Project Stealthlow

[Waynio]

This build just got even better!

Those strips were exactly what it needed. It looks so smooth and clean now. I just can't believe what a difference it made. I like it before but now I LOVE it.

Great job on this thing. Keep up the good work.

Thanks mate, yeah I was trying to kid myself the tabs were better because of the difficulty I had with the 3mm thick copper but this solution works nicely without excess force pulling the curve out, yep glad I persisted I've uninstalled & installed the strips a few times already & they are even easier to install or remove with it only being 2 bolts but still I might although not for certain yet add a couple more bolts.

Thought I was in the clear with hiccups .

I'll try to keep this short but ended up going on & on & on like usual lol .

The front copper mesh grill got more damaged than I thought when I drilled the final hole which is why it wouldn't sit flush to the acrylic, it bulges out by 1mm.

Tried whacking it into better shape at the time & then again today & seems nice & flat but not perfectly flat & it needs to be.

Decided I really like the copper mesh grill panel & going to alu for this front detail just would have been a come down for this, so ordered a 250x250mm x 2mm sheet & just in case I have more probs a 250x250mm x 1mm sheet so I can re-make it, but this time i'm going to go overkill with the clamping , thought I did before with 2 G clamps nice & tight but I guess not, really couldn't believe it when it completely deformed, really should have taken a picture, it was so twisted out of shape I instantly thought well that's that then but was using the kodak with it's internal memory with room for 6 or 7 shots.

I tried the original blank 3mm alu panel I made in the early stages of this project & it still fits perfect so at least the form of the case is still good, was getting worried it lost form some how .

I'll be a bit busy tomorrow but if I get chance & I'm up for it I'll get something done even if it's just finishing off the strips & then I'll have to use gloves so I don't get dirt or grease on them, the more the copper gets handled the duller it gets & the strips have already started showing clear dulling signs , so I ordered some brass lacquer for it to keep it's fresh look after I give it a re-brush & clean .

The little copper vents are staying out of the build , they just don't look good after seeing them with the strips & they'd be quite restrictive for air flow so laters to them , I'll either leave the vents open or if I can think up something good enough I'll make something else but the edges got a good wet sanding so are near polished so theres a good chance I'll leave them as they are.

Just when I thought I was getting into some solid progress lol.

[BS Mods]

Don't stress too bad.

It's just part of modding. If it was too easy then everyone could do it!

[Waynio]

Don't stress too bad.

It's just part of modding. If it was too easy then everyone could do it!

I was stuck in a very bad sleep pattern so been getting stressed a bit easier than normal, but got it straight again for the time being but once I've completed this case I'm gonna get myself back in good shape before I tackle another mod .

I knew going into this one it wouldn't be a walk in the park lol, the majority of it was though but the stuff that was difficult really was but yeah I think all the difficult stuff is complete & just needs tidying up & waiting for the new copper to arrive .

Just got the metal lacquer & brush so just waiting on the bottom front copper sheet now it'll come today.

I think if I was to make another one of these I'd forget about the top short opposing curve as that is what caused the higher difficulty & really I'd find it difficult to reproduce, usually once you've done something in a mod it's easier to do again but not that lol or if I did I'd use plain polycarbonate & put a tint film over it as it has more strength from cracking & is more flexible, acrylic can be a real pain to curve for some stuff .

[Waynio]

Hmmm, I started filing the excess edges off the ends of the strips & left side went fine, right side I got impatient filing 1 way & went both ways & with the 10mm x 1mm alu strips being uber flexible it pulled back & detatched from the case so was knackered, then I went & made another 10mm x 1mm strip & drilled in the same spots where the original had them & when I installed it it had a good bit of baggy flex so really not good, my disc sander seems like it's past it's best but I need to open it up to see what's wrong it spins well but it's making a ton of extra noise & vibrates heavily so needs opening & looking to see whats wrong, some of the case screws had come very loose so I'm guessing it's something similar inside the machine, hopefully it's fixable.

Only way I'll get these alu strips done now is if I use button head bolts as countersinking these extremely flexible strips just makes them even more so, so yeah I'll re-make the 10mm alu strips tomorrow & get them on with button head bolts for a better connection .

Anyway heres some shots of the case with correct length strips & shortened internal tabs.

And because it was doing my head in I needed to see it in a fuller form so re-brushed the left panel & put the side windows in too .

The bottom front grill I'm using a tripple layer of alu until the copper arrives.

[Waynio]

Fixed the disc sander which is a relief & re-made both the slim strips & underneath the slim strips I added 4 extra bolts on each side to hold it all down nicer so the slim strips are held in with just 2 button head bolts so the bottom front panel is held in better also now .

Back on track now I think after mucking up the other slim alu strips but I don't know what's going on with the copper delivery.

[BS Mods]

I can't remember back since I've been watching the build for a while, but, did you ever think about the feet being copper colored?

I can picture it and I think it would look great. It would go good with the copper accent strips.

Just my 2 cents.

[Waynio]

I can't remember back since I've been watching the build for a while, but, did you ever think about the feet being copper colored?

I can picture it and I think it would look great. It would go good with the copper accent strips.

Just my 2 cents.

Would be sweet if Bill did a copper version but they would cost a fair bit more .

Suppose if I could anodise them it could work & also get them in line with the strips would make a nice touch, just got them up to the edge of the case so they can clearly be seen since they are sponsored no need for any logos if all the bits can be clearly seen , but I think they'll be left raw .

Anodising is something I should try doing myself some time but I have a lot of research to do so I don't have any bad accidents & so I know how to store & dispose excess & waste properly, or could just go with powder coating which can be nice, simple, cheap & safe to do diy style.

[Waynio]

Ok some pictures of where it's at with added stainless steel mirror polished 2nd floor installed & everything fits perfect incuding the ssd mount & made sure the psu is still mountable & is .

I had a go at doing the optical tray cover but the blades I have aren't adequate to do what I wanted to do, they are great for sheet materials but I tried going through 12mm diameter copper rod & it just takes ages, did cut all the way through it though but also wanted to split the rod down the middle to use a half circle on the tray but yeah it would have overworked the scroll saw for such a small part so need different blades for that really, it's doable but would take hours & hours & don't fancy risking burning out the new saw it is possible to use bandsaw blades cut up for this scroll saw though so I'll do that for pieces like this & it should breeze through it & much thicker material .

[Waynio]

Got all the fan mount stubs made & installed, did 1 of them wrong so just re made it .

So close to finished .

[Waynio]

Took a few pictures with some nice daylight & with the side panel off .

Also the curved acrylic piece looks good on most shots & to the eye but some shots I took it shows how messed up the surface of the acrylic is so a question for you all, how do I get it restored to perfection? .

And ordered a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS standard lens so I can take certain shots that I just can't with this macro lens, the macro lens really is awesome but also really need a normal lens so I don't have to be so far away from what I'm shooting & can't afford the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG I really wanted so went for the nice & cheap 1 but it's meant to be good image quality anyway just low build quality.

Also I said I had all I need to complete the case but that isn't true since I decided to do the fan wire work properly so I'm gonna have to wait for soldering gear & supplies to arrive but hopefully they won't take long to arrive (not ordered yet but it's the weekend so have chance to decide before buying), I could wire twist & heatshrink like I used to do which is probably as good as soldering but I dunno, what you guys think, get the soldering gear or twist & shrink? .