Project: LEXA

excellent work and dedication dude, very retailer and delicate...

Well today I was home from school cos I am sick :( so I thought I may as well try to get my radiator mounted.

First I measured and drilled some holes:

Yes I know that middle lower hole is a bit churned up. There was a hole there already and the drill bit tore away the space in between the hole I was drilling and the existing hole. Don't worry, I hill be hiding the damage with some mesh strips.
Here is the radiator mounted:

And from the underside:

The radiator ended up being just a little bit crooked, you can only notice this if you are looking at it directly like this. I will fiddle with the holes to make it sit perfectly before I finish drilling the holes for the inlet and outlet.
Here is a pic of the distance between the radiator and the actual floor (using my desk an an example):

The gap is around 1.5-2 cm and will probably end up being close to 3cm when the radiator is properly installed and once I make the case feet a bit taller.

I have come up with a solution for my cases height issue. I was thinking of using a few standard metal washers to jack the height up a little but after having so much time on my hands today I got thinking. I really have 4 realistic options.

Option 1:
I use the standard metal washers...looks tacky.

Option 2:
I cut the difference in height off the perfect LEXA front fascia...risk destroying it.

Option 3:
I make 4 mini spacers (same design as the existing ones) to help raise the height, should give me around 3-4mm in extra height...very time consuming, don't think I have enough green plexi left.

Option 4:
I make 8 small washers out of green plexi to use instead of the metal ones...should look AWESOME.

I am going to go with option 4 but how to make the washers??? I haven't thought of that part yet. Well I probably have all day tomorrow to think about that so I'll keep you posted. Until then...

Happy Modding.

small holesaw?
the holesaw set i have goes all the way down to about an inch diameter.
that would make the middle hole with the guide drill bit and a perfect circular cutout that would only have to be polished later.
to polish just sandwich them on a long screw between 2 nuts and chuck them up in a drill
hold against some sandpaper till they shine =o)
great build by the way

I have a holesaw but the size I need would be 1cm lol. I think I will have to just them out with a jigsaw or the Dremel and the but them on the bolt and attach it to the drill for a quick file with the good ol' file in the vice trick lol.

After thinking about my little problem I think I could use the hole to cut out the smallest circle I can with the hole saws at my disposal and then bolt them all together and grind most of the size off until I get my desired size. The only problem with this is the size the guide makes with the holesaw, this will be much larger than the bolts I am using. Looks like i will have to glue the plexi washers in place.

Great Job . .mounting the radiator!
I'd go with option #4 Make some pimpin' green plexi feet for her. :D

i say go with option 4 as well, mount them just under where the feet meet the black...that would look kickin!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by b4i7

i say go with option 4 as well, mount them just under where the feet meet the black...that would look kickin!

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I was thinking of putting them in between the mesh and and the handle itself but I like your idea. The only downside, your way may alter the strength of the feet because the weight is going to the washers not the feet as a whole. I will try both ways and see what they look like before I stick the washers in place.

I may get around to getting them done today. I'm home again from school today (damn flu, homework building up) so after I finish the last of my assignments which are or were due this week (that I know of) I will try to get a start on them.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions guys, it means a lot.

hmm ur in a pickle, thats in the jar with the lid shut....


going home tomorrow =-(

what about a small washer the same size as the bottem on the feet and try blend it in... idk i got 22 hours of flying so ill think about it then get well soon m8 ttyl



omg i think i worked something out !! what if you use the mechano set washers!!!! they may fit then paint then however u want! oh then u can give me about 10 right angle bits for my mod!!! omg works 4 me =-) ttyl

Well I tried standard washers and in need about 3 of them to make up the required height that I need, it just looks tacky. If I make the plastic ones then I still may need 1 standard washer but it won't look so out of place. Shame mate, I am out of the right angle pieces. Cya when ya get back.

grr yea same lol they only give you like 5 and i lost like 3 lol man i need to work something out for my right angle problem and ur washer problem... 3 hours till we fly....

im thinking... ill post asap man ill try work something out ttyal till then.....

