pickled

i just got back from the store $30 poorer and am about to start makign my case. I have decided to encorperate the case around a Vid 8 player. I have never seen a vid 8 player IN the computer case before and thought "why not try it"? pics soon to be put up, and comments and sudgestions as to how to brace it to allow for a handle would be appriciated.

pickled

wow i am a slacker i only started the case today to have it start raining down on me.

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Que_66

How big is this going to be?

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pickled

the dimensions are 22" by 11.5" for the base and 23" high (i may extend the hight a bit depending on if i have a bunch of plexy left over)

pickled

well today i finished off the frame (99%) , and am off to get primer to paint the wood. Has anyone used wood for a frame before, and if so how did you brace the corners to allow it to suport more weight? I am thinking of getting some metal brackets and installing them on the corners (if they exist).

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nev_payne

A question about the frame. Considering the thicknes of wood you've chosen, and by the look of it, its pine, are you sure thats going to be sturdy enough to house what you propse housing? While I like to cases built from the ground up, I dont want to see you fall into problems whereby it isnt strong enough to hold the intended weight of the components. Good quality PSUs are heavy enough for the top of any case, and accompanied by 2 CD burners or a reservoir, it could become pretty unstable.

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Wellmont

Quote: Originally Posted by nev_payne While I like to cases built from the ground up, I dont want to see you fall into problems whereby it isnt strong enough to hold the intended weight of the components.

I'd have to agree with payne. One of my first mods was built into an old speaker housing, kind of a mini-itx thing, and the power supply ripped free from the 8 screws holding it in place and slammed into the motherboard. Wood is good for asthetics but you might think about reinforcing it, or at the very least using aluminum plates to thread your screws through into the wood, that way you can support each individual attachement across two or more screws and a plate...If you want a diagram to explain my bad spelling and rambling let me know.

nayo 450

or plexi, its a whole lot cheeper that aluminum!

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Coelacanth

I think you might run into problems even IF you somehow reinforce that wood frame, because the reinforcing pieces still must bolt into those very thin strips of wood. You could use the strongest corners of steel, but they're still only going to be as strong as the wood they're bolted onto, and it doesn't look like it would take too much stress to have screws rip right out of that wood.

Maybe you could have (at the minimum) 2 wood rectangles, for the bottom floor and top ceiling. These 2 pieces could be joined by 4 corner pieces (but maybe something like inch-thick or even 2-inch-thick posts). Then, you could put some kind of corner brackets or metal braces at each of the 4 corners that hold the 2 plates together on the 4 posts?

You definitely want to do some stress-testing before you waste time priming and painting.

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nayo 450

or put anything realy heavy on the bottom

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hp07

As much as I hate sounding pessimistic, I have to agree. I made a "ground-up" case myself out of mainly plexi (15" cube), but I still had to reinforce the seams with aluminum angle just to be safe. All those trays, cages, drives, and your psu will add up to some hefty weight. That along with any hi-qual "bling" just might bust your frame and possibly cost your some $$ hardware. Check out the worklog in my sig to see what I mean.

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pickled

[quote=. Wood is good for asthetics but you might think about reinforcing it, or at the very least using aluminum plates to thread your screws through into the wood, that way you can support each individual attachement across two or more screws and a plate...If you want a diagram to explain my bad spelling and rambling let me know.[/QUOTE]

I have reinforced the frame today at all the major joints with aluminum "L"? thinggies. I plan on builing another internal frame to hold the components having the vid 8 player at the bottem as it weighs the most.

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pickled

anywyas i just finished reinforcing the major corners with "l" joints and painted the frame. I installed plexy over 1/2 the bottem and 2/3 the one side, and painted my power supply. I am wondering how one installs err rather cuts "blow holes" into the plexyglass for fans. If anyone has done that your help would be appriciated.

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Coelacanth

I still think those I-joints will tear right out of that skimpy little wood. You better do some stress tests before you put expensive hardware in there. See, the problem isn't the I-joints, it's the wood you're attaching them to. You could use titanium I-joints but you're STILL using thin, weak strips of wood.

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GrandpaNoob72

Cutting holes in plexi can be done several ways, but the easiest for me has been a holesaw.

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pickled

Quote: Originally Posted by Coelacanth I still think those I-joints will tear right out of that skimpy little wood. You better do some stress tests before you put expensive hardware in there. See, the problem isn't the I-joints, it's the wood you're attaching them to. You could use titanium I-joints but you're STILL using thin, weak strips of wood.

I understand that my case will not be that strong, but how much weight will be placed onto the top of the frame? I plan on putting almost everything heavey on the bottem. This case will be stationary and will not be moved around a lot, the frame just has to support a few fans and the plexy.

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Cpt.Planet

I dont mean to discourage you at all just trying to help out. I gotta agree with the guys it will prolly give out eventually. Dont forget you somehow hafta mount the vid8 player, mobo, drives, psu. It is going to add alot of weight and that case looks pretty shaky to me.

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Coelacanth

Exactly. Before you go too far into this mod project, you should put your computer inside your frame and do some stress testing, that's all we're saying. None of us likes to hear about broken hardware, we've all been there and done that, and it's never fun.

If you want to debate or pass off our advice, it's not our hardware, it's yours...

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hp07

I'd say you're down to a couple of choices: 1. Take our advice and spend a few extra bucks to get some sturdy frame material, wood or otherwise. 2. Don't listen and probably end up with a bunch of trashed hardware framed in splinters.

Unless this is a HUGE cube, which it's not, you're going to have a hard time getting all the weight on the bottom. Your PSU & HDD have to go somewhere. Your I/O drives are going to be really tricky to use if they're on the bottom of the case. Either way, that leaves you putting the MOBO on one side or the top, with your HS and fan hanging off of it. Then the player...well, the list goes on.

Like GrandpaNoob72 said, holesaws work excellent in plexi. But I would seriously whip up a new frame before I got too exicted about panels and saws.

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kwangtzu

Wood is great in compression, it just bends easily. Since you say you will have internal frames for major components, just be sure that they are under the weight. Think of the supports like a miniature deck to set your components on. Even one of your frame pieces would support all the weight you will have _IF_ you could balance it all and keep it from bending. You might take Ceol's advice about the bottom of the case, though since the internal supports have to be supported, too.

Wellmont has a good idea about plates so that you can bolt through the wood or plexi. You can use fender washers (small hole for the screw but really large diameter), too, though and they are cheaper. My entire computer (two opitical drives, HD, PSU, waterpump, 10X12 radiator and nine inch, yes, nine inch fan) hang from eight #10 screws in a quarter-inch plexi cube that is glued together. I just used regular washers and rubber grommets to reduce vibration.

Coel is right that the bracket screws may just rip out. Glue is much stronger. I noticed that all your joints have screws. Take the screws out, put some wood glue (Elmer's is fine) between the peices of wood and screw it back together. All the outside frame is doing is hanging plexi for a dust guard if I understand your idea.