WOW!! Tight is an understatement. Looks stunning though.
Looking so damn cool Mach , good choice on the thermalright, I didn't even know they did fans, just wish akasa did a 140mm apache the 120mm version is fantastic.
my 1st scratch case made july 2008 (finding my feet)
Air Cube prototype (fin jan 2009) (still finding my feet)
Air Cube v2 now with added cpc stack (fin aug 2010) (getting better)
Project Stealthlow (fin sep 2011) (much improvement)
Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build - Paused
Midlag Crisis
Hi msmrx57, thanks I'm digging how its coming together too. Still tense about the fit but liking it so far.
Hey Waynio, I didn't know/remember that Akasa made fans. How quiet is the Apache? Looking at their website looks like they make a camo version too as well as a 139mm fan with a 140 adapter. So maybe they'll jump into the 140mm market with an Apache. Thanks for the tip.
whered you get the copper and brass mesh? ive never seen that stuff anywhere
"it only takes one voice to start a revolution"
Hi raisntnox, tower hobbies has it online. I bought mine at a local art supply and hardware store. Some of it I showed is made by K&S Metals; the other is made by Amaco.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...mesh&search=Go
http://www.dickblick.com/products/amaco-wireform-mesh/
I know, the akasa I knew made budget fans and then they released the apache so I ordered 1 to sample it, I liked it and used them entirely in my latest case, is the best 120mm fan I ever used and have tried many many fans, gives great air flow and is really nice & quiet and can easily be dismantled if you want to change the colour. Yeah I think they should make a 140mm, would be silly not to.
my 1st scratch case made july 2008 (finding my feet)
Air Cube prototype (fin jan 2009) (still finding my feet)
Air Cube v2 now with added cpc stack (fin aug 2010) (getting better)
Project Stealthlow (fin sep 2011) (much improvement)
Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build - Paused
Midlag Crisis
Before launching in to the next installment, I ask your indulgence for a brief aside. Most of the research for this mod's back story comes from the internet links that you see posted. Some of it though comes from good old fashioned movable press which pleases me to no end. I love books, everything about them, the smell, the feel, the creak they make when they're new, and the stained and tattered covers when they're old.
So to say I was excited to find this volume, well...I was. It's a copy of the Icelandic Manuscripts, the first part at least, that I've been quoting. "Sigilla Islandica I" was published in 1965 by the Manuscript Institute of Iceland in Reykjavik. Its awesome and no, I can't read a word of it except the copyright.
Some of the other books that I've been using, particularly for this update. And now back to the mod….
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In 1947,a category 5 hurricane struck the USA mainland causing US$1,000,000,000 in damages ($110,000,000 in 1947 dollars). It was a 100 year hurricane, massive in size, and strength.
It was first spotted off the coast of Dakar, Senegal where it quickly escalated to a category 3 hurricane. Before churning across the Atlantic towards the USA, it pummeled the west coast of Africa sinking ships and washing ashore debris. In the hurricane's wake, strange sea creatures washed ashore too including an unidentified sea slug. The slug caused those who touched it to go mad, attacking their neighbors with preternatural strength until they collapsed.
Seemingly overlooked for years, the sea slug is only now becoming a focus of marine research. With good reason;Toxic sea slugs have recently killed a series of dogs on the beaches of New Zealand.
In the uncharted space of the ocean depths, could the Vikings have found an animal that caused their berserking rage? If so, how did it make them invincible super soldiers?
Next time: Get your foil hats on, did the CIA know?
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Picking up where we left off in the last update. The laser cut motherboard tray already has the holes for the standoffs (why drill when you can laser?). While I tested it 3 or 4 times with the polystyrene prototypes, I'm anxious to see how it fits.
That's a 6/32 tap. From the prototypes, I knew that I was going to have a problem keeping the tap straight. I saw someone using a hand tapper in another worklog but $100+ was little more than I was willing to pay.
Instead I picked up a tapping block from the littlemachineshop.com. It holds the tap at 90 degrees to the work surface.
