Project: One1

Ok so I finally got most of the materials necessary to start a decent first project: a dremel, a sander (sanding machine, whatever it's called), a drill, black and dark green spray paint, and a couple of other things.

So to start off I simply named this project One1 as it is my first project. lol.

Ok so this mod is not going to be something extravagent and I am not expecting too much from my first mod. I am going to use an old beige case, paint it black. It will be dark green inside with green lighting. There will be a side window, blowhole on the front and top maybe. I am going to try having the front bezel in acrylic or recycle the old one. And water cooling I am not sure about, I prefer spending money on lighting. I am going to run an old 1.6 GHz 512 MB computer (don't know the exact specs). I don't have any sketchup plans for this (I probably should) but I am that sort of person: knows where to start but doesn't know how or when to end.

Ok so today I started off with cutting out the side window (first time I cut something with the dremel) and I am so far happy with it, I just kinda messed up on side and there are a couple of off cuts here and there (no biggie).

Also if the pictures aren't very good it's because it's one of the first times I use a camera in my life, I think, no ****.

Any way here are the pics:


These are my tools in on the small workbench in the attic (it's 3° celsius up there):

Then here is the to be side window, as you can I already messed around with the dremel a bit to try it out, I also used the sanding head for the dremel but I went over it with the normal sander:

Couldn't resist:

And here we are, the window is cut out, you can probably spot that the corners are not round out yet, I am going to do them later. Overall I am please with the outcome, it's straight at least, I did mess up one side though (at that point I hadn't sanded the side with the sanding machine yet):

And here is after I sanded with the sanding machine, and you can see the messed up side, I am going to have to do something about that. I am also very happy of the outcome of the sanding:

That's it for now. I am off to do some sketchup models (I've decided to do these when I was writing this post)

-zitwep (no I don't have face zits)

Congrats on your first worklog! You're off to a good start.

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Originally Posted by jdbnsn

Congrats on your first worklog! You're off to a good start.

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agreed, excellent job so far. Looks like your off to a good start with the mod aswell. Just be carefull with that dremal and don't forget the saftey goggles, we don't want any modders without depth perception;). Overall sound like a good plan for a first mod, taking things in small steps and learning as you go. Can't wait to see more:up: .

Yes, I do wear googles and a mask.

So I didn't work on it yesterday, but today I finished cutting the front window and I am somewhat happy with the way the curves came out, I was scared I would muck it up. I also sanded it more and painted the top panel.

Here it is (the quality of the picture is not very good):

First coat of paint:

The top panel, I am pretty happy with the paint job, I didn't use glossy black as I believe that with glossy black you can see dust and scratches more:

Ok so that's it for today, but I have a question for the people who have already cut plexiglass. How do you think I should go about this? I don't think I will do a very good job with the dremel, normally it wouldn't be very dramatic if the plexi window would be attached on the inside of the computer so that the side panel is on top, but here I want to cut a piece the exact size of the side panel and have it on top so it is very important that it is a good cut.

-zitwep

the problem with using a dremal is you endup jus tmleting the plexi, not cutting it. One, this makes a big mess and causes molten plexiglass to be flying everywhere. And two leave you with a not so clean cut. So you have to go back and clean it up. I would recommend using a jigsaw if you have it, it would be alot more accurate and easier to cut with.

Well the harm is done, I decided to have a conventional window, so the plexi on the inside. I cut it with a dremel and it's not very nice, but it doesn't matter, it will be on the inside.

Just a small update without pictures. I cut the plexi window to correct size. I resanded the side panel and had to repaint because I didn't drill the holes for the window before I painted it. I finished painting in green nearly all inner parts of the case but scared to run out of green paint.

What still needs to be done:

Sand the other side panel and paint it black on the outside and green in the inside. Buy some green cathodes and some green fans. Buy a rivet tool. Buy a few fan grills (I will probably need to cut an 80 mm hole in the plexi window, this freaks me out).

