Project:- F M J

G-Dubs · 13 Aug 2011 at 11:03

I managed to get my hands on a server case a little while back, and now that Project Modzart is well under way I thought i'd get things started on this one.

Many thanks to all who participated in the thread to choose a name for this Project, and special thanks to Biffa for coming up with the chosen title.

It was a very close run thing with many great suggestions, (all better than my own initial thoughts I hasten to add). So thanks again to all who helped out there.

The Case itself is made of 3-4mm steel and is very well built. And when I say very well build I mean you get the impression you could shoot at this thing and there would be very little damage.

The left hand side panel is lockable, with the right only removable once access is gained to the inside of the case.

The case has removable sides, a fully removable Mobo tray and ample cable management round the back. There is an HDD rack for 3 HDDs in the front, and room for 3 more in the base of the case.

The front of the case sports a heavy duty steel door, again lockable and pretty tough.

All internal stripped out and ready for work to start.

G-Dubs · 13 Aug 2011 at 11:36

schizo said:
that case is butt ugly....looking forward to seeing how you make this into one of your superb build's mr dubs

Yeah I specialise in Butt ugly.

I was drawn by it's build quality and potential. I've had cases with lockable doors before (SonataIII) but for the most part the doors are plastic so not really a dterant as such.

G-Dubs · 17 Aug 2011 at 20:51

Seraph said:
Fumanju! lol

case is a ugly beast, how big is it exactly? 800D territory? bigger? lol

Smaller than 800D, next time I pay it a visit i'll take some measurements

blitzyuk said:
It looks like you could do with a new tray for that barbecue may i suggest using this case.

A guy could get mighty upset by a statement like that

ReU_VOoDOo said:
Spoken like a Texan!!! Lol, I am very curious to see what you do with this G!!!

For once I've actually got a pretty firm idea of what I want to do here. Modzart however seems to just evlve as it makes it way along.

G-Dubs · 20 Aug 2011 at 18:32

Well we knew it wouldn't be long before Mr Dremel paid a visit didn't we.

2 Jobs for Mr Dremel to do.

First cut the unnecessary bits of the Mobo tray so as to improve airflow.

Job done

And secondly cut a window in the side. Man this steel is tough, but job done regardless

G-Dubs · 23 Aug 2011 at 22:04

Not when it has bullet proof glass in it it doesn't

Wish I could get some, but it's anon starter really. What I will be doing is making it look like armoured Glass

As any copper or thief will tell you,l ocks are there to keep honest people honest. If someone wants into your house or car all they have to do is smash their way in. same goes for a PC case with the added disadvantage that they can just carry it away, window or no window. although that said they wouldn't get far with this as it weighs a flipping tonne

On a more serious note, i've got my hole saw so will be adding fan holes to the front to aid it's severely lacking ventilation,and may put one in the roof also as no rear exhaust option.

should behere for weekend, fingers crossed for me, never used a hole saw before

As I always say. any modding activity that you complete with the same number of fingers as you started it with has to be considdered a success.

G-Dubs · 26 Aug 2011 at 22:31

So what have we got here then....

G-Dubs · 27 Aug 2011 at 22:42

Both right, but it's 114mm holesaw. 114 is the size you need when working with a 120m fan.

It's a bank hiliday and Sunday is Modding day

That's if I can manage to ignore the Beer festival at the seaside town near me.

G-Dubs · 28 Aug 2011 at 23:30

I think anything between 114 and 117 is fine, but 120 is too big for sure.

having used the 114 for the very first time today I can say I think it's a pretty good size.

Used the holesaw to cut some holes in the front panel for a pair of 120mm fans.

I'd only just finished using the saw to cut the acrylic for the Modzart build and can tell you that going thriough 3mm of stell is a lot harder than 3mm of acrylic.

G-Dubs · 29 Aug 2011 at 16:33

Today I've been filing down the edges of the areas where I've been cutting and also filling the holes at the bottom of the case to give a cleaner look.

Not much to show for a days work, but you've got to go through this patch to get to the enjoyable stuff.

Used wood filler rather than metal (as it was all I had. I've used wood filler before on cases and it's absolutely fine. I'm actually convinced from the smell that it's the same stuff anyway.

The Big hole is where the lock goes.

Case and internals all keyed and waiting to be washed prior to their primer coat.

G-Dubs · 29 Aug 2011 at 19:38

Now worries happy to share what I do, but i'm no expert mind.

If painting plastic then I follow the process below

Rub over with 600grit just to give a key.
wash down the parts with water and washing up liquid to remove all grease. Rinse very well and allow to air dry turning occasionally while wearing rubber gloves.
just before painting I go over with a tack cloth.
If Aluminium I then use an Etch primer and allow to dry. If steel or Plastic I just go straight to Primer undercoat.
paint with Halfords grey or white Primer/undercoat.
A few coats of this then a a rub down with 1200 grit to remove any imperfections.
Wash down again and rinse well and allow to dry.
Top coat with many light coats. Don't get carried away.
Paint surfaces horizontal wherever possible.

You have 2 main enemies.

Dust and stuff floating in the air.
Grease. Mainly from your fingers.

Hope it helps, any questions just ask away.

