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Ok, so it may not be 100% wooden, but the front was a solid slab of curly maple, so I think it qualifies?

A friend of mine who did this sort of thing professionally (and now mostly sells case mod supplies) did a 3-part video series on this case.
Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


This is what the case looked like originally:


Then I started with a slab of curly maple, and started hackin' it up by hand






Made it so the original front frame could be used still




Drilled screw holes and marked out the recess for the window




Coping saw + 2-3/8" of hard curly maple = not much fun


Little bit of cleanup




Then I finished it with 4 coats of shellac. First two were sanding sealer with some vintage maple trans-ting dye, stronger mix on the first, and lighter on the second, then 2 coats of regular clear shellac on top, and buffed with paste wax.



For the side panels, I used a grinder on some steel panels I cut out, then we sprayed it with some kandy paint, and it has a sweet effect with light


A lot more pictures can be found here
http://www.mosquitomediaserver.com/projectLogImages/DancingIridescence/

Gallery

Comments

· Registered
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5,968 Posts
Wicked cool, Mos!
 

· Registered
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1,217 Posts
What can I say except, wow. What a piece.
 

· Registered
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963 Posts
Awesome mod!

A friend of mine competes in the case mod at quakecon each year.
 

· Registered
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186 Posts
Very cool
 

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165 Posts
That is so cool, great work
 

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3,604 Posts
I agree that's a really cool mix of hand tool use and modern electronics. Looks great.
 

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29 Posts
baddest ass PC i've seen. is that the next big thing, pimping out PC's and other tech stuff? if so, i love it.
 

· Just Plane Crazy
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11,578 Posts
Thanks guys! It's a lot of fun :) Some of the other projects I have posted here, are the other wooden computer cases I've done. Also done up a few others. I do like making the mix of the two happen, though it makes an expensive hobby even more expensive lol

Jordan, does he share on any forums and stuff? I'm an admin and do reviews and stuff for TheModZoo.com

cbehnke, PC case modding has been around for a while. It actually isn't quite as popular as it used to be, but it's still quite prevelant. It's lots of fun. I've been doing about 2-3 projects a year
 

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99 Posts
Making computer cases was a big reason for me to get into woodworking. Mosquito, that is one l33t case!
!

I've modded cases in the past, the old school way: saws, plexiglas, lights, etc. But a couple of scratch made wooden cases really flipped my lid. I'm not far enough along to make one, yet, but the time is coming, the time is coming…
 

· Just Plane Crazy
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11,578 Posts
Nice! My first woodworking project was actually my first scratch built computer case (retro HTPC). I've done a 4 wooden cases so far, and will keep doing more, as they're a lot of fun.

I've done a handful of other non-wood case mods too. First mod was on an IBM PC-AT made in 1984… gutted and modified to fit modern hardware, but still look old. Did a fileserver with some hotswap bays an acrylic window, and some more fans. Latest non-wood mod I took an LCD monitor apart, and used just the panel so it was transparent, and made it into a side panel

Do you work on many? I'm very active on TheModZoo.com (I'm a staff/review writer, and admin). Great place to share mods and ideas :)
 

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7,180 Posts
Sweet case, Mos. I USED to be a computer geek 10 years ago, and wanted to get into modded casework. But, the industry has left me behind technically! LOL!

Hate my plastic Dell, would love some curly Maple! Hmmm…maybe a future project? :)
 

· Just Plane Crazy
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It's lots of fun! I've done a few others as well, smaller than this one, built from scratch. With the right hardware, they can be quite small and quiet, depending on intended use :)
 

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Hi Anopheles (I be showin' off my edjamacashun and smarters!),

I haven't scratch built anything yet. I'm thinking about a case for my Japanese Woodworking class, but haven't come up with anything simple enough to finish on time.

The last mod I did was to put water cooling in one of these:


Lots of slices to the fingers with that one. Had to create a bent plexi pane for the hole in the top of the case. I also did something I call the Rt. 66 case with a lot of parts from a local auto-speed shop. Sold that one.

But, I really haven't done much in the last couple of years. This and that… you know how it is. I'll see if I can do a Sketchup of my Japanese case idea.
 
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