Works great too!
All four tapped and filled with brass (of course) standoffs.
The new motherboard, let us not discuss the last motherboard . Everything lines up for mounting, whew!
From the back, the pattern on the tray wasn't just for the deco looks. It gives easy access to the ATX and 4 pin contacts.
4 pin connector
ATX connector. Instead of de-soldering these, I'm going to try to solder to the contacts…after a lot more practice. Expect this worklog to become polluted with trial run photos. It would be nice if motherboard manufacturers would offer an enthusiast option for reverse connectors.
The slot on the side of the motherboard tray is for the PCI-E extension cable. Unless I can get one that reverses the connector, I can see some cable origami in my future.
Changing gears to another part of the mod, you'll recall the base that was carved out of birch plywood. The plan is to cover it in Stingray leather
Stingray leather or Shagreen was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries with a brief resurgence in the 1920s and 1930s. Jean Paul Cooper, a London artist, is credited with its introduction to the Art Deco movement. The Victoria & Albert museum in London has a phenomenal exhibit of objet d'art made from Shagreen. Most of the pieces in the exhibit are made of shagreen that is dyed green. I haven't been able to find out why this was popular at the time.
The color that I'm using here isn't green but brown. Most of the hides come from SE Asia which is where I got this one a few years ago.
I hung out on boot and shoe making forums for awhile asking questions on how to work stingray. Their advice helped as did Tim Skyrme's youtube videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3w1gaxZkgA
These are shoemaker pliers or lasting pliers.
Barge cement recommended by thistothat.com for leather to wood. It’s also the glue that was used in Mythbuster's Escape from Alcatraz episode for fashioning their life raft. In other words, it sticks very, very well and sticks more the more that you beat on it.
The first part of gluing the bottom down was easy. The corners? Not so much.
By taking the shoe making videos advice, I worked the corners into smaller and smaller folds.
The first corner I did without cutting the Stingray and then my fingers told me to get stuffed. The other historical use for stingray skins, as well as shark skins, was sandpaper. While this was tanned leather, it still did a number on my fingers. Ouch. So the other 3 corners, I wimped out and cut them.
Here it is from the bottom. My friend questioned the design because I put the "eye" on the bottom. Technical details aside, I told them it wasn't the first thing that was going to be hidden in this mod.
Test fit, not too bad for a first attempt.
You can see where I made the cuts on the corners but I have a plan for that.
From the back.
These are brass clamps used for welding hoses.
With a little modding they're corner covers...
...but that's for another update. Thanks for looking!
Many thanks to my sponsors!
Bitspower
HardwareLabs
Wowie wow wow wow! That's fantastic work!
As you may have noticed, I've started weaving in videos. Mod videos are useful to reveal what pictures simply cannot.
When I think about CrimsonSky's Doom 3 mod, I see the video of the smoke curling out of the smoke stack, the roll up security door disappearing in a blur, and the pneumatic air lock snapping open. (If you haven't seen them, go now. I'll wait. )
Those videos in many ways helped to etch Doom 3 in my noob modding mind and underscore the fact that video can be a powerful part of a mod.
With the video experience of TBCS behind us, JDBNSN and I put together a little film that we think proves that point. But enough talk, would you kindly view this film and let us know what you think? And oh yes, remember you saw it here first!
, Ohhh yeah looking through most of this worklog lately, bioshock was on my mind hehe, well once you started with the laser cutouts that looked bioshocky style, good timing dude but what does Bärsärkar-gång have to do with bioshock??? maybe it's in some relation to the story of the game, that would be cool, I'm looking forward to playing bioshock 2 as soon as its out on steam , preordered it the other day, couldn't resist .
The project is looking awesome Mach and nice leather work .
my 1st scratch case made july 2008 (finding my feet)
Air Cube prototype (fin jan 2009) (still finding my feet)
Air Cube v2 now with added cpc stack (fin aug 2010) (getting better)
Project Stealthlow (fin sep 2011) (much improvement)
Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build - Paused
Midlag Crisis