Good job,i am spanish,my english is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad XD

Thanks Javituner and welcome to the TBCS forums.

This is what I will be doing with the washers:

Pic courtesy of Cheapskate over at Bit-Tech

This is the simplest way to make them. Luckily I managed to find a hole saw slightly smaller than 1/2" so this should make my job slightly easier. I may get started during the week, I'll see how I go.

sweet cant wait man dont quit now ur close..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DonT-FeaR

sweet cant wait man dont quit now ur close..

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Thanks. I know I have to get some work done but school is swamping me with assignments at the moment. Hopefully this weekend I will get a start on the washers.

awsum!!! cant wait man u have lead a very good thread and helped me numerous times with stuff and im sure ill need help in the future and u should be there good work +1

Thanks mate, glad I helped.

Well guys It's finally time for an update on the case feet. Guess what I did this morning...made the plexi washers YAY.

So I got some scrap pieces of plexi together and measured the size I needed for the washers, about 1.5cm diameter.
Pic:

As it turns out the hole saw I used (3/4") cut the holes exactly the right size for my washers:

Note there are 10 washers in the pic, I only need 8 but 2 cracked so I made 2 extra. No I didn't pull the protective paper off the plexi...the hole saw did that for me lol.
Next I got my drill, a bolt and a nut and this is what I came up with:

Once I got the file in the vice I was ready to go:

I don't need to make the washers any smaller than they are, I just want to tidy them up a little bit.
Here we go:

And after a couple of mins I was left with these:

Time to install them.
Here is a pic of the now complete foot, I may need to add a small metal washer to add a bit more height:

Time for the money shots:

Next I modded the original case foot.
Here is the bottom of the original foot:

I pulled off the rubber stopper:

And ground down the plastic ring:

I know it looks ugly. I will put a piece of mesh under there or paint it.

And last but not least I finished mounting my radiator on the floor of my case.
Here are the holes cut out for the inlet and outlet pass through:

And a pic of the radiator mounted, it is almost perfectly straight now:

Well that's a big update (for me lol). I am waiting for a few things to come in then I can finally finish the bottom panel and get this thing together...finally. Until then...

Happy Modding.

looks very nice...you did a great job!

it looks really good man!! I love the Lexa case it's soo hawttt
i can't wait to see it when it's finished :D

Thanks for the kind words buddy, I'm glad you like it.

Hey TB4O!

I'm trying to surface from beneath my rock and start catching up on some of the mods I was following some time back, anyway, I've just skimmed and read a little over the last few pages and I gotta say, 'Nice work!'. ;)

You're feet are looking very cool. Not sure about the 'slightly' elongated rounding of your washers, but it all looks the same once installed.

I realised cash is sparse for you, but a sub $100 Ryobi bench drill is a very worthy investment. Case in point, imagine guiding your file up and down your washers spinning in your bench drill instead of your method. With a little improvised jig or steadied hand, you'd get perfect results. (Don't mean to gnit pick, just trying to be helpful. Obviously your ingenuity given tools at hand deserves recognition. ;))

Keep up the good work, mate!

Cheers
GAM

Thanks GAM. Long time no see. I am already planning my new mod so I will be getting some more things from you.

I know I need to get a drill press...and a scroll saw while I'm at it. The only problem is that there is limited bench space in dads shed for anymore tools. I should take a pics and post that up.

Thanks for your tips bud, I will take them on board.

A small update before I start modding this weekend.
This arvo I will be picking up another 2GB of RAM for my rig. I will post some pics once I get it home.
Here is a link to the RAM I am getting:
http://www.gskill.com/en/f2-6400cl4d-hk.html
I will now have two of these kits.

Dude, this is looking great! Last time I checked this out, you were around page 17 or so. Quite impressive!

Thanks for the comment DT, yeah it's getting there. Not much left to do now.

