Heheh, there you go. If the hole is too big, make it bigger. :P Looks great. :up:
Oh, and I believe you are correct..I didn't notice the opposing cylinders sticking out; I think this is a Goldwing.
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Heheh, there you go. If the hole is too big, make it bigger. :P Looks great. :up:
Oh, and I believe you are correct..I didn't notice the opposing cylinders sticking out; I think this is a Goldwing.
I'm stil not sure what I make of the unplanned design of the mesh but this is about half way done, it was the 2 unwanted holes from the clamping piece I was going to use that threw this mesh way off course & into unplanned territory :facepalm: lol.
If I don't end up liking what I do with this I'll order another sheet & re-do the back panel but even so I'll get the rest of the panel made & then it could act as a template which would really reduce the amount of time required to re-make it :).
Well I didn't like the unplanned mess I started turning this into so I ordered a new sheet yesterday.
Wowzers just got the fresh sheet of alu a couple of hours ago & didn't waste any time :D it is now back in the shape it was before I added the 2 holes for the expansion card mounting system, all the mounting holes line up correct too thank goodness :D.
So all thats needed to be done now for the back panel is:
Cut the psu hole out, cut a hole out for the bottom hdd fan, shorten the length of the curve bar blocks so they don't interfere with the top exhaust, cut a hole out for the top exhaust, drill out a mesh then the back panel is near complete :banana:. I'll do all this if I can be bothered as that was a concentrated workload I just completed to get back to where I was the other day :D.
Here, I couldn't be bothered doing more than getting back to where I mucked up but I could just about be bothered to get a pic :) lol.
Wow, fast shipping on that panel!
Yeah, awesome service from my new supplier which I found on ebay & way cheaper aluminium too :), I got a 3mm x 1000mm x 500mm £30 with express delivery £21 if I could go pick it up in person.
With my old supplier this sheet would have cost me £63 & could have been waiting anything from 3 days to 2 weeks & without protective backing so could get it in bad condition but they are good for bar profiles but for sheet alu I'd never go with them again.
Wow...If I lived in the UK I'd ask who it was..maybe see about putting them in the supplier section on our wiki?
Good idea, really had nothing but perfect service with them :):up:.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Aluminium-D...id=p4340.l2563
Started 6 am Friday, finished 8 pm had a few quick coffee breaks.
Days like today make me remember why I make my own cases, the past few days I've been questioning why am I bothering doing this lol & the answer is in the pictures, the first botch up panel was one of those where I don't know what to make of it & wondered if I could grow to like it but todays effort I knew immediately I'm glad to say wooooooo :yellow_green::D.
OK so I missed out on taking pictures with the custom circle hex pattern I downloaded, printed from http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ but I cut to size & stuck down with cello tape & marked the centre of each circle which tested my patience over a few sessions through the night lol but whenever it got too much I just watched a show to break the monotony & when it was done I covered it in cello tape so it all stays down & left until 6 am.
Not sure how long the spot drilling took but it was quite a while, then drilled a 3.2mm bit & then used a 7mm bit, then got my bigger countersink bit & accidentally went too deep on the first one so did all the rest at the same depth & pretty fast I noticed it was a good accident for 2 reasons: 1 it adds a nice & easier way for the air to get through, 2 I think it looks pretty damn good.
The circle at the bottom I wasn't sure if I should go with a plain hole or do the mesh so I went with the mesh & had to just use a few 3.2mm holes for the ones closest to the edge of the wanted circle, not a bad result I think :).
Flipped the piece over & done slight countersinks on the exterior side, then used wd40 to get the tacky cello tape completely off & then used the satinising mop to minimise scratches & then went over it with a fine satinising mop, dusted down & installed back to the case & wow I love it when I impress myself & feels a fair while since I done that, so then enough blah blah & enjoy the pics :D.
Awesome day :).
Holey carp!!! :eek: That is a lot of drilling in on day. I really like how the happy accident turns out. It's a different look and it can't hurt the airflow at all.
Wow, great work!
I really like how the drilling accident came out; it gives a certain polished quality.
Thought the drilling was never gonna end & was having a bad dream lol :D but then seen the result at the end of the day & the next morning :banana: thanks msmrx57 :up:.
Gives it a bit of a 3d hex shape on the inside & the outside is nice circles so yeah awesome accident by going too deep with the countersink :D thanks 88 :up:.
I've been in love with this mod since the first time I laid eyes on it.:up:
When you make mistakes and turn them into gold like that means you are truly a natural when it comes to modding. Great job.
