater

Looking good dude. I really really like the copper cable magement.

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Thanks mate, I've been told that's a technique they use for shaping bonsai trees :D.

Heres the freshly fully wet sanded window & new RAM I put in my rig to replace the ocz 4GB 1600mhz 7,8,7,20 I was expecting a drop in performance with going for kingston hyper x 8GB 1600mhz 9,9,9,27 but did before & after memory benches & they are just as good :) took these 2 without a tripod also but they are part of the progress so got to leave them in.

OK I'm in the middle of doing the fan wires right now & having a little break from it so thought I'd up the photos of the window I took earlier in the day, all these photos are showing it in the worst possible lighting which would highlight any scratches so when daylight isn't on it like this it looks pristine & to be honest not far from it in this raw daylight but to get it in truly pristine form it would take I'd guess at least 14 solid hours of arm killing fun so I'll settle for this :D.

Also put the warped copper panel back in, it needs some work to get it 100% flat which I'll have a go at tomorrow, it's also 2mm too short for the spot it's in & I do have an extra 2mm copper sheet which I could make a new one if I need to & I don't have to do a hole mesh I could do a complimenting pattern for the front alu piece in the same style as the clamp strips.

Finally got the very boring bit done :D extending the fan wires & sleeving them.

Glad that's done with :).

Fan mod time :banana: if I don't like these enough once I get them done right I have designed my own frames for if I feel like doing them :D.

These need bending better, I measured the enermax pieces & made a template, cut them all out on the scroll saw, took them to the disc sander, then brush finished them, then looked around for an ideal sized round hard object to bend it around.

I'll need to make a mould to get it perfect & have plenty of spare scrap wood to do this :).

That definitely ranks up there as one of my favourite fan mods of all time. So cool and so perfect for this build! +rep

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I could wire twist & heatshrink like I used to do which is probably as good as soldering but I dunno, what you guys think, get the soldering gear or twist & shrink?

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Not sure what you ended up doing, but I'd just do the twist & shrink since it works, it'll be easier to swap out fans in the future, and either way it needs to be wrapped in heatshrink.

I honestly wasn't a fan of the spiraled copper cable tie idea at first but it's growing on me. It would especially look good if each spiral was identical and the ends were hidden from view behind the wires.

The easiest way to photograph scratches in the acrylic would be to shine a bright light (such as a single LED) into the edge. Any scratches will illuminate.

And those fans are awesome. Did you have to cut out the middle section or was the fan modular? I ask because of those plastic tabs. Any pics of the fan mid-mod?

Awesomely, awesome work so far on this whole build!

I think the fan mod is awesome. Looks perfect from your pics.

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Originally Posted by TheMainMan

That definitely ranks up there as one of my favourite fan mods of all time. So cool and so perfect for this build! +rep

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:banana: Thank you mate :):up:.

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Originally Posted by mDust

Not sure what you ended up doing, but I'd just do the twist & shrink since it works, it'll be easier to swap out fans in the future, and either way it needs to be wrapped in heatshrink.

I honestly wasn't a fan of the spiraled copper cable tie idea at first but it's growing on me. It would especially look good if each spiral was identical and the ends were hidden from view behind the wires.

The easiest way to photograph scratches in the acrylic would be to shine a bright light (such as a single LED) into the edge. Any scratches will illuminate.

And those fans are awesome. Did you have to cut out the middle section or was the fan modular? I ask because of those plastic tabs. Any pics of the fan mid-mod?

Awesomely, awesome work so far on this whole build!

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Yeah I twisted, taped, shrunk & sleeved :) works really well for me. The spirals I'm still experimenting on what to do, I have a bunch of black MDPC cable clips but it's just not challenging :D so I might make some copper ones with the leftovers from these fan pieces :):up:.

I'll remember to take photos of the process when I get to work on the others mate, they are modular, the brushed aluminium enermax pieces inside them come as 2 half circles, honestly though that scroll saw makes modding so much better really glad I went for it :).

Cheers mate :):up:.

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Originally Posted by Fuganater

I think the fan mod is awesome. Looks perfect from your pics.

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Thanks Fuganater, I have a pile more photos of it in it's proper form now I've got a sollution for geting the half circles done right so here we go :).

Woo hoo I found the perfect bending aid for getting these replacement pieces done, my masking tape with a perfect fitting tin of paint placed inside :D just wrap around it & squeeze & then a tiny bit of hand bending & got it to 99% perfect, I thought I made them 1mm too long but no they are just very fiddly to put inside the clips so now I know I can make it work I'll take these out & get all the other copper pieces bent properly & then if needed give them another brushing & then brush some metal lacquer on them to stop them from tarnishing :).