Well I got my RAM, made it to the store with 5 mins until closing haha. Lucky Me.
Well Here are some pics, as promised.
The box:

The front of the box open showing off the RAM sticks:

The sticks themselves:

I love the design on the heat spreaders (and the colour). The design is minimalistic but looks quite nice I think. The design is part of the actual heat spreader, not stuck on.
The RAM comes with a G.Skill sticker and a slip of paper giving you URLs to the product website and with email addresses to tech support and warranty. The RAM also comes with a small aluminium case badge:

And here is a pic of the RAM installed in my system along with my existing 2GB:

Sorry for the bad pics, the box is weird and reflective and was hard to get a good pic of as was the case badge.
Hopefully I can get some modding done tomorrow, may have another update then. Until then...

Happy Modding.

Just a minor update.
I have ordered (need to find time to go and pick up) these items.
2x OCZ RAM cooler (1 for my brother)
2x Antec Tri-Cool 120mm Blue Fans
1x TP-Link 108Mbps wireless card (to replace my D-Link 54Mbps one)

I should have these items by the end of next week. Once I get the fans I will make sure the radiator fits nicely then I can get the bottom painted and ready to go.

I also need to place another small order which is basically just cable sleeving, a few more CCFLs and a couple of fan grills.

Well I have a treat for you all today. I have finally finished my HDD bays. That means all the plexi I had cut in now mounted. YAY!!!
This is what my HDD racks looked like before I started my modding today:

This is the part I will be modding to finish them off:

I am covering the base of the racks with a piece of plexi. This will help me keep some cables out the way, keep the air directly moving across my HDD and above all look cool.
The piece of plexi in position:

A bit of modification to get it to sit right:

Perfect:

While I had the Dremel out I figured I may as well expand this hole.
Before:

After:

The hole is now big enough for a SATA power cable.
Next I market and drilled the corner holes to mount the plexi:

Did the same on the piece of plexi:

The plexi bolted to the base of the HDD rack:

I did this to save time when drilling the rest of the holes. I can drill both pieces at the same time.
The rest of the holes drilled and bolts added:

On to painting.
The primer:

And painted black:

And here is a pic of the rack all back together:

I also put some U channel on the cut I made earlier:

And finally the complete HDD rack with the HDD cover:

And with the rest of my drive bays:

Well I think that looks quite good lol.

Well not much work I can do now until I get my fans, hopefully by the end of the week. Until then...

Happy Modding.

hey that looks great! if you dont mind me asking...whats the hole on the mesh over the hdd rack for?

The hole is for the SATA power and data plugs.

Thanks for the comment b4i7, always appreciated.

ma/\/ looks sweet ca/\/t wait till its fi/\/ished lol i broke my /\/ key it o/\/ly works ocasio/\/ally

good work keep it up

lol Keep up the good work, +rep and sub

Thanks for your comments guys. I'm glad you like my work.

Thanks for the rep 985323.

nice work man.

you seem to have a lot of patience in your modding.

I'd be too antsy to use the computer..

I just bought the same case the other day now I need to find the right guts to put in her.

I have been using the PC for about 7 months now, it's in pieces on my desk lol.
Thanks for the comment.

I may have an update for you guys later this weekend.

Update time.

I have riveted the HDD and ODD drive bays together...finally, it has been 10 months since they were like this lol. I also riveted the front face plate onto them as well and guess what, the bays stayed perfectly square :eek:.
Here are some complete shots of the drive bay stack:

The bay res fits perfectly:

And the inlet and outlet even line up (you can't see it too well in the pic):

Alas there are still a few things to be finished up on.
These two gaps, here:

And here:

Need to have mesh covers made up.

While I am at it I will also make a mesh cover for the bay res:

Looks a bit plain don't ya think?

Well it's a public holiday tomorrow for us Australians so I will be doing my homework which I didn't do over the weekend lol. I may get some of this work done during the week. Until then...

Happy Modding.

IS YOUR HOMEWORK DONE YET?
(Just being a dad!) ;)
God to see you still making progress.
Looks nice....

Yeah it's getting there, really close now.

Thanks for the comment Darth.

sweeeeet i was gunna get some modding supplies and then my ashma flared up and we didnt make it to the shop and now i have hwk to :P