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Message: <blockquote data-quote="zCexVe" data-source="post: 438472" data-attributes="member: 3878">Ok, back to the garage!Ok, I might be giving a bit too much away here, but I don't care! I think this is gonna look friggen cool when it's done,and I don't feel like waiting til the unveiling to show you guys this part. I wanted to continue the wavy theme aroundthe case, so I cut 10 of these shapes from the 1 1/2" flat bar and alternated them to recreate the same look and feelas the front with the reversible doors.Now that I got 'em all cut, I just have to figure out a way to attach them to the case. I did a test with the cold weldand some scrap, and I was able to pull it apart quite easily even after a day of curing. And the flat bar being lessthan 1/8" thick, it would not be feasible to drill and tap holes to fasten them with screws. Any ideas here?I got a lot of sanding with the belt sander now, because I want these fins to have that brushed aluminum look tomatch the rest of the case. Should come out pretty close. Will post pics (naturally) to show the outcome.Ok, that was my second alternative, but I didn't know they sold taps that small. I was considering taking all the fins to a jewelry store or watch repair place to see if they had the machinery necessary to drill and tap them for me, and hopefully supply me with screws to fit.I will check online for sources. Orchard Supply only went as small as 1/8".If I can't get one small enough, I have another possibility: Using my drill press and a 3/32" bit, I was able to drill into the edge of a piece of scrap last night, and not have it come out either side. I could attach the fins using the cold weld and some small brads that have a head on them. I'll just have to drill a matching hole in the panel, stick the brad through, add a little bit of cold weld and slide it into the fin. Should hold, and have that clean look with no visible hardware.Ok, I scored on the 2-56 size screws, washers, tap, and drill. Went downtown to an old hardware store (its been there for over 130 years) that seems to specialize in obscure and hard-to-find tools. They had everything I needed, so if it works out, I can fasten all the fins to the case this weekend (after sanding and finishing).Oh, and I finally worked out a feasable design for the front of the case (behind the doors), and got everything on order (I hope) to complete this mod. Got a few more items to fab up, and then I will be finished with the parts-making. So once all my goodies come in, I should be able to start assembly by the first week of Oct, and have the rest of the month to build it.I am fortunate that this case doesn't require any paint, as it will be all aluminum. So I don't have to worry about an extra week or two doing bodywork and paint before I can do final assembly.Things are looking promising..........Had a semi-productive weekend. Worked on drilling and tapping all the fins on Saturday. Got 7 holes tapped, and as soon as my order for three more 2-56 taps comes in, I can finish them up. (I don't want to talk about it!)Setting that aside, I turned my attention to the interior of the case. Mocked up the drive orientation and position, and took measurements so I can start on building the infrastructure. But when I was doing that, I had a brainstorm and had to go get the psu. I spent the rest of the weekend fabbing up a psu cover! You know, when a good idea hits, one must act upon it before it fades away. And I'm glad I did, because it is looking really shweet! I still need to finish up a few cuts, then I can show you what I came up with. What's really cool is the fact that I am building all this using just the pieces from the two cases I started with (aside from the 1 1/2" flat bar of course).Well, after I cleaned out the local hardware store of 2-56 taps (only had two), I found a place on ebay. RC Planes-and-trains. There is a hobby store here, but they have crappy taps that gave me fits and almost buggered up one of the holes. So I took them back and ordered the better ones off Ebay.The first ones I got were K&S Engineering brand, and had a bigger square end that would fit into my T-handle (I have a tap & die set). They cut really well, digging right into the hole. The other ones I got from the hobby store were "Hob-bit" brand, were smaller and had no square end, looked just like a drill bit. Harder to hold on to. Plus it didn't cut as well. I had to apply a lot more downward pressure to get it to bite into the hole. Pure junk in comparison to the K&S brand. I will take a pic tonight to show the difference.ere are the two different taps, the one on the bottom being the crappy one (even though it hasn't broken yet!)Going to post a bunch of pics in a moment of the psu cover. Couldn't post last night because I was in the garagewaaaaay late and by the time I got in the house, my mother-in-law was asleep in the room where my computer is.Re-using pieces from the lower front panel, I cut them to fit over the psu. Then I cut the side piece from one of the side panels,using one of the wavy pieces to mark the line across the top so it would match. I also removed some material from both endsof the wavy piece so the side panel would fit flush.Next I went to the computer and designed out a suitable fan grill, since I cam covering up the bottom of the psuwhere the fan is. I integrated the Mystique logo into the design, centering the swooshy S part in the opening.Printed it out onto label paper and stuck it onto the panel. Using an exacto knife, I scored the design onto thepanel through the template.I cut out the center with my trusty jig saw, then proceeded to cut out all the letters. I used the jig saw first to block them out,then used the dremel to trim them individually. I devised a clever holding system, employing my channel locks and a clamp.For the Q I had to drill out the center making a series of holes.I did the same for the U, E, and the little 2, drilling a series of holes where my dremel cutoff wheel wouldn't fit.Then I used the conical carbide bit to remove the remaining material between the holes. After cuttingeverything down, I assembled all the pieces onto one of the mesh covers that came with the case.Here I am switching out the black and boring with the blue and beautiful. (there goes my warranty!)I still need to do a lot of filing on those letters to get them perfect, and that will be on tonight's agenda.Did a lot of planning/mocking up yesterday after getting back from SD. Got the HD configuration and the infrastructure mapped out, so I know now what I need to do. I will be recycling the original hard drive cage as part of the structure, and augmenting that with additional cross-bracing for stability.Arg! Can't seem to get anything done on the case this week. I've been in our next-door rental house painting for the last two evenings, with more to do tonight. Got a renter moving in this weekend, so it's gotta be done.But I should be able to catch up this weekend, so look for a pretty significant update on sunday.... WITH PICS!!!! Yep, you read right. Visual aids. Ocular observations. Viewable representations. Perceptible pixel propagations. Substantial sights for sore eyes. Proof positive... well, you get the idea.Finally after a whole week of non-activity, I venture back into the garage only to find someone has taken up residence in my case!I am ashamed, and am not worthy of being called a modder after letting my case become home to creepy critters!However, it's nothing a quick suck from the ol' shop vac can't cure! A few minutes later I was back to work.And I worked... and I built... and I forged... and I hammered... and I sawed... until finally, at 2am last night,after a whole weekend of tedious fabrication, measuring, drilling, and cutting, I came up with this:And I actually got it mounted to the case! Behold the almighty fan bracket, in all it's glory!!This week I plan to tackle the daunting task of finding my ass with both hands.LOL I had to do it. When I installed the fan into the case, it just looked so funny sitting there all by itself,I couldn't resist posting that first. I actually did get a bunch of stuff done over the weekend.All on Sunday really. And I did stay up til 2am last night. Trying to make up for lost time.Anyway, here's the drive cage buildup:I took both drive cages and had to cut them down, effectively taking out one drive spot. To the left is thefirst one cut down, and the rest next to it showing the difference.I cut them down, leaving extra for a tab to bend over for mounting.Here I am mocking the cages up to get the correct spacing before I secure them to the floor with pop rivets.You can see the infamous fan and bracketry in the middle. I really did mount it into the case, as picturedearlier, because that is perfectly centered, and the drive cages will build off that on both sides.Also, I needed to beef up the underside of the mobo tray, since, if you haven't guessed it already,it is now the bottom of the case and will be supporting the whole drive cage assembly. I added thisaluminum U channel I had lying around the garage. Not really sure where it came from. But since itwill be out of sight, I don't mind that it is bronze colored.</blockquote>

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