work log of my first project

[Stang_Man]

http://www.spline-designs.com/members/1-2.jpg
Since this would be my first time cutting metal with my dremel, i decided to test it on an old computer case i had laying around.
This was an old case, so it was pretty damn thick, just to get what you see there cut took an entire wheel lol.

http://www.spline-designs.com/members/3-4.jpg
here the cutting of my acual case. These pics were taken closer to the end of the
cutting as you can see ive got half of my design cut out already.

http://www.spline-designs.com/members/5-6.jpg
Here you see me with only 1 last line to follow untill im done, and then the second picture shows teh final cut out

http://www.spline-designs.com/members/7-8.jpg
Here you see mock up, since i didnt have a glass cutter to cut the plexi glass,
i decided just to flip it veritcal and see if it would fit. So i put it on my case and it worked fine.
Then i removed the protective film, and duct taped it into place, as my next step is going to be sanding it down, and painting the whole case a flat black.

Ill be sure to take more pics of the sanding and painting, its just so hard to find good help these days :rolleyes:

[Pieking04]

Nice cutting stang_man! :lol:

[scifikg]

looks good. :)

[TheDistur]

mmm, cuttingness and sparkyness :D

The shape looks cool with those vent holes above and below it. :) Even if it was a sorta pressed metal shape before, it looks better as a window.

[Weapon of Mass-Destruction]

nice

[SurfmyStrat]

pretty, how long did those vent holes take?

[Thecookiemonster]

What would be the best thing as a adhesive for doing something like that to (window to case). Because I don't think tape would be the best thing for a LAN gaming rig :D

[Stang_Man]

Originally posted by Thecookiemonster@May 16 2004, 01:20 PM
What would be the best thing as a adhesive for doing something like that to (window to case). Because I don't think tape would be the best thing for a LAN gaming rig :D
lol, ive had to explain so many times that the tape is only temporary, as i am going to sand the case down and paint it, i figured it would be easier to remove the window and re attach it later, rather then having to tape it off when i paint it. I like to think ahead you see B)
The vent holes didnt take long, nor did it take long for me to realize that they are completely useless at the moment, as they are being covered up by the plexy glass till i get around to cutting the plexy to teh proper shape, but even then some of hte holes will be covered, oh well :P

Anyway, im just back with the lights, 2x blue cold cathodes from CompUSA, cost a whopping $20 :P. Id like to be able to turn my lights on and off as i please, so what im going to do is cut a whole in a drivebay cover, and place a switch in there. Ill be back with pics later :D

[Stang_Man]

"And God said, let there be light!" :D


http://www.spline-designs.com/members/9-10.jpg

Bought the 2x lights from CompUSA, they were nothing special, just the bargin brand i think. Anyway after i had placed them inthere, it hit me... "what if i wanna turn em off?" Well i went through the old parts bin and found a switch, think its from an old powersupply, dunno really, dont care either :P So I took out a drive bay cover, cut a hole in it, stuck it in, then attached the wires. My brother did that part, me and electricity dont mix, not since i sat on the electric fence when i was 8 :P
http://www.spline-designs.com/members/11-12.jpg

Theres a pic of the wires connecting to the switch, going into the drive bay, and the finished lighting. Ive done a bit of wire clean up but more to come when i buy those lil plastic thingys to put in there.

[TheDistur]

Yay, Lights. Heh, sat on an electric fence...ouch. But a 12v switch wouldn't give you any trouble. :P Does it look cool in the dark?

[Stang_Man]

Originally posted by TheDisturbed1@May 16 2004, 08:26 PM
Yay, Lights. Heh, sat on an electric fence...ouch. But a 12v switch wouldn't give you any trouble.  :P Does it look cool in the dark?
well the electric fence gave me plenty of trouble lol.
And i think the case looks jsut plain sweet in the dark:
http://www.spline-designs.com/members/night.jpg

[[GF]Burke]

Looks tight!

stang man.. what year?

[pvr02]

Very nice. I like the night effect.

[WVJammer]

Nice job stang.
Now you just need a paint
job on that thing.

[Thecookiemonster]

:D Now we just need to work on that cabel managment !

[Stang_Man]

Ya paint is coming soon, but since its a cheap case teh top is rivited on, and thats got me a bit angry. I know I could just take all my stuff out of the computer and leave it assembled and sand and paint, but i know i could get a better finish if i took it apart. Does anyone know if i could just use a drill bit, drill through the rivits, take em out, and use some nuts nad bolts in there to keep it secure?

cookie -
I was thinking bout going out and buying some round cables to help manage it, and maybe some of that black flexy pipe stuff from home depot to get even more organization. But a quck question about my ribbon cables, they are just wires layed in plastic right? Couldnt i just use a knife and cut through the plastic area between the wires on the ribbon, wrap some electrical tape around it, then have my own home made round cables? Or would there be any kinda electrical or any kinda interferience doing that?

burke -
i dont have my stang yet, got most of the cash saved up but havnt found the one i want, im looking for a nice 1969 or 1970, in a perfect world it would be a boss 302, but ill settle for a 31 :D
in my family though, we have currently 3 mustangs, 2x 1998's and a 2004

[Amanda]

Originally posted by Stang_Man@May 16 2004, 03:29 PM

The vent holes didnt take long, nor did it take long for me to realize that they are completely useless at the moment,
...but they look very snazzy. :)

Great job.. especially for your first time. :) What colour[s] are you going to paint it?