-zitwep

So finally a picture update. I nearly finished painting everything except for the PSU which I do not have yet. I still need to go to the hardware store and buy some rivets and a rivet gun, some green paint (I ran out) and I am waiting on green lighting which still needs to arrive in the mail.

Most of the parts painted:

On the top panel I decided to paint a clover in green, this is the point where I ran out of paint:

Now you know what that square rectangle is, I am going to go to the hardware store and that piece of plexi cut by them and put it on top of the case, not inside like it is now, I can't use that piece of plexi on the pic because it is not well cut at all:

I will also ask the hardware store to cut a front bezel which I have done the design for. I do have a creative limit though, I don't know how I should go about the on/off and reset switches on the plexi, help anyone?


PS. Just go 2 Green LED fans and a green cathode in the mail.
-zitwep

Hint: I cut plexi with blunt diamond edged blades. It makes a bit of a mess, but the resultant cuts are very near to perfect. It cuts with a good speed and gives me a lot of control.

-Dave

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Originally Posted by DaveW

Hint: I cut plexi with blunt diamond edged blades. It makes a bit of a mess, but the resultant cuts are very near to perfect. It cuts with a good speed and gives me a lot of control.

-Dave

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I don't like cutting out plexi with disks, so I use a small drill bit and "jigsaw" my way around it. Less molten plexi lava in my eye and a more controlled cut. lol.

Your paint looks a little rough on those panels, did you try sanding them out a little smoother? We have tons of tutorials here on painting and finishing. Not sure what you mean by the front power buttons, are you trying to figure out what type of switches to use? or just how to go about mounting them?

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Originally Posted by jdbnsn

Your paint looks a little rough on those panels, did you try sanding them out a little smoother? We have tons of tutorials here on painting and finishing. Not sure what you mean by the front power buttons, are you trying to figure out what type of switches to use? or just how to go about mounting them?

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Yes I know, the paint job isn't exactly the best out there, but I don't really like shiny paint jobs, so I guess this suits me, and I am also under time constraints. I may redo the whole paint job after my exams in the summer, takes too long the proper way ie. primer, leaving it for a day or 2, sanding, primer again etc.. And you can actually see that I haven't done it the right way because the surface isn't flat and on the top panel you can see shiny patches, it doesn't really matter at this point. For my first mod I thought I will concentrate more on cutting the case and using the dremel. About the switches, I do have the switches from an old case, and I wonder how I should mount them, I will also have to create my own buttons as the switches are without the buttons (the plastic bit with the power symbol).

I see, well you can order lots of different types of switches for pretty cheap that would be easier to mount, or you could make your own attachment to your current switch and engineer the fastener. Depends on how much you want to put into it? If you want to design your own I'm sure we can come up with something do-able.

Well I thought of 2 plexi disks roughly 5-7 mm in diameter and just stick them on the switch, but since the surface area of the switch is small, the plexi disc would instantly come off once you press it. And also here in Switzerland I can't seem to find button switches any where.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaveW

Hint: I cut plexi with blunt diamond edged blades. It makes a bit of a mess, but the resultant cuts are very near to perfect. It cuts with a good speed and gives me a lot of control.

-Dave

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I'd second this. Use those little spade shaped tile bits to drill holes, comes out way better than a standard wood bit. Basically anything that cuts acrylic should have maxium carbon content and highest rate of extraction. Also if you see acrylic that says "cast" (i.e no extruded) on the protective paper, buy that, it has a higher melting temperature.

Thanks for the help guys.

Today I dropped by the hardware store hoping that they cut plexi in custom shapes - they apparently don't have the tools to do so. So I quickly think and decide to use the original front bezel and use Plestro (Swiss Bondo). I still buy plexi for the top panel window, a rivet gun and some green paint.

I am pretty happy with the outcome so far, still a lot of sanding needs to be done and it's nowhere near finished. It's the first time I work with bondo stuff so go easy on me. (note the colour difference between bondo and what I am using):

Most parts are painted, thought I am going to have to resand a couple of things and paint them again like the motherboard tray. I still need to finish the top window and more green LED fans.

-zitwep