--- r e f l e X i o n ---

[billygoat333]

this case = pure computer sex.

[Xion X2]

-- Babble. Drool. --

'Nuff said. Very nice. Still impressed, as per usual. =D

Thanks, Couch!

amazing... just amazing... if you're looking for a way to make those holes look nice you could use these, they are beautiful. From the other components i would probably assume that it wouldnt be a big issue for you for the shipping cost

http://en.mdpc-x.com/mdpc-mounting/s...utton-head.htm

Hey, diluzio! Thank you for the very kind compliments!

Yeah, I have some of those MDPC button-head screws that you linked. And while they look great, even the smallest they have are a little too long to screw down flush into the SSD holes, so they stick out a little on the sides. I could try cutting them with a bolt cutter, but I have some set screws on the way that I'm going to try first.

But yeah, you're on the right track as I've thought of that myself.

Hmm, I hadn't thought of button heads...maybe you could even fill in the holes in the heads with a soft plastic that you could scrape out if/when you want to take them out?

Xion X2; if you're in the US, boltdepot.com is great (and cheaper, I think..at least in shipping).

x88x, do you have any examples of this "soft plastic" that you mentioned? It'd help me to have a visual.

I'll check out boltdepot.com. Thanks.

mcmaster carr is nice too

Yeah, they are. Their prices just seem to be a little steep.

this case = pure computer sex.

Thanks, billygoat! That's just the look I'm going for.


Short update-- I'm in the process of moving all of my tools into a local storage unit that I've just rented out as my new workspace as there remains some fab work to be done before refleXion is ready to go off to paint. So this will help speed things along. I have almost all the parts now that are going into refleXion. The EK chipset/mosfet block should arrive today, and I'll snap a few pics so that everyone can see how it looks on the board.

[x88x]

x88x, do you have any examples of this "soft plastic" that you mentioned? It'd help me to have a visual.

Hmm, tbh I didn't really have anything specific in mind; maybe a small dab of hotglue sanded flush? Or maybe a soft modeling clay? I know Crayola Modeling Magic sets rather soft; that might actually be useful for just filling the screw hole straight; fill the hole with it, let it set, then use two pins to 'unscrew' it?

[mDust]

+rep...for that motherboard alone. Don't let that go to waste.

EDIT: Oh jeez, I gotta spread it around first. I'll get ya later.

[Xion X2]

Hmm, tbh I didn't really have anything specific in mind; maybe a small dab of hotglue sanded flush? Or maybe a soft modeling clay? I know Crayola Modeling Magic sets rather soft; that might actually be useful for just filling the screw hole straight; fill the hole with it, let it set, then use two pins to 'unscrew' it?

We'll see. I have some small set screws on the way to try first, and if these don't work then I may look into some kind of a body filler. Thanks.

+rep...for that motherboard alone. Don't let that go to waste.

EDIT: Oh jeez, I gotta spread it around first. I'll get ya later.

Thanks, mDust.

Shots from the studio. The new motherboard and full chipset block have arrived--

An added, unexpected benefit from this new board is that not only does it match my color scheme a lot better because of the mostly black connectors, but the few connectors on the board that are a grayish silver match these DangerDen nickel-plated blocks almost perfectly.

You may notice that I've removed the stickers from the SSDs to give them a cleaner look. I also have some 6-32 set screws on the way to fill those holes on the sides (thanks again for the suggestion, KG.)

In addition, the Zero Gravity Chamber center panel window that they're mounted to has been framed in black to dress up the piece by hiding the rough edges of the perspex.

The EK full cover chipset block for the eVGA X58 SLI LE in nickel/acetal. This thing is beautiful.

Very fine craftsmanship, Eddy.

The block's not installed yet because I first need to test this eVGA board and make sure it's not DOA.

More to come into the weekend.

[x88x]

Very nice, I love the look of the new MBB. That is gonna fit your look much better than the Foxconn did.

[Couch3ater]

... I've said it before, and I'll say it again... -- Babble. Drool. --

Hahaha, still love the mod mate. The nickel is lookin pretty sleek.

[Jake2k]

Holy hell that's nice, I assume your gonna polish the caps on this board as well?

[StyleCore]

I only wish I could do this. This is the nicest computer I have ever seen, I love the floating SSDs and the water cooling. Like I said, I could only dream about doing something this crazy.

[Xion X2]

Very nice, I love the look of the new MBB. That is gonna fit your look much better than the Foxconn did.