[linear]

Originally posted by Stang_Man@May 17 2004, 01:12 PM
Does anyone know if i could just use a drill bit, drill through the rivits, take em out, and use some nuts nad bolts in there to keep it secure?

That's the way to do it--1/8" drill bit will get em out quick. However, you can't always use screws to replace them. A rivet gun and a box of 100 pop rivets should set you back about 10-15bux at the hardware store.

[zeLupin]

Originally posted by Stang_Man@May 17 2004, 03:12 PM
Couldnt i just use a knife and cut through the plastic area between the wires on the ribbon, wrap some electrical tape around it, then have my own home made round cables? Or would there be any kinda electrical or any kinda interferience doing that?
You could do that...if you didnt have a window. You have to go for some appearance now because you will be looking at this thing almost everytim you sit down to go on your computer. I would suggest getting either wire sleeve or loom, cutting it to the appropriate size, and just tie the ends up with tie wraps.

[Stang_Man]

Amanda -
I plan to do all the panels a flat black, and the front of the case a kinda bright grey. That way it will match my monitor, and my keyboard and speakers are black and my mouse is grey. Not that I have any fasion sence what so ever, im just a very picky person <_<

Linear -
Yes it is a very tight space between teh rail the panel slides into and the inside of the case, so i doubt it could acually get some bolts through there and secure it that way. Ill have a look into the rivet gun this weekend when ill be going near home depot. But would it also work for me to remove everything from the case, and just leave it assembeled and sand it and paint it that way?

Lupin -
Ya ill prolly end up buying some round cables, i just figured i could maybe save a few buchs :rolleyes:

[Amanda]

Originally posted by Stang_Man@May 17 2004, 04:53 PM
Amanda -
I plan to do all the panels a flat black, and the front of the case a kinda bright grey. That way it will match my monitor, and my keyboard and speakers are black and my mouse is grey. Not that I have any fasion sence what so ever, im just a very picky person <_<
Very nice.. it sounds like it'll be great. :) I'm not much for loud colours... black, red, grey, etc, are what I usually stick with. :) You should definitely keep us posted on the progress.

[Stang_Man]

i hate loud colors, i stick with mainly black, white, and what ever shades that come between, lol its why my art teacher was always yelling at me :P I try to go for something that wont attract attention untill you realize its there, if that makes sence B)
Btw, just noticed you live in Dallas, i live in Austin :D

[WVJammer]

Sleeving (http://www.svc.com/sleeving-flexo-pet-sleeving.html)
Cables (http://www.svc.com/cables-ata-100-133-round-cables.html)
Just a thought, & their a good place
to order from.

[Amanda]

Originally posted by Stang_Man@May 17 2004, 10:09 PM

Btw, just noticed you live in Dallas, i live in Austin :D
Nice. :) Cookie lives in Dallas, too. And Joe lives in San Antonio [and hangs out in Dallas far too much! :P ...jk! :)].

[linear]

Originally posted by Stang_Man@May 17 2004, 04:53 PM
But would it also work for me to remove everything from the case, and just leave it assembeled and sand it and paint it that way?
It won't really work as well. Time spent on prep is very well worth it. Don't cut corners--that's one of the keys to making great looking mods.

[Stang_Man]

I know prep work is important, i spent a long time prepering for what i hae done before the bit even went into the dremel. But teh top is rivited on and i was wondering if i could save my self a few bucks, and a trip to home depot,and still get good results

[Stang_Man]

Minor update:
-----------------
Decided to try my hand at cutting something round, so i take my handy dandy dremel, and the same old case i practiced my dremel skills on and cut a hole for an 80mm fan in it. The fan is a fan that came with my dads computer, but he replaced it with some good ones that he bought, so i stole one.Id like to think this was a good practice for the next phase of my case mod, installing the 120mm fan and window on the top of my case. Again since it was only a test i had no reason to properly attach it, so duct tape and plastic screw would do the job today!
Also, i only cut 2 holes since i only had 2 plastic screw :P
http://www.spline-designs.com/members/12-13.jpg

I will post pictures this weekend when i install the 120mm fan in my real case. Then it will be time to sand, primer, and paint, then my first case mod project will be complete :)

[Stang_Man]

UPDATE:
added 120mm fan to the top
---------------------------------


http://www.spline-designs.com/members/15-16.jpg
First i stripped the case, everything came out, then i made a rough estimation of where it goes, with the black lines representing the minimum amout of space i could have and still get my wires in there.

http://www.spline-designs.com/members/17-18.jpg
First i lined it up, then using the template i lined up my holes. I had to remove it when i cut though, damn thing just got torn to shreds :roll: But as long as the screw holes were lined up i didnt realy mind if my hole was a lil off shape, but it all turned out well. After grinding and sanding i was ready to attach the fan :)

http://www.spline-designs.com/members/19-20.jpg
I attached it with these special little plastic screws, i just think they add a nice little flare, while lacking the ruggedness of real screws, makes it a lot easier to remove the fan if i need to clean it or replace it. Added the fan grille, and called it done :clap:


Well i think thats about it boys and girls :D The cutting and adding seems to all be done for now, inless i can think of something else later. I still need to paint it but i dont wanna do that today, maybe in the coming weeks i will. Ill be sure to keep you guys posted :)

[WVJammer]

Looks good Stang.
Nice cutting. If you
get a chance you should
try one of the flex shafts
for the dremel. I never thought
that I would need one until I used
it, now I don''t think I could live
without it.