The strips go in in 2 pieces just like the enermax ones, it's a modular fan :).

Got the fan copper pieces & the fan mount stumps brushed with the coarse mop & then brushed metal lacquer on them so they can be handled now without easily adding finger prints :) & got them all installed.

I've got to say... this is looking awesome!!

those are the coolest fans evar!

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Originally Posted by billygoat333

I've got to say... this is looking awesome!!

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:D Thanks billygoa :):up:.

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Originally Posted by xr4man

those are the coolest fans evar!

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:redface::) Thanks mate :up:.

Looks much better now. But you know what stands out? That awful blue GPU fan cover.

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Originally Posted by Fuganater

Looks much better now. But you know what stands out? That awful blue GPU fan cover.

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Hehe thanks mate, but don't worry that's my spare 9800gtx & the motherboard & TRUE cooler are spare parts also :D.

I got an invite to the International German Casemod Championship (DCMM) so I have until the 3rd of August to make my mind up if I go, I'd love to but I'm not a keen traveller & I'm ever so slightly agoraphobic, I'm ok going about in the UK but flights & everything else I don't know & not being able to have a smoke while travelling, only German I know is how to count & to introduce myself & say hello etc :facepalm: I'd need drugging & carting off to get there like B.A aint getting on no plain foo lol :D hopefully I'll be able to kick myself up the bum to get over there :).

that looks SICK!!

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Originally Posted by SXRguyinMA

that looks SICK!!

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:D Thanks mate :up: they work out nice & cheap also with me doing them myself :D like less than £10 for all 6 fans :).

This is what turned out to be perfect for getting the curves done on the copper rims, a fresh roll of cello tape with a tin of paint stuffed in the middle & just wrap the copper around it & then manually bend the ends a tiny bit, then flip over & spread it out a tiny bit & then they fit nicely :).

Took it all apart ready for brushing, there are quite a few parts that need a fresh brushing & some parts that still have markings on & parts that haven't been brushed yet so it's time to get every little bit brushed & lacquered although the curve bars & motherboard tray will have to wait a little longer as I still need to make & add copper cable clips & a power button :D I had to opt for a 16mm one, just wasn't quite enough space for a 19mm one where I wanted it because of the strip clamps, I have thought about grinding part of the switch bevel away so it fits but undecided on that & the motherboard tray needs the psu wire pass through hole making a little bigger so more wires can cram through :D.

The nice thing about the metal lacquer is it doesn't leve a gloss finish if only using 1 coat but adds a nice protective layer, on a sample piece I did 1 coat & less than 3 hours later I handled it & left no finger prints or smudge marks, well none that were visible anyway & it really takes some hard rubbing to get it off so it's really good stuff :).

But whatever the case I'll still need to wait for the right angle ATX plugs before I can finish this, the dylon general purpose black dye came today so I'm all set to get this complete once the ATX plugs come.

Oh :D can't forget about the front bottom copper panel, waiting for the range of scroll saw blades so I can cut the 2mm copper more easy on a bevel, the jewelers blades struggle cutting anything above 1.5mm so cutting 2mm copper on an angle just isn't a good idea it would take forever & would waste quite a few blades, the bandsaw blade came today though so should be able to see how well it copes with a range of thicker materials, I'm expecting it to be as good as a hacksaw but with more ease of precision so I'm a bit excited to find out how well it does :D.

Oh BTW I found I can buy a decent milling cross table at a good price & a rotating table, so I'm gonna be saving up so I can buy both & a good pillar drill, then I'd be able to make quite a few awesome things :).

Brushing the small copper pieces with metal lacquer left me with an impression it was easy to do without hiccups, some spots it looks nasty especially under certain light but I'll rub all the bad spots out & do a fresh brush of lacquer to get it so it looks nice all over.

Glad I had a few extra things to do to the motherboard tray really as I rounded the square holes on all the main pass throughs & the hdd pass throughs & looks much nicer now, didn't need to change the optical ssd pass through as it's out of sight & works perfect, oh & added a 16mm vandal power switch which only just fit :) silver with white ring & finally I drilled 5 or 6 holes & put helicoils in so I could use the MDPC cable clips if I can't be bothered with making copper ones :D.

On with the photos :D.

And for shots like this is why I wanted a different lens, just couldn't get these shots with the fixed focal macro lens.

Wow that was a load of shots but hopefully good viewing with the building up part lol.