Project Stealthlow

[waynio]

Case is looking great I really cant wait for the acylic to go in. I'm starting to get a little jelous of your ability to do this O:.

LOL don't be mate I think it helps that I didn't have a big break since completing air cube but thanks .

Started on making the fan mount bars, done the filing on 1 & a half out of 6 bars, I'll need to be ultra persistant to get all 6 complete by the end of the day, there is another 2 or 4 but they are slightly different spec so I'll leave them until I got the main 6 done.
Think I'd better get some gloves on too as my finger tips are starting to blister, just don't like gloves as you can't feel the piece your working on.

Like this but I improved the design a tiny bit, you'll see later .

 

[waynio]

Holy sheet I've developed a muscle in my forearm I never knew existed & it aches a lot, filing total for yesterday & today rounds up to about 17 hours, gahhh I feel like a zombie.

The brass thread inserts are meant for acyrlic but I must have miss drilled the bottom right side holes for the helicoils so were not a good tight fit so I used a 4mm drill bit for the brass inserts, placed them in the hole.

Hammer time

Put masking tape over it to keep it in place & whacked it in with a hammer, then fine tuned the whacking with a small hammer so it was in flush, good stuff , seems I clipped the back panel & it made the right panel not go on correct so whacked the excess off with a chisel & it goes on fine now.

Fan mount bars.

Cut the main 6 bars to required size & was only gonna do these 6 & the other optional 2 or 4 tomorrow but done the lot today.

Many hours of this.

Test fit

Panels on with an extra bolt near the top back of the side panels & the front 2 fan mounts, top fan mount & bottom fan mount filing done.

 

[waynio]

The amount of work being put into this is incredible. Fair play to you mate

Really is taking shape now, can't wait to see the acrylic on

Thanks Diggsy , I might be leaving the acrylic work till last so it doesn't get scuffed although I suppose I could wrap it up & put it aside until it's time to put it all in .

Haven't been to this thread for a while...all i can say is its looking amazing.

Cant wait to see it together

You should really look at getting sponsored for this free stuff is always a bonus hint hint OCuk

Thanks Sayso , I've been building up my skills & knowledge before I take on sponsorship as I wouldn't want to let them down, but during this build & definitely after this I'll be confident enough in my abilities to say yep I can do it anyone wanna sponsor me .

Really starting to look like this build is coming together!

Actually can see a full case now, in a kind of half built form

kd

Yeah it's getting much closer now, thanks kd

@developing muslce in your arms:

Did you never work out / play sports ^?

Oh absolutely & used to do finger pressups but I meant I developed a particular muscle in my forearm that has never had such a workout lol, infact I'm walking funny because of the repetitive actions from all the filing as parts of my body have been over used while other parts haven't had much to do so yeah I have a slightly funny walk at the moment & 1 forearm solid while the other is fairly normal lol .

 

[waynio]

[Charger from l4d2 ]

A fantastic build though, and it is great to see the parts slowly coming together. The workmanship is excellent and I hope you get it finished with no problems!

Thanks Gundog48 .

Just taken the mobo tray out & going to use the rest of today to get it measured & marked up for the motherboard & fan mounts, I'll also have to take the 2nd level out so I can put vents for the PSU at some point.

 

[waynio]

Knowing people are following the log & commenting really does give me that bit more drive to keep moving forward, without the comments from people I'd still be doing slack efforts lol so thanks for that & last but not least thanks to every other modder who do amazing projects who have inspired me to do better .

I marked up the mobo panel for the fan mounts & where the pci/io piece will go during the night but need to make the pci/io piece before I can mark the mobo mounting holes so I'll work on that tomorrow, had a crazy long sleep waking up at 2 pm yesterday after the filing so I count that as 2 days worth of sleep , I should have been up all day too which should mean a decent update by the end of today but I nodded off the sleep so wrecks the acceptable noise time levels so tomorrow it is .

LOL I can't figure out why I didn't draw the pci/io lines on the materials when I drew the mobo tray layout last night as it's taken near 3 hours & it's ready for taking to the garage to be cut out which with it being near 8 pm I'll leave until tomorrow now but a little more rest won't hurt .

This was inspired by an aluminium billet pci/io piece I seen a while ago here on bit-tech but the guys price was I think nearly 200 euros (about the cost of the aluminium on this project), I was in love with it but the price ended that lol so I decided to make my own solid pci/io piece by making layers, the theory is spot on, just hope it turns out the same taken precise measurements from a lian-li piece, made the sketchup model & now it's time to make it.

I'll be using 2x 5mm acrylic sheets, 2x 2mm aluminium sheets & 1x 1mm sheet to make a 15mm thick piece, only the 2mm inside sheet will have slots, all the rest will be plain cut out area, always wanted to make my own & figure this will be the easiest way to do it compared to bending a sheet of alu.

 

[waynio]

Big respect to you for trying something of this calibre mate, subbed!

Can't wait to see the final outcome

Thanks nayan89.

I want an IO/pci bracket machined from billet. Looks so nice, but £200 is better spent! Will be really interesting to see how the layered PCI&I/O plate comes together.