G-Dubs · 29 Aug 2011 at 21:02

So what you got planned KD?

G-Dubs · 31 Aug 2011 at 20:24

I've now taken the case totally apart. I say totally apart, but in fact 8 screws will see it essentially flat packed.
All parts have been sanded and washed down in detergent and given a good rinse prior to painting, and left in what's passing for sun on the bank holiday Monday afternoon to dry.
They'll all get a going over with the tack cloth prior to painting. I'll be using Halfords grey primer undercoat first then copper on the inside and Tamya olive drab on the outside.
Might also try my hand at a bit of a logo on the front door.

G-Dubs · 1 Sep 2011 at 12:58

King Damager said:
You could fit 2 pcs in Dubs' other current log!

Just out of interest, how do you sand down? By hand? or a mechanical alternative (e.g. sanding disc on a dremel)

P.s. Just out of curiosity, how many pcs do you actually have these days?!

kd

all prep is by hand. its the only way to feel for the finish.

PC wise I have the following
WC skelly i7 920 etc
WC CM690 as above.
carboot has an old amd system in it and isnt used
an icute with an old amd which isnt used

case wise the story is a bit diferrent
cobra skelly
assorted beige boxes some with internals but untested. carboot jobs for a few £
FMJ which is work in progress
MODZART which is work in progress

there might be a few other odds and sods around but i think thats it.

G-Dubs · 4 Sep 2011 at 16:31

I've spent most of the day final prepping and getting the undercoat on.
using my usual favourite Halfords Grey Primer/undercoat.

I'm also going to be using the fans that came with the case. The smaller set will be used to move air over the HDD area.

And being as the switches and activity/power light mounts will be visible within the case we can't really have them looking all beige can we.

Think I might have enough G Clamps now

And finally rain stops play. I actually managed to get the first coat of top coat on the inside of the door but unfortunately rain drips splashed onto it so it will all have to be re done when it's dried out.

G-Dubs · 4 Sep 2011 at 17:59

haddows101 said:
for the amount of modding you do im suprised you aint done something with your water feature

Mrs Dubs has suggested I "Mod" the roof so that it doesn't leak

G-Dubs · 4 Sep 2011 at 20:09

haddows101 said:
a bit like my missus, comes up with an idea for some1 else to do xD

get some liquid roof coating sealer and just paint it on unless its a hole you got a wee bit more work on your hands

It's been repaired to death so time for a re roof. On that section anyway, the rest isn't too bad.

G-Dubs · 8 Sep 2011 at 14:58

Well not only did rain stop play for the last few days but it also ruined a few paint jobs. Not only on this Project but on the other one I have on the go at the moment "Modzart". The roof found a new place to leak, right next to where I store the parts one they have dried. What happened was thousands of tiny little splashes all over the paint. I tried wiping off but no joy, so had no option but to re key slightly and re spray. Not such a pain on this project as it was due to have another coat or two, but a major setback for Modzart as it's a big Bu&&er to spray.
In my Wrath I didn't take any pictures, but have spent the last few days sorting it all out. So rain permitting the copper coat to the inside of this case is now done.

Internals sprayed separately of course. This is the floor mounted HDD rack. I've also had to trim off one of the fan supports as it won't fit behind the lower of the two front case fans.

I'm just in love with this copper paint at the moment (you probably noticed). I think it's going to look really good with the Olive Drab green the exterior is going to be painted.

Windowed side panel interior

Well as soon as this lot is dry its time to mask up for the exterior painting.
I've also got my window ordered. As the Acrylic is only a few quid I've ordered a mid grey tint and an amber colour. Not sure which will look best so we'll have to wait and see when it comes.

G-Dubs · 8 Sep 2011 at 15:43

Cheers KD

I got the Plastics from these people.

http://www.plasticonline.co.uk/

Don't think this link is against forum rules as I've had a look round OCUK and I can't see that it would be in direct competition with them. if it is however I apologise and ask that the mods please don't give me a Holiday.

i've used them a few times. Prices are really good but shipping always seems to be about £6-7 no matter what you order so it's worth putting in a biggish order in one go to minimise shipping costs.

For example the windows I chose camt £3ish each shipping was £6 so I added on a few more pieces at about £3-4 and shipping only rose to £7.

G-Dubs · 8 Sep 2011 at 20:48

A late evening update for all you loyal forumites.

I managed to squeeze in a bit more painting before the chill of the evening arrived.

Don't mean to sound all doom and gloom but summers over guys.

Hopefully this should give a bit of an impression as to the colour combination i'm looking to create with this project.

The colour is Humbrol Matt 86 Light Olive. I've used it and Humbrol paints before, and although they're not cheap they do go on really nice and offer a range of colours that you can't really get from B&Q or Halfords.

It's hard to know if a colour concept will work until you actually get the paint laid down and see the colours next to each other.

So does it work?

G-Dubs · 11 Sep 2011 at 20:10

Very tedious and tiresome amount of masking to be done before top coating but finally we're getting there.

Before painting I thought I might change the filters in my dust mask.

Glad i did as I had no idea just how bad they were.

The dust mask and the Humbrol paint I'm using for the exterior.

And finally the top coat goes on.

Just the top and the doors left to go but annoyingly I don't think I have enough paint left.