Project: Up top (Antec 300)

greywolf

greywolf

greywolf

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2 Dec 2005
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Just taken delivery of my Antec 300 along with some other bits and so starts the project.

To Do List:

1. Move the on/off and reset switch to the top of the case - want this done as my case is below me and so top mounted switches would be an advantage.
2. Window into side pannel - just showing motherboard.
3. Spray paint inside of case black.
4. Replace case feet - Original feet are not bad but have decided to go for aluminium with rubber insert feet.


The switches ive decided to use are black Lamptron Delrin Vandal Resistant switches.

These have a circular coloured glow, decided to go for red on/off and orange reset switch. Pics below.

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The switches holes will be the first job to do and will be drilled / mounted as shown by the black circles in the photo below.

The switches will prevent the top drive bay being used for dvd drives although this wont be a problem as a fan controller will be inserted in the top drive bay.

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The original front switches will be removed and the hole filled.

Update will follow once the switch holes are drilled.
 
Update

Spent the morning getting the switches ready and marking out / cutting the holes for the two top switches.

Wires soldered on. I used the original on/off, reset and LED wires, just had to snip them off from their original switches etc.

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Marked out and ready to drill. 25mm from the front of the case and 50mm in from the side.

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Hole after drilling. Started with a 5mm drill and worked my way up to a 19mm drill. Still needs abit of filling to be done inside.

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Update

Checking that the switches fit. They look abit tilted as they are not bolted down yet as I will need to remove them when i spray paint the inside.

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Will spend the afternoon marking out and cutting the side window. Will probably update again this evening if all goes well.
 
Blackhawk47 said:
looks good, cant wait to see the side window. can you give me details of what you have used/will be using for it ?
Click to expand...

Sure can,

2 meters of u-chanel / trim, wont use all 2m but got 2 just incase I needed just over 1 meter.

3mm foam tape to sick the window to the back of the side panel.

500x500mm clear acrylic sheet for the window. Will cut down to size.

Tools used were: Jigsaw with metal cutting blade, drill to provide staring hole for jigsaw, and a metal file to remove any sharp edges (although not too much as the sharp / wrough edge helps the trim stay on).

Size of the window is shown below in the diagram. Drew the cornered edges for the window by drawing round a reel of tape (not shown in diagram).

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The acrylic will just be cut to a rectangle ~ 1 inch bigger than the window opening and stuck on via the foam tape. This will be seen in my next update.
 
Update

Spent most of the afternoon constructing the window.

Firstly the marking out, the sizes for this can be seen in my previous post, although I had 30mm for the left side. If I were to do this again I would go for 40mm, as this allows more room for the window to be fitted as it was abit tight as the side of the window kept coming in contact with the case. Which ment pealing the window off, trimming it, then re sticking it down.

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I set about cutting the window by drilling a series of holes so the jigsaw could start. After the jigsaw had cut the shape out I lightly filed the edge, although not too much as the wrough edge helps the trim stay on. Oh and I hate photographing black objects as they show up every small mark, all the marks etc in the next photo can hardly be seen in real life.

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Next I marked out and cut the acrylic to size 350x290mm. The stuck it to the back of the panel by using a series of foam tape cut in to short pads.

The final result of the side window seems to have come out quite well imo.

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Next job is to spray paint the inside of the case black. The next update will come on Saturday once this is started.
 
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Update

Just a quick update.

Spent the morning lightly sanding down the inside of the case, brackets etc. Then cleaned with soapy water followed by a damp cloth. Then two coats of grey metal primer were applied.

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I will allow the primer to cure for a few days then the black top coat will be applied.
 
looks great so far
are you going to leave the power/reset switches none functioning?
you could possibly have the old reset switch as a clear cmos and the power to turn on/off cathodes or sommat
 
Iam either going to like you say have it for clear cmos etc or will remove them and fill the hole with plastic filler then spray paint over the top. Not sure which to go for yet.
 
Update

Not the best update. I had just finished spraying the last coat of black paint when most of the surface started to react with the primer and bubble / kraze and in some areas lift off. I sorta lost it then and threw it out the open back door :mad: not the best thing to do but seemed right at the time lol. Any one know why this reaction happened? the primer was plasti kote metal primer and the top coat was plasti kote satin black.

I may recover the case and re sand it all down , although this might take some time.
 
greywolf said:
Update

Not the best update. I had just finished spraying the last coat of black paint when most of the surface started to react with the primer and bubble / kraze and in some areas lift off. I sorta lost it then and threw it out the open back door :mad: not the best thing to do but seemed right at the time lol. Any one know why this reaction happened? the primer was plasti kote metal primer and the top coat was plasti kote satin black.

I may recover the case and re sand it all down , although this might take some time.
Click to expand...

well good luck if you start painting again, though i am not sure why it had a reaction.

if you dont, and scrap the project, do you mind sending me your window side panel :p sorry but i had to ask ;)
 
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