I have a tip for you on using body filler -
There is a product called "All Metal" that I use for doing auto body work. It is great because it's super strong, won't shrink like fillers do, you can file it, grind it, etc. Normal bondo type fillers can shrink just a little and/or crack and you will see it under the paint after a while. Either way just make sure to use plenty of primer to help hide it.;)
Thanks BS :):up: & thanks for the filling tip but the only place I could find the product you said about is in the US, I have same problem trying to find a clear adhesion promoter or clear primer so I can use candy paint to keep the brushed look but still add some colour, if any UK paint specialists know a good clear primer please let me know :D (slaveofconvention).
So you want to keep the brushed metal look? That's easy!
Have it powder coated with clear. You can use clear powder coating over any raw metal. You can also add pearls, metal flake, etc. There must be someone around you that can do powder coating.
http://www.eastwood.com/hotcoat-powd...r-powders.html
This video shows how you can polish something and then do some artwork using decals. They polished a bat and then added some color but for your case you would just get the metal brushed and then clean it and powder coat it clear. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yBf-cPHs7o
There is also one other way -
If you have an automotive paint store go in and tell them what you are doing. They can show you some things. Ask them about using just the "toner". It's not clear but it comes in lots of colors. It's fairly transparent so you could keep the brushed look and spray a cool color over it and the brush markings still show through. Then you can clear coat that and it would look awesome.
Actually, if YOU find out about one, let me know and I'll start to stock it at work - we regularly get people who want to clear bare metal and we just don't have a product designed for it.
We do have a waterclear plastic primer which is, effectively, a mild etch but I have no idea if it'd work at all on metal - I'm assuming it wont do jack as I'd assume any etch for metal would be acid based whereas any etch for plastic would be based on some kind of chemical reaction with the plastic.
:) Thanks for opening another option BS, I had no idea there was clear powder coating :D, had me looking around to find out what I'd need to setup a powder coating system & it's all fine except for making my own oven lol I could do that but it'd keep bumping up the cost of the build but on the other hand it could be a very good investment, I even came across candy powders not many colours though but still I only thought there was just solid colours for powder coating, thanks again for opening my eyes to an alternative +rep.
Here is a few I found through a sleepless night of searching :D.
Universal Adhesion Promoter U-POL Aerosol Grip#4 (I've seen the price of this one vary from £8.50 to £17 :eek:)
http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/...50ml-235-p.asp
VHT ADHESION PROMOTER (sounds like good stuff but is for very high temperatures but dunno if that matters tbh)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VHT-ADHESION-P...item3a5d540c93
Adhesion Promoter and Sealer
http://flowkochem.com/clear.php
Dupli-Color/11 oz. clear adhesion promoter
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...ntifier=460112
http://www.amazon.com/ADHESION-PROMO.../dp/B0007UAXJQ
Ideally I want to clear prime parts, then use candy paint & then a matt or satin lacquer, want to avoid gloss :), it's still possibly weeks away but it would be good to get it all sorted out so theres not any waiting, I'll be buying a spray gun too for doing the candy & clear coat.
:) Update
Ok so I mounted the psu & mobo for figuring out where the cable holes will go.
Drilled 10mm holes so I could get a square file in & make the holes, they look square & ugly but I have a plan for making them all very very neat but I'll save that for a later update.
Then took the bottom panel off to add the feet & was going to measure & mark but there was markings left behind from the begining of the project woo hoo :D so I opted for the points on the corners so the bolts will overlap where the corner support bars are but I chose to use countersunk bolts instead of the ones that came with the feet as I wanted them out of the way, they were way too long so I grinded them down.
Feet on :).
So I got the wire pass holes made, shortened the curve bar supports, expanded the optical angle bar so sata data & power cables will go through both now, cut to length a perfect length wire for the cpu power & atx power as a first step of the prep for sleeving, installed the feet Bill sponsored me with.
Doesn't feel like much progress for almost a full day but progress is progress :).
Thank you for sponsoring me Bill, the feet are awesome & the Modmen show is too :D.
Heheh, that CPU cooler makes the case look not so huge. :P
Good work, it's coming along great. :up:
Looking great! Your hard work is even more evident the closer this project gets to completion.
Nah it's not bad. Just make sure to use a hot knife to cut it, or melt the ends with something to keep them from fraying. Also, make sure to cut MORE than you need, as when it expands it shrinks. I usually sleeve the wire, then cut to length as needed. Also, don't forget to put your heatshrink on BEFORE you crimp the connectors on :D
Something you learned the hard way, SXR?
Thanks for the tips SXRguyinMA :):up:.
:D
:D
Noted :):up:.
I've heared the psu I'm going to sleeve (corsair ax850w) is a nightmare to do, but I'll move forward & find out for myself :D.
OK time for some MDPC sleeving :D.
Being new to a full on sleeving job, a quick google her a quick goolgle there & BAM.
