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  1. #21
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Worklog Time!

    It's finally time to show you some of this stuff. So Yesterday I had a little help from my friend Cheryl again-thanks for all the help! We got a decent amount of stuff done. First up: I’ve gotten around to getting the dashboard finished. Here’s a nice pic of the dials in place.


    I’m thinking about illuminating the dials something like this. It looks sweet. I was going to get new back plates for the dials, but they’ve really grown on me-if you think I should replace the back plates on the needle gauges, the please let me know, maybe suggest something? You might have noticed that there’s no temperature gauge on this anywhere. The reason for that is that I think it would ruin the appearance. This mod has come through a lot of revisions to get to where it is today, and although I had included a Digital Temperature monitor in the Dashboard in every revision bar the last, I decided to put this inside of the door. The whole front of the case will be removable, with a temperature/electronics light board underneath. The one that will be visible through the mesh at any rate. Anyway, here’s the illumination pic.


    Next up is the left side panel. I’ve dropped the hazard light for a number of reasons.

    1) It would eventually annoy me.
    2) It would be very difficult to implement, and time consuming-the time/result ratio was close, but not close enough.
    3) I already have an idea for what to replace it with that will be equally as effective-at least I hope so.

    At least if I ever missed it, I could get one on a pole, and have it ‘sticking up’, if you know what I mean. So with this in mind, I cut my materials, and worked out what to do with the left hand panel.


    I found some shelving brackets that I had left over from making my keyboard bench in Stage 3. So I used them at this point as they were perfect fits for my corner brackets. This was blind luck, as I had planned to make these. This is better thought.


    After waiting a while, I managed to assemble the square for the side of the case. This is what it currently looks like.


    Then I got on with tying up some loose ends; I tidied up the floor of my case, and filled in and flattened out the holes that were in it. There’s no point in doing a half ass job, is there?


    Finally, I made these little hinge/bracket thingies to attach the front door to the case with. They might not look like much now, but I’m hoping they’ll look a lot better when they’re all in and finished.


    Allrighty, I think that’s all for today! I’ve got a day to myself here, so I’m going to get some work done on this and hopefully you guys will be in for another proper Worklog tomorrow. I’d love some feedback and criticism on how you think the mod’s coming along-and on my Worklog technique too, that would be interesting and helpful. Thanks guys!

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

  2. #22
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Worklog Time!

    Hi Silverdemon, I was thinking about that-but I’m going to have a lot of different LED’s at the front so I don’t think it’s worth it. I recon that the contrast between the orange lights and the 2 greens at the front would be pretty cool. Anyway, on with the Worklog!

    I stuck on the frame for the left side panel. It looks GOOOOD. I’m really pleased with how well this part is turning out. I need to fill the edges, as it’s not 100% perfect. Does anyone know how well paint will stick to hot glue? I’m thinking not well at all. If It comes down to it, I might try and use a syringe filled with epoxy to get that edge perfect, but the hot glue gun would be easiest, assuming of course, that it would actually work. Anyone who knows this; it would be useful for me to find out.




    I also finished off half of the hinges for the doors: you can probably see where these are going by now. The parts on the right are perfect: I couldn’t have asked for a better finish. The parts on the left will need to be done again.




    My friend Euan came over today and helped out with preparing the case for painting. He did a pretty good job fixing up the case.




    Then I finally got the front cover cut! This took nearly 5 hours of constant cutting. At least I’m getting very good at using the Jigsaw. It needs a lot of tidying up, and I thought I might have to throw out the whole piece: This was how it looked with the paper on it…




    But when I removed the paper, I realised the damage wasn’t as bad as I first thought, and most of it can probably be fixed up with a bit of time with the file, which is what I’ll do tomorrow.




    I really want to get this case finished to the point where I’m installing hardware and using it. I need to get a lot of practice with the soldering iron at any rate, cos the electronics part is calling up soon.

    Also, I managed to kill the Zalman fanmate. I had a wire soldered to the potentiometer, but something went wrong and I burned it out. Still not sure how, but I’ll figure it out.

