I have tried to scan the forums, but haven't been able to find anywhere mentioning a case made of plain wood. I am currently drawing some ideas down, but is there anything specific that I need to take into consideration? I know some say heat might be a problem, but the case will have sufficient cooling by 120 mm fans. Placing of the components inside will be given high priority, to make sure the airflow and dissipating of heat will be as good as possible. I have access to all tools needed, be it for working with wood or metals.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sorrow I have tried to scan the forums, but haven't been able to find anywhere mentioning a case made of plain wood. I am currently drawing some ideas down, but is there anything specific that I need to take into consideration? I know some say heat might be a problem, but the case will have sufficient cooling by 120 mm fans. Placing of the components inside will be given high priority, to make sure the airflow and dissipating of heat will be as good as possible. I have access to all tools needed, be it for working with wood or metals.

just gotta worry about the heat. shouldn't really be much of a problem with enough airflow. there's some people that have made cases out of wood but a lot of the projects seem like they're unplanned or unfinished. hoping to see a good one from you!

I have seen quite a few in the galleries, check them out. I have seen them done fairly well so it should not be a problem. Most people find wood far easier to work with then metal.

hmm i should look more in the galleries . .. all the wood cases i saw in there didn't look that great. there were a few but the majority could have used a lot of work.

I am creating a 3D-model of what I have in mind, and when it is done, I will post a picture of the model here. For the model, I will use Birch. I like the way it looks, and it is more "alive" than most other kinds of wood. Just need to convert some real photos of my mobo and a few other things, so I can make the model look "real"

Unfortunately if someone doesn't list "wood" in the keyword section for their gallery entry, it won't show up in a search. But there have been some brilliantly done wood mods. The Corsair Mod Contest featured a humidor with a epia mobo inside. Not much of a computer, but a really nice looking mod. The Hellrazor mod was also made entirely of wood although it looks like metal on the outside. But to be honest, both kinda suck as computer cases IMO. You can do better.

If you want to mix in some really high-end and exotic woods, you can always go the veneer route. A nice wood case with some artful marquetry work on the side panels would look awesome. Marquetry is the art of creating pictures in veneer. You could do your own design with a scroll saw, buy it in kit form or buy preassembled pieces.

i remember a user came through with a nice wood case. it was painted black and had a "propeller" looking window cut out. i believe either he or his brother i believe built it. it was quite nice. but i cant find it nor remember who it was.

I have some plans for wood cases of my own, as well as an entire file full of wood case examples. PM me if you'd like to see them.

I've seen quite a few mods out and around on the 'net of cases made out of wood. Just a couple of things to remember when working electronics into wood:

1. Hardwood vs. softwood: You'll want to go with a hardwood rather than a softwood because hardwood is slightly more resistent to heat. Here is a link to a list of hardwoods and here is one to a list of softwoods. What's the difference between the two? Hardwoods drop their leaves every fall and, in lack of a better term, "shrink and die" during the winter. This causes the wood (typically) to become a little bit more dense than say, a softwood (which keeps it's leaves/needles during the winter). There are exceptions to that rule, though, but generally, stick with a hardwood.

2. Temperature: By no means does that say that a hardwood won't catch fire because it will. When you build, you'll have to make sure that you don't have any stripped wires so have a roll of electrical tape handy. To keep the temperature down, make sure you have adequate air flow to the hottest points in your computer (i.e., video card, cpu, possibly the bottom of your hard drives, etc.). Some of the mods that I've seen, they've taken an old case and hacked the drive cages and mobo tray out of them and used them in the mod to hold onto the electrical components.

3. Be careful what type of finish you use on the wood. Some people like to use a finish on the inside of the case as well as the outside. Some finishes can be extremely volitale to heat even years after it's been applied. Ask you local Home Depot dude what kind of finish would be best resistent to increased temperatures. Additionally, make sure that you give your new case a week or two in a well ventaliated area after applying the finish before putting in your electrical components.

4. Have fun.

Hope this helps...

Rob

I would listen to Rob about the finishes and varnish.

As far as case temps its all about airflow. Regardless if the case is steel, alum or wood. If you have a case that has to transmit the heat through the metal of the case itself you have a problem. I would bet money that two identical cases with decent airflow, one made of wood and the other metal would have very similar case temps.

No matter what its made of, its all about removing the hot air.