How to remove an ATX plug
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=64632
Snipped the heatshrink, cable tie & sleeving off the corsair ax850 atx cable.
Then went & gathered pliers, wire stripper, the crimping tool I got from MDPC in all it's matt black glory :D & my ridiculasly huge disposable lighter my bro bought me for christmas & isn't even half way used since christmas lol :D.
Got a paper clip straightened out & tried using it but was too thick soooo, I took it to the garage, snipped it in half & grinded it so it was nice & thin.
Tested it & it does the job of removing pins awesome, instead of pressing it against the ground I held it tight in the pliers to push it the extra needed amount, first attempt & it came out perfectly, so so much for this psu being difficult hehe :D, still though I'll need to dig out an exacto blade so I can heat it up to cut the sleeving well.
Nils awesome trademark custom cartoon picture :D.
40 metres of black sleeving for single wires & I think 10 metres of sata sleeving too, 150 pre-cut heatshrink pieces, a nice length of heatshrink, a pile of pins, a load of cable clip pieces of all the available sizes, enough sata power pass through pieces & a few sata power end pieces, that is all I think :D.
I might only do the CPU cable & the ATX cable tonight but it's on :):up:.
For heating the heatshrink, I would highly recommend picking up a heatgun (or a hair dryer would work too) instead of using the lighter. With a lighter you run a much higher risk of heating the tubing too much or even catching it on fire, plus you're limited in the range of movement that you can use it it. IE, only underneath or maybe to the side of the tubing, whereas with a heatgun you can attack it from any angle, and you can be much more precise in the amount of heat you convey. Plus, the heatgun will force the air into any little nooks and crannies and between wires, getting into those tight spots that you just can't reach with a lighter.
Luckily I have the option of both :), it's just that with the sleeving pack it said best results with a lighter by sweeping it past carefully, but it may have said that for those without a heatgun.
I have used a heatgun for a light bit of sleeving & it burnt the sleeving but then again I wasn't using the correct size heatshrink :facepalm: anyway I brought the heatgun over also so I can find out which works best, thanks for mentioning though 88 :):up:.
This lot took me ages to sort out, the place I bought my molex cable & fan cable mixed them together & they were a nightmare to untangle.
My first 2 ok crimps.
My first 2 wires done, but I'll be taking these out to re do them, so I'll use the rest of the atx crimp pins to get my technique perfect, but I had to make a new order for a pile of female crimp pins & a tiny bit more sleeving & some nice black fan headers, so yeah the sleeving is back on hold for the time being, at least I'll be good & ready to go at it like I know what I'm doing when it gets here :) & yes I now realise the heat shrink should only be showing a little which is why I'll re do these to get it perfect :up:.
The lighter worked out best for me, tried the heat gun but it was blowing the heat shrink around too much lol whereas the lighter worked perfectly :up:.
OK now I feel the pain on my finger tips but moreso blisters from clenching the pliers lol but thats mostly because of the DIY pin remover I'm using (a grinded flat piece of a paper clip & using pliers to drive it through) lmao :D, hopefully I never laughed at anyone when they mentioned it is painful because now it's time for them to say haa haaaa :P if I ever did :D, think I just did in my mind :D, anyway I'm glad to say I'm not creating any waste since last night & I have a trick up my sleeve for getting any of the heatshrinks that aren't the same, a razer to finish them off ;), but they are very close but I'll leave it to you lot to judge :).
LOL I keep nodding off to sleep, I better jump on my bed :D.
nice work! looks great!
very nicely done. the heatshrink looks great to me.
Nicely done! And yes, the proper tool does make pulling those pins a lot easier. ;)
Thanks guys :):up: the reason I avoided investing in an atx pin remover is I've heard quite a lot of people say they aren't much good & they break too easily but I think I should have got one anyway & just be careful with it but anyway I'll do an awesome cross type tool that does all the pin removing jobs in one :D:up:.
Haha I couldn't resist waiting for the crimp pins & used the final 8 female pins for an extension lol.
I took the pictures first under my daylight bulb & then with a shade covering the shine & it gives a dramatically different look, looks blingy under direct light & like awesome shoe laces without :).
So thats the CPU & ATX cable done :).
Ahaa just when I thought I'd run out of things to sleeve with the bits I have I thought I'd make a start on the sata power cables, next up is fan sleeving I used nothing but the scrap stuff I have for doing these so I reclaimed all the black wire & put all of it to use & I'll be able to finish these off easily with the waste sleeving & still have plenty for shortish sleeving jobs, I'm now quite confident I'll be able to sleeve everything :).
Only got 1 WIP pic of this bit & it's pretty dark.
Couldn't take this any further as I need the female crimp pins.
Plus I already have the left angle sata cables & they are sata 3 :).
those came out awesome! +rep