    That’s all for tonight, would love to know about that glue thing please. Thanks for sticking with me guys!

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

  3. #23
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Thanks very much Maleficus, much appreciated-its just in a very, very hard to sand area, and if the hot glue works, then it won't need sanded. Thanks for the feedback with the front panel.

    As for cutting Aluminium with a jigsaw...it's much, much easier than cutting through steel!

    Top tips? I'd say always keep the part you want cut on a flat surface. If you put pressure on it, it will always bend and possibly snap or warp. With steel, you can hammer it back into shape, but probably not with Aluminium. When using the jigsaw, always wear eye protection. Also, use oil on the blade every few inches. It makes the blades last longer and gives a cleaner cut.

    As a final tip: If you have long hair, be careful when washing afterwards-I didn't realise I had a sharp peice of metal in my hair and it went into my eye in the shower last night.

    Hope that helps. Anyway, i'm off for another day of modding-i'm flying through things this week, i've been too ill to go to work, so this is my escape from reality. Thanks for the feedback.

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

  4. #24
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Worklog Time!

    Thanks for the advice dgrmkr, but that’s pretty much what I ended up doing anyway. I’m thinking it doesn’t look too bad, and I can probably get away with doing this. So I applied hot glue to the inside of the frame, which has held it on really well, and I used some to finish off the hinges for the front door.





    I’m aware the hinges look like crap. It’s beauty in the flaws, ok?

    I also cut out the space for the front 120mm fan to go in the case. It’s not clean but I don’t care so much. This is going to be hidden anyway.




    And here’s the front panel. I would have it finished by now apart from the fact that I can’t find any of my god-damn tools. I needed Tin-Snips, all I can find is secatours. Which don’t do me any good at all. Anyway, my dad came around today and helped me out with filing it down (read: did it all for me ) and it looks a lot better than it did.




    The truth is I’m getting really fed up with this case-I’ve not got a decent workspace, (I can’t stand up in the cellar) people keep moving things around, and I can never find my tools. Not only that but the materials I’m working with are getting really annoying. I’m at the point where I just want the damn thing finished and out my way so that I don’t have to worry about it any more…but then I feel like it’s taunting me, saying “Ha ha, you can’t finish me.” I just want it finished so I can move on, use the damn thing, maybe get on with the rest of the Integration Project.

    I want it done soon. I’m going to e-mail those guys with the water cutter and see about getting my fan grills cut-they’ll look nicer and it saves me a lot of effort. I’ll let you know how that works out. Maybe the tin snips will turn up and I’ll get to finish that front panel after all anyway.

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

  5. #25
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Worklog Time!

    It rained on my parade today-literally. So I cut out these. It took hours, and I don’t even know if it was worth it or not. Hopefully it was. They’ve not been tidied up yet: I was hoping for a sort of before and after shot here, but that didn’t work out for me, mostly because I couldn’t find my small file.



    I finally found my tin snips, and cut the mesh for the front panel. I’d hammer it into shape but the closest thing to an anvil is the concrete slabs in my back stairs. No good to me in the rain. So, that’s me for the night. Overall, a poor day. As soon as the rain stops I’ll paint the case and start assembling this puppy.


    I’ve not been doing too well health wise recently, so I’m taking the night off to play some World of Warcraft with my brother; if you’re interested, search for Daedalus and Salizar (I’m Salizar) tonight on the Moonglade Realm. More updates to come…watch this space.

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

  6. #26
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Worklog Time!

    Boy, did I have a messed up day today. First off…the sun came out for the first time in a week. So I thought I’d take the chance and paint the case. Which…turned out not to be such an easy thing to do after all. First off, I didn’t want to dismantle the case so I…


    …put it through the dishwasher. Didn’t think it would work? To be honest, I wasn’t so sure myself. It came out looking like…this!


    Yeah, I know. It looks exactly the same. But, it cleaned up those really hard to reach areas. So now, I take it out into the garden and prime the case. This photo was taken before I’d finished priming it, It seems I neglected to take all the necessary photos today.


