What i've been doing after work

[aelx]

Updated: aug-17-2004@10:30pm EST
Updated: aug-15-2004@10:40pm EST
Updated: aug-12-2004@9:35pm EST
Updated: aug-10-2004@11:30pm EST
Updated: aug-7-2004 @ 11:28pm EST
Updated: aug-4-2004 @ 11:25pm EST
Updated: aug-3-2004 @ 10:45pm EST

welp, My inwin s500 has been a great case and i still see many new cases that do not work as well as it or look worse than it, but i have decided to make my own case.
Just as a warning to you all.. making a steel welded case takes a LOT of work. Do it at your own risk ;)

Also, i dont have a lot of time(get home at 5) to work on this case, so it has taken a while, but i should finished it withing a couple weeks i am hoping.

I started off with some nice steel tubing that used to be a
heavy duty shelving unit (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/before.jpg).

day1 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day1.jpg) consisted of testing out my chopsaw, and making sure the angle was a nice 45degrees. and then practicing some grinding.

day3 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day2.jpg) i cut all my pieces(minus the 4 connecting pieces)

day3 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day3.jpg) I ground all my pieces to the same length(well i have two different lengths..)/angle. I then spent some time doing some welding practice (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day3weldingpractice.jpg) I had never used our mig welder before (only our rod feed arcwelder).

day4 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day4.jpg) I welded the first of the two squares. and YES, i know, those are some of the worst seems anyone has ever seen. anyway, i found out the next day, that by turning up the power and slowing the wirefeed on my welder, my seems turned out infinitely better.

day5 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day5.jpg) i welded the other square(straightened them also) and ground the welds flat.

day6 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day6.jpg) i just made the 4 connecting peices and dreamed (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day6box.jpg) of what lay ahead.

Day7 is about where i am at the moment, the only thing ive done since is grind all the welds flat. Here is the case (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day7clamp.jpg) clamped ready for welding. Here is a weld joint (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day7weld.jpg)(cam sucks though) and finally, here is my box (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day7case.jpg).

Well after not being able to do anything over the long weekend, i started back with the job at hand9(all i had done since day7 was bring all my welds flat). day8 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day8ps.jpg) was a fairly uneventful day. I just made these two brackets(for the ps mounting) that i will weld onto my case tomorrow(probably) and went scrounging for some material i need for my 5.25" drive bay mounting. Here (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day8carnage.jpg) is the carnage that insued after i found some nice sheet metal on the bottom of an old compaq.

for day8 i had planned to remake those powersupply mounting brackets(since i realized i made them the wrong size, but i got some inspiration to start the motherbaord tray. So, i tore the o'le compaq apart, pounded her flat, and from that, my motherboard tray (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day9compaq.jpg) was born(those holes were in it but it isnt a big deal. And here (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day9tray.jpg) it is sitting in it's new model home being built.

on day10 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day10mobotray.jpg) i drilled the atx motherboard mounting holes onto my motherboard tray and then tapped the holes so i could use the screw-in standoffs, that i have been collecting with computer cases over the years. To make sure i did it right, i then took this computer's motherboard (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day10mobo.jpg) out and tried her and she fit like a glove.

day11 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day11box.jpg) consisted of me making new powersupply mounting brackets(since my last ones were the wrong size :S and welding (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day11weld.jpg) them in. I ground the welds flat.

on day12 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day12garbage.jpg) i tried to make an existing drive holder(from the o'le compaq i chewed up earlier) work, I pounded it into about the shape i needed, but gave up because it would be too much work and wouldnt fit the design of the rest of the case.

On day13 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day13.jpg) i made my own 5.25" (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day13front.jpg) drive holder. It is made out of the beige painted metal from the outside of the compaq from earlier, but that is no matter, i'll be painting it anyway. Here (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day13tray.jpg) and here (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day13trayagain.jpg) are more pictures of it.
I will probably weld it in tomorrow.

on day 14 i finished off my cd drive holder by adding a tapped recessed hole and adding a track for the hd holder to slide into. cdtray (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day14cdtray.jpg) hdholder (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day14hdholder.jpg) assembly (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day14assembly.jpg)

day15 was very small, i just made 2 slots (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day15slots.jpg) for the mobo tray to slide into.

day16 i welded the cddrive bay into the case, and made a tabslot to hold the one end of the mobo tray securely. front (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day16front.jpg) side (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day16side.jpg) rear (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day16back.jpg)


day17 (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day17.jpg) had me welding (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day17slot.jpg) the motherboard slots in and grinding down the motherboard tray so it was just hte right size. I also cut the holes for the tab (http://www.alamoallies.com/alex/comp/day17tray.jpg) that will hold the tray at the front of the case. I still have to do a nice fine grinding of the tray so that it fits in the case the way it should and looks a little nicer.

