Project - Air Cube v2

[Waynio]

Thanks for comments m8s .

Ahh I seem to be picking up momentum again, another day another update and I caught a little sun woohoo

Now the front extension is out the way, I started working on the sides and top panel, as I said a load of updates ago I was unable to bend accurately with the cheap metal folder I have at 1.5mm so had to come up with an alternative, well here it is .

Sides joined up to the top panel so sides and top slide off together as 1 piece, it was flimsy and tricky to get it on at 1st, but I put another angle bar underneath on both sides to keep it square so it all goes on a lot easier now .

Also the mesh I made I put a little countersink in all the holes so it will be a little easier to polish because I'm put off sanding it and there was some rough bits that needed sorting from when the drill went a bit crazy.

I tend to start off really slow and start getting really productive the later it gets, I wrapped it up at 10:30pm

So all that is left to be done what I can think of right now is filing and sanding the top pointy corners, power/reset switch holes on the front, vents on the left side so the hdd fan can get fresh air, and a window or 3 and last but not least a lengthy polishing task.

I tried wet sanding a piece of scrap from 80 grit then 240 then 800 then 1200 then 2000 grit, it got ultra smooth but when I used the metal prep stuff it got quite messy leaving dark grey dust ground into the metal and took some really hard work to get it clear, probably spent an hour getting it semi clear so I'm not so sure I want to polish the exterior now unless I settle for a dulled mirror effect by not doing any sanding so would get a mirror effect like the 1st sample test I showed, but I know for cirtain I will be polishing the interior and the corner angle bars, that alone would look cool with windows so all the parts get reflected eh , so possibly going to be painting the exterior panels not 100% sure yet.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Man this looks really really sweet, very nice design, nice size and I can't wait to see the polish .

I think the polish on the inside is a nice idea, should give you a cool effect. If you don't want to polish the exterior (would be a dust and fingerprint magnet anyway) you could always spray it with a black or white enamel or get it powdercoated, I am liking the white idea.

[Waynio]

, Thanks boy 4rm oz, here is another update.

OK today I started using a tripod, wish I used it from the start, every picture is coming out nice and clear now.

Here it is just before I started.

I got the the top bits that stick up filed and sanded smooth, got the switch holes made and caught more sun .

And found that I will need to make a mount for the dvd drives 7.2mm high

[Mark_Hardware]

Looking good man! Getting close eh?

[DonT-FeaR]

i keep thinking its plexi
i know its alumi tho.. lol i like it alot!

[blueonblack]

Getting there, no doubt. Will you be painting or otherwise decorating the front panels on the DVD drives?

[The boy 4rm oz]

Getting there, no doubt. Will you be painting or otherwise decorating the front panels on the DVD drives?

Yea, you should make some alu covers for the drives or pick up some Lian Li ones.

[Waynio]

Getting there, no doubt. Will you be painting or otherwise decorating the front panels on the DVD drives?

To be honest I have not give that any thought until you said about it , I will have a go at making my own bezels but if it turns out poor then I will paint the bezels.

Thanks for feedback all .

Today I marked, cut, filed and sanded the left side panel, a basic window hole and a grill for the hdd fan.
I was thinking of having a window on both sides and the top but I remembered that I want a reflection thing going on through the main window so no need.

I started using my dremel and got 1 of the slots done and the dremel was toasty, so I put the dremel mandrel in my dads new rotary air tool and got the whole lot done and then done the curved bits with the dremel.

[Mark_Hardware]

Air powered rotary tool? mmm Me jealous drool

[DonT-FeaR]

well that worked splendidly