    So after the first coat of primer, I discover a variety of beasties attached to the primer. Which sucked. So I cleaned up that mess, and then got on with the next coat. I walked inside, and 10 minutes later, I look out the window…Magpies are attacking my damn case! 3 of the b*stards! I actually grabbed my camera to try and take a photo, but I scared them away. So I kept a close eye on it after the 3rd coat…and then it decided to rain.

    So at this point I gave up, took some old curtains, set up in the back room, and started the orange.


    Obviously it’s not finished, but this is as far as I’m getting tonight. Watch this space tomorrow, the coat should be finished by then. I’ll be on WOW tomorrow, I didn’t even get a chance to play last night, what with the 500mb patch that seems to be hosted on the world’s slowest servers…so if you fancy a bit or RP with Salizar, the grumpy old gnome, give me a search randomly between 9am and 5pm tomorrow.

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

  7. #27
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Worklog Time!

    Ok, I’ve almost finished the paintjob. I found the clear coat really difficult to apply-it came out so fast, compared to the tins of paint-so much so that I ended up with over spray all over the place. I’m sure it will tidy up ok, but I need to be careful with the final coat when i’m doing the external paintjob. I’ll probably think about re-formatting my computer soon and installing all the hardware into my new case soon. I’m going to order in some cold cathode tubes so that I can finish off all the features and things. Anyway, here’s the pics-enjoy.







    dude, do you not have a garage or something?

    thats where im gonna paint mine. i got some "bin bag suits" me and my friend made a while back.
    I haven't got a garage, i work out of the cellar normally. But i'm hoping to get a kick ass workshop much like Paul Capello has sometime before Christmas.

    Thanks for keeping me going guys, keep the feedback coming!

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

  8. #28
    D'Oh
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    very nice orange u got there! love it... hmm.. i think i'll do an orange painted case too.. just a Q: what colors would go nice with orange? no contrast, just blending?..except orange

    |Projects: =N0Name= =Tensa case= || Life: waiting for the download to be completed... BSOD"|

  9. #29
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Worklog time!

    Hey Silverdemon, liked your colour scheme! I had already planned to use those colours but seeing your mod just re-enforced that in my mind. Thanks for dropping by.

    Unfortunately, I have lot to write, and as my computer is in pieces at the moment, I want to get this done fast. So it’s going to be mostly pictures. Like you care, you lazy gets.

    First up! Prepped up the case. It looks a hell of a lot better now, that no-one can deny. Look earlier in the log to see what a mess these panels were.


    So I cut out the mesh, and started to stick it in with that horrible chemical metal. It was a mess. I even broke one of my clamps trying to get it all together before the crap dries. You can see how little of the mesh is actually attached at this point.


    So I’m trying to get the side panel seamlessly joined to the case too. That didn’t work out in my favour much either. Look at the state of the mess.


    Then…woman to the rescue! My girlfriend Kimberley suggests that instead of trying to apply it with chopsticks, I apply it with her little device. Some sort of cooking squeegee. All I need to do is mix the crap, get it into the corner of a plastic bag, cut a hole, and squeeze. So simple, so elegant, so cheap…so mod-tastic (now an official word)!


    Using that, I cleaned up the front panel a bit.


    And finished off the side panel.


    Here’s a close up of the quality of the finish that something so simple can give.


    And finally, one side done without, and one side done with:




    Some parts of the computer I’ve started to spray paint. I must admit that the clear coats keep making a mess of my paintjob! I’m not sure about them anymore. I’m probably going to have to sand it down and re-finish it if I want a good finishing coat of paint. It looks great in the photos, but there’s a lot of imperfections up close…you’ll see them when I can be bothered taking better pictures.


    Anyway, that’s all for this ‘little’ update. Watch this space, I hope to get the hardware installed, up and running by Friday, and maybe get this mod finished (apart from the electronics) by sometime next Monday-ish.