Indeed it does, x88x. The color scheme matches perfectly now.

... I've said it before, and I'll say it again... -- Babble. Drool. --

Hahaha, still love the mod mate. The nickel is lookin pretty sleek.

Thanks, Couch!

Holy hell that's nice, I assume your gonna polish the caps on this board as well?

You know, I've been thinking about it and am just not sure at this point. If you look at the 5970s, they have the same colored caps. And I just can't bring myself to polish those since it would void the warranty on 1200$ worth of GPUs.

So I haven't decided for certain yet whether to polish the caps on this eVGA board or not. May wait until all the watercooling parts are on it and then decide. That way I can see how it all looks together.

I only wish I could do this. This is the nicest computer I have ever seen, I love the floating SSDs and the water cooling. Like I said, I could only dream about doing something this crazy.

Wow, thank you very much, StyleCore. That's a great compliment. I'm very glad that you're enjoying the build that much.

There is a lot more to come. There's much that still hasn't been revealed.

Made a lot of progress on the build today.

So today was my first day in my new workshop! Yeah, yeah.. it's nothing really that special. Concrete walls, a single light bulb with a string attached hanging from the ceiling (that's why I bought that new double-head 1000w Halogen monster that you see in the above picture there.) Probably rats scurrying somewhere about behind the concrete walls.

But hey, it's 10x20 ft, gives me plenty of room, and I have a heavy metal garage band just a few doors down from me so I never have to wear headphones. :lol:

But seriously, today was great. For the first time since I began refleXion--which is now about 4 months ago--I had both the space and privacy I need to really push this thing ahead and into the home stretch. I've fallen so behind on my fab work, and now it's time to bring all that up to speed so refleXion can go off to paint and start looking a little sexier than the scratched up aluminum it's wearing now.

So, we begin by taking a look at the motherboard tray. As you can see here below, in its current state it looks quite ugly. It has a bent side and is overlaying part of the pump windows on the Zero Gravity Chamber. Two big no-nos for this build. I want that back side looking clean even though it won't be seen a lot of the time.

Yuck, right? It gets even worse. You can see here that not only is it covering part of the pump windows, but it's angled in and pushing the Zero-G Chamber lop-sided.

So, this thing is getting hacked today. If you look at where my fingers are resting, this is where we'll cut--right along that bend.

If you look just to the right of my fingers in that above picture, you'll see a threaded screwhole. Not the ones for standoffs but to the left of them. There are three of these running vertical along the Zero-G Chamber. Perfect. After we cut this piece, we'll drill matching holes into the Zero Gravity Chamber to mount it to. This will both look clean and provide more stability for that motherboard tray.

This isn't a flat piece, so finding the right tool to cut on it was tricky. A jig won't work, because the edge guide has nothing flat to sit on. Neither will a circular saw.

Well, I've been waiting to put this dremel of mine to good use (other than polishing nickel as before) so it looks as if it's time for it to sweat a little.

Here you'll see that I'm lining it up along that bend. We'll cut this piece lengthwise along that bend to give us a smooth, flush fit against the Zero G Chamber.

To cut, I'm using the heavy duty quick fit metal grinding wheel. Such a big name for something so small (actually, I just made that up.. I think. I don't remember what it's called, exactly.)

Here we go.

It's doing a great job so far. This began kicking up some metal dust, so I strapped on my 3M multi-purpose respirator. Don't wanna be breathing this stuff. Sorry, I don't have a pic of it, and you're probably better off not seeing it on me. My face is scary enough without a bio mask.

Still doing a great job but that grinding wheel is vanishing right before my eyes. I have a feeling that most of the dust I'm seeing around me is this thing practically vaporizing before my very eyes.

And here, off we go.

This actually worked better than I thought it would. It was the perfect tool for the job since this was thin aluminum that I was working with.

To get this nice and smooth, though, we'll hit it with a file.

And.. after about 15 minutes of filing this is how it looks afterward. A nice even cut.

Running my fingers along it, it still felt a little rough and sharp--even after 15 minutes of filing. So I broke out my new toy, a Black and Decker multi-purpose sander.

This thing is slick. It has 4 quick attachments for different uses. An orbital, a mouse, a flat belt and... well, the other escapes me at the moment. Trust me though, it's cool.

I slapped the orbital attachment on it, and this really got the edges nice and smooth.

So, let's fit her and see how she looks.

I'm liking that a lot. Looks much better.


(To be continued.)