Beast Of Nature | ITX Scratch build in wood!

[Jokot]

Hello,

Its time again for a new build and this time I am going to use my favorite material, wood! After lots of planning I decided it was going to be another ITX build that would still fit at least one 240mm radiator and long graphics cards if thats what I choose to go with.

The plan is to use closed watercooling loops for both CPU and GPU to make future upgrades easier. Ive seen quite a few wood builds over the years but nothing that really felt like me so this will be my version, should also be quite obvious what case I was inspired by

Huge thanks to bequiet! and Asrock for helping out with the hardware for this build!


And here are a few 3D renders

 

[Jokot]

Very nice.

Make the front panel (that the fans are in, shown in white) out of a suitable dark wood (purple heart/bubinga/ebony).

Front, back and top will be made of aluminum, some darker wood would also work but doesn't really fit the look I am going for

If we're getting geeky about the woods I'm throwing my 2p in - love wenge. Looks totally different flatsawn or quartersawn.

Interested to see how this goes - I made guitars in a former life!

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The fram will at least be flatsawn but not 100% sure about the handels yet because those are going to be made using thin plywood but thats most likely also flatsawn

 

[Jokot]

That is sexy as hell, I wish I had the knowledge and creative flair to design stuff like this.

This looks interesting.. Subed

Thanks guys.

So this is how I will be bending and making the top and bottom "handles"

I need something to bend the thin sheets around so that was part 1 of the process and that was easily done with some MDF scrap pieces.



Here is the template rounded and covered in tape to avoid the glue from sticking.



Here is the material I will be using.



I also made a outer part for the template by bending 5mm plywood, that will also help equalize the pressure along the curve.



And now ever thing is ready to be glued together and clamped down, the grain of each sheet is going against each other to get a stronger final product. You can also see the template was made with "shelves" to make clamping easier.



Here is a better picture of the layers.



And I also made a second one the next day.

 

[Jokot]

As soon as I saw this I thought G5... This is right up my street.. . I know naff all about woodwork but the color contrast of a light wood and white metal / acrylic finish for the panels is Hella sexy, not personally a fan of dark finishes as it appears to ruin the modern look but I can't wait to see how this goes, subbed

Yeah I am going for a modern/Nordic design so thats the main reason there is no darker wood in this one

 

[Jokot]

More work on the handles.









I made grooves in the handles using the big router in previous picture.







Now just cut both of those in half and I will have my four handels.









And a few pictures without tape.

 

[Jokot]

Making the frame.



Used the same big router for these parts.

 

[Jokot]

I love these custom wood builds, they look incredible.

I think it would look great with a wood cover on the front protruding out a couple of centimeters to allow good air flow.

Something like this.

Yeah I thought about it but I will probable go with aluminum panels to get a more modern feeling

From what Ive seen, I would concider adding mesh to the top.

Yes there will be small air vents on the top panel.

Time to put every thing together for a test fit

 

[Jokot]

Subbed - stunning attention to detail.

I like the stark contrast of natural wood meets industrial aluminium - looking forward to end result - great stuff.

Thank you! yeah thats what I am going for I didn't want it to be all wood because I wanted a more modern look

 

[Jokot]

Long time since last update, will try and make up for it with a longer one then usual

First of I finished all the wood working and added the corner pieces that will be holding the front and back pieces in place.













Not a single screw will be used for the wood frame itself its all held together with wood joints so it was really solid even before applying glue.



Here is plexi for the side windows.



This is what it looked like when it was all clamped in for the glue to dry.





I really like how the bends turned out with the different layers.



Front and back are made of some spare material I found, actually have no idea what its called. But Its made up of some kind of plastic in the middle and very thin aluminum on both sides, that made if very easy to machine with wood tools.









Made a wooden jig to help with cutting the holes for the front intake fans, and it worked really well. And thanks Mnpctech for the awesome template.

 

[Jokot]

Amazing Craftsmanship.

Thank you

 

[Jokot]

Fantastic, can't wait to see more updates.

OMG, the woodwork on that, just impressed!

Any updates. This is a lovely project I would love to see it completed

Same, hoping it gets completed

great design and looking forward to seeing this progress.

Looking good!

Thank you guys! been a while... but its time to finish the project so stay tuned

very slick indeed... is that a school/workshop?

Thanks, yes that is at school

love this! just a note, from your 3d render, the gpu clearence seems to be just single slot?

Thanks, you will be able to use dual slot card but will need to be watercooled because no cooler clearance for air.

 

[Jokot]

Long time no update

But its finally time to finish this project.







Moterboard tray fresh of the printer.



I used inserts for the screws that will be holding the motherboard in place.





And here is the backplate in place.





Radiator brackets and every thing put together inside the case.

 

[Jokot]

loving this, now this is modifying lol

Glad you like it

Looking great. As much as I love 3D printing, for any visible parts you should get your designs laser cut (or milled) from metal (brass would go great with this build!) or acrylic. Whatever works best. Would be a tidier finish. You can use the printing for prototyping.

Thank you, aluminum would be my go to but without a CNC and my printer dialed in, its just way to easy to go with 3d printed parts