    I’ve ordered in a small 80GB Seagate Barracuda SATA300 drive to put my OS and programs on, and that way, I can keep my other drive for files. I’ve also ordered in another 1GB pair of Corsair RAM, giving me a total of 4*512sticks of DDR3200 memory. I can’t wait to over clock the processor and get some serious gaming done!

    I’ve also heard that you can play WOW in dual screen, which I’ll give a try soon too.

    Well, that’s all for now. Catch you later, and wish me luck.

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

  10. #30
    Paradox Sausage DaveW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Integration Project: Stage 1

    Worklog Time!

    i have this brand around.. stay away..
    There's nothing actually wrong with the brand, it's just that this product sucks when it comes to case modding. Wish i could get my hands on some proper bondo, but i can't find it in the UK anywhere.

    Ok, this is a long one. You might want to take this chance to get a cup of tea and a biscuit or something, cos this is going to stretch the limits of what i'm allowed in a single post...and the limits of what you guys will actually look at!

    I'll try and keep it straightforward: I always attempt to keep it to the smallest possible text & pictures with the maximum of information. This time, some stuff might get skipped. If there's anything you want to see, or anything you need to know about, just ask me and i'll include it in the next worklog update-which might be tonight.

    Ok, first up! I took the clamps off my front door frame and finished off one (just one for now) of my fan grills. It doesn't look too bad at all, so my fears were somewhat unfounded it would seem.


    I'm glad the front's going so well, the only major flaw is in the top right hand corner-you wouldn't notice it unless i pointed it out to you anyway, i don't think.

    I have this little latch to hold the door closed.


    And i found this unwanted IKEA door handle lying around as well. I should get IKEA to sponsor this to be honest, i seem to use a lot of their stuff...


    So with the help of my Dad (who reads this, and comes over to help me out from time to time) we installed the handle onto the side of the door. Which went a lot easier than i expected and looked better than i could hope. First up, a close up of the perfect fit...


    ...and a photo of the door with the handle.


    So now onto the hinges. I sanded and cleaned up the side panel, but i don't seem to have a photo of it. So you'll just have to accept that i did it. The door and panel were held in place by my brother while i used a hot glue gun to attach the hinges. Unfortunately, they fell off the door almost instantly, and i had to do them twice: the metal is too smooth i think. Anyway, that's the moot point because i'm putting the chemical metal arround the hinges.


    Finally, i installed the chemical metal and left it to dry. Here's some pics of it. It looks a mess now, but i'm hoping for great results when i've sanded it down.




    Then I got buzy with the soldering iron. I removed The buttom from one DVD drive, and installed in it's place 2 brightly coloured wires. (Red and orange). This is it desoldered...


    ...and after i attached the wires again....


    ...and re-assembled.


    I did the same to the other more expensive DVD rewritter, but there was a problem: by this point, the iron had become dirty and the solder wouldn't flow. The traces may be damaged and i haven't got a clue about how to fix it. It's a problem i'll get around to fixing. Either way, here the drives are!


    I've also finished modifying my Zalman Fanmate-although i've run into a problem. I was certain that i had 2 zalman fanmates, but i only have one, so i'll need to make my own circuit for the other dial, which is going to be a little messy most likely.

    First off, i removed the pot that i burned out earlier.


    The fanmate from above.


    Then, i attached some wires. Red and Black seemed to suit the mood.


    And i finally re-attached the housing. It looks allright, if i do say so myself.


    Finally, at the end of the night, i started putting my cards backtogether, but only got as far as setting up the Zalman GPU cooler. It's not as tricky as it's made out to be, and if i can ever get a freaking minute, i'll do a review on the front page for it. Also, i was too busy messing around with the camera to take a proper photo so you're stuck with this 'interesting' piccy.


    If you've made it this far, then well done! That's all for today. I'll see if i can get more done on this mod today and will update either tonight or tommorow morning. My package arrived from Scan computers today, and i can't wait to get it all opened up and installed. Watch this space...it's mod-tastic

    -Dave
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Ideas are just knowledge soaked in alcohol.
    Quote Originally Posted by jdbnsn
    Did I just get in a Volvo? Volvo's don't have guns!

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