[aelx]

haha you just wait, it will get worse ;), but i have plans for that. the frame is 8lbs

[anode]

That case is gonna need tank treads and a turret! Its a monster! I love it so far.

[\/1ndicated]

u buildin this to withstand a earthquake. On that last pic of it all together (it was first pic i looked at) i thought it was wood dont know y then i saw welded and well yea. I think that would be tight to build this thing into a tank i dont think there is any pc tanks.

[RedXray]

Nice fab work

Have you decided what material to skin it with?

[aelx]

oh yes(well i havent gotten the material, so it could all change, but) i am going to keep the frame visible from the outside and have the side panels flush with it(the frame is 1.3cm thick)
One side will be plexy, the other sides, well, i guess you'll have to wait and see ;)

[supagal]

wow that is cool. can not wait to see it finished.

[dworld]

i like landsharks idea that would look cool

[aelx]

BLASHRG
well i just realized that i made those bracket for my powersuppy incorrectly. Meaning i will have to make more tomo, :(

[dworld]

o thats not good :o

[\/1ndicated]

Yea that definately sucks welds are hard to take apart cept with a grinding wheel
and a trash can

[anode]

Originally posted by \/1ndicated@Aug 4 2004, 01:37 PM
Yea that definately sucks welds are hard to take apart cept with a grinding wheel
and a trash can
Or a plasma.

[\/1ndicated]

True dat but who has a plasma cutter(rich ppl and shops)

[CmptrGk]

thers sum1 on the forums that has 1, cant rember their therir name tho

[burchie2001]

You could always use the trusty oxy-accetelyne cutting torch

[soul-assassin]

landshark Posted on Aug 2 2004, 06:03 PM
to go with the theme, i'd throw some steel diamond plate on there. can't get much more industrial then that

Yeah, but he'll need a forklift to move the thing.

[aelx]

dont worry y'all, i hadnt welded those brackets on yet:D. I was planning to do it after i made them, but decided to call it a night because the misquitoes were bad. So i just have to make new ones.

today i started my mobo tray(instead of doing those brackets.)

[aelx]

well my ps mounting brackets are now welded in and ready to be drilled with mounting holes(i also need to cut a notch out of one to fit around the powerconnector.
Check out the image of the box with the brackets, notice anything odd? :)

[\/1ndicated]

Actaully i think it is a cat dont know all i know is that is inhuman im callin the cops. Jk NIce work if i had a working welder i would do a case like this but i dont so hey.

[aelx]

ok well i've been doing a little more fiddly work lately. I was planning on using the cddrive and hddrive holders from the compaq that i used for scrap earlier but then decided to just make my own.
pics up in original post

[starfoxtjb]

Originally posted by aelx@Jul 31 2004, 12:07 AM
haha you just wait, it will get worse ;), but i have plans for that. the frame is 8lbs
hey if your going for the steel industrial look you should check out my post in ideas and suggestions titled "a mod for your wires" or something like that the mod is basically covering your wires with steel woven cable sleeving.

just an idea for you

[aelx]

hehe, i am not going for the industrial look. the frame will be sand blasted and then painted.
I will be sleeving cables though, so thanks

[aelx]

hehe sorry, no diamond plate :).
I hope you will like it even better than that. I am currently making the hd holder and making sure it fits with my cd holder before i weld the cd holder into the case

[aelx]

today i did some more on the cdtray and hd holder

[aelx]

today i welded in the cd drive bay and made a front tabslot for the mobo tray to slide into and hold securely

[IsMaR]

MONSTER

WERD

[dworld]

i still like looking good i cant wait to see the finished mod and by the way nice socks lol

[supagal]

It is comming along nicely. Keep up the good work.

[aelx]

Originally posted by dworld@Aug 16 2004, 05:20 AM
i still like looking good i cant wait to see the finished mod and by the way nice socks lol
hehe thanks. Dickies are the best socks that you can buy.

[aelx]

well today i worked on the motherboard mounting system. check out the pics in the main post

[dworld]

your case gave me a idea but mines going to aluminan and well totaly diffrent but somehow u gave me the idea

[IsMaR]

well i think its time to update this.... or just up the thread