I agree with Rob as well. However, there is something else to take into consideration: wood movement. Wood movement refers to the natural expansion and contraction of a piece of wood as it gains and loses moisture. All wood does it (some types more than others - i'm not talking about MDF, particle board, etc.... these are much more dimensionally stable than most hardwoods...maybe even all). If you finish the wood, it's important that you finish both sides and the ends. If you don't, you will be fostering uneven moisture loss/gain, and this will probably lead to the wood warping/cupping.
See if you have a fine woodworking store in your area, they will have a far better range of supplies than Home Depot or Lowes (etc), and they should have staff who are more knowlegeable about hardwoods/exotics and specific applications.
If you find a type of wood that you'd like to use, but are stymied by the price or availability, drop me a PM. I can buy wood (hardwoods, exotics, etc.) at pretty decent prices - usually 50% or more under retail (i'm on excellent terms with the lumber supplier who furnishes wood to the company i work for ). Therefore you can also buy at my cost

I've always found that softwoods are more prone to warping than hardwoods, pine especially. Still, it's a good idea to put some kind of finish on the inside of a wood case if you live in an environment that has dramatic temperature changes throughout the year.

If I were to make a wooden case, I'd more than likely use oak.

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by Rob I've always found that softwoods are more prone to warping than hardwoods, pine especially. Still, it's a good idea to put some kind of finish on the inside of a wood case if you live in an environment that has dramatic temperature changes throughout the year. If I were to make a wooden case, I'd more than likely use oak. Rob

Dude, you'd be amazed....
I've got a counter-top at work that i have to remake. The cause? Moisture content too high + the bottom is finished and the top is not + a rapid drop in relative humidity (when the last cold front moved through). The wood is Jatoba (Brazillian Cherry - Hymenaea courbaril ), it is ridiculously dense - about 57ish pounds/sq. foot. The top itself is 56" wide x 110" long x 1.5" thick. When i took the top to it's final thickness last monday it was completely flat. By wednesday, it had a 1.5+" crown in its center! Not to mention all of the checking that accompanied rapid moisture loss in 3 boards whose moisture content was too d4mn high (it is kiln dried and supposed to be at 6-8% moisture content....it wasn't). If the top hadn't been finished on one side only the damage wouldn't have been as drastic (the boards would still have checked, but the cupping would have been substantially less because moisture would have been free to escape equally from both sides of the plank as well as the ends).
While this is an extreme case, it illustrates just how much movement it's possible to get out of a piece of hardwood.....oh joy

As far as dramatic environment changes go, if you use central heating (as opposed to radiant) in the winter, you will have a reduction (sometimes dramatic, depending on locale) in relative humidity. Also, cold air usually means dry air....the relative humidity in ATL. last weekend was around 60ish% during the day....when the cold front rolled through, our daytime relative humidity dropped by 30%....did i mention: oh joy

Check out quarter sawn oak, if you're an oak kind of person. The figure (specifically the appearance of the medullary rays) is gorgeous!

If the picture thing works, this is what my 3D model look so far

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Someone correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't he have to build in some sort of grounding?

Quote: Originally Posted by Caspertg Someone correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't he have to build in some sort of grounding?

should be able to just ground through the psu

hey sorrow search for sometime called the wooden maiden! It was Red02's attempt at a wooden case!

Are you sure the grounding through the PSU will be enough?

Sorrow
The wood is an interesting idea. The thing though that would be a pain in the toches...once you get it all construted from scratch only to find it is not really going to work as you had hoped.

Is there maybe some way to use a mock up of a metal case, with a veneer maybe? Simply to test some of the theories before going to all the trouble of construction.

Still think if you want a ultra quiet PC you will have to give liquid collong a shot. Some of the best liquid cooling knowledge can be found here at PR.

Either way though, we need to get you modding! Too many good ideas in your head to stay there.

If you're concerned about the grounding issue, a simple wire loom could be made. Just use some crimp-on automotive type connectors and make up a grounding wire between all of your components at the points where they are screwed into the case. That is, after all, how cars and many appliances are normally grounded...through the chassis. I'm sure if you give it some thought, it could be completely hidden.

As far as the warpage issue is concerned...your design would be simple enough to construct out of plywood, which is much more dimensionally stable than solid wood. For even more simplicity (and to save a lot of work) consider using a removable motherboard tray.

Wordbiker