Good work brushing the aluminium - looks VERY nice. What did you use for it - sandpaper/wire wool?

They look bada$$, only seen 1 but yeah it was awesome , for brushing the alu I used satinising mops, pretty much a polishing mop but like wire wool they are excellent for cleaning up messy alu brushing & many other things .

Update

This was going to be an update earlier but got cracking on with an alternative so it wasn't a wasted day .

LOL didn't go to plan :facepalm: the metal work did but the 5mm acrylic pieces didn't it's just soo brittle so came back in to get my thoughts together & as usual came up with an alternative which is all aluminium & if that fails then I could always go with a pci/io piece from another case & admit defeat on making my own but I'll give it another try but yeah that means loads of marking up again which takes a while to do right.

So the new plan is 5 3mm pieces bolted together, got 1 done & checked the IO cover from my last mobo & it won't go in easily because of it being 3mm instead of 1mm thick so to fix that all I need to do is give it a bevel on the last piece so the notches of the IO cover can click on.

Anyway the marking up will be nice & fast actually as I have 1 of the pieces made & it's spot on so it'll make a good template even for the 1 with the slots so back to it I go included the failed acrylic pieces for a laugh, the 1st 1 when drilling ripped a corner off & the 2nd 1 was going ok & cut out the IO piece but the reciprocating saw melted the cuts so wouldn't fall out & with already being frustrated with the 1st piece I whacked it out & it ripped it in half lol.

Hopefully I'll have some more pieces done by the end of the day, especially the 1 with the slots.

Started off positive.

Metal work went well.

Hmmmm acrylic pieces .

Last try but this time all alu .

Alright, got the needed pieces marked up in about 15 minutes thanks to the piece I already made, time to cut these out & even with getting them done as fast as possible it took 4 hours to cut all these & they require a lot of filing, I'll just have to remember it'll be worth it lol.

Yeah they look rough as I don't know what but that will change after heaps of filing .

 

[waynio]

Haha, enjoy the filing! A couple of weeks at this rate and it will be "heaps of sleeving" xD

Just out of interest, you might have answered this one before, but how you going to manage vibration?

kd

Hehe quite possibly .

I'm hoping the 3mm alu with solid connections will prevent vibes, on Air cube the hdd cage was 1mm sheet & was very faint vibes so put some accoustic foam underneath but was still there so the vibes were coming from the middle hdd out of the 5 so tightened up & the vibes went away so this is why I think the 3mm sheet with the solid connections should do the trick but if not it'll be quickly sorted.

 

[waynio]

Started at 9:15 PM, finished 4:40 AM lol, managed to keep the noise quiet by clamping heavily & holding the pieces so they don't make any vibration or high pitch noise, then came in & cleaned the kitchen, made a coffee & started putting this together while parking my rear, ahhhhh .

They still require some more work but nothing major .

 

[waynio]

/me thinks you should invest in a sander ;p

Nice mug btw

kd

Got one but couldn't use it in the middle of the night, the sanding you see in the last pics was just to get the rough stuff off the edges.
Cappuccino power .

Wow! Just seen this log... Great stuff, mate!

Thanks Voices .

 

[waynio]

How long you think it will be now, starting to look better than it did when it looked awesome, so i dont exactly know where that leaves it

Had any ideas for another project while working on this one ?

Hmmm really don't know when it'll be complete, depends on how the pci piece & mobo mountings go, I'd say that is the most important part to get spot on so I'm taking my time on it, pretty much just focusing on 1 bit at a time, I'll get a jig made up today & then leave fixing it together until tomorrow, my right hand has grown from all the filing lol so a day off should help .

Ideas for a new project, not really but since this one is a rematch with my first scratch build with added ideas & challenge & me having my rematch of the cube case both out of the way I'll be doing something very different that isn't based on anything out there but you can bet the pci/io & mobo mount holes will be the same as any other , but I really want to do a retail case mod for a change as I've never done a forum displayed case mod & with my newly developed skills & knowledge I think I could do something pretty sweet & to be honest it could work out a lot cheaper to do, big old case off ebay or something could be the way I go for that or a cheap case elsewhere, preferably aluminium though .

Subbed a while ago. Great stuff here mate, seriously tempted to splash out on some kind of case project when I next build a machine

Thanks Judgeneo, I didn't jump in at the deep end on scratch building, started off with basics like cooling mods & windows etc but went straight from that to scratch builds, was rough for my first 2 but after that it started getting easier, I could recomend some starter tools if you want .

About the current delay.
Forgot to login to say it's on hold until I get the 15mm bolts for holding the pci pieces together, ordered them yeasterday & been told I could expect them to arrive on friday .

 

[waynio]

Rolling on again .

Today I thought why not just make the pci/io jig for while I drill 2.5mm holes for fixing the plates together & used some 2.5mm nuts & bolts while I file them so they blend together better, inside work is done on the 4 plates while the slotted plate needs finishing & the exterior needs the same inside treatment to look good, but yeah I'm liking how they are turning out & the 2.5mm holes are ready to be tapped for m3 bolts .

Think it took about 2 to 3 hours this.

Also while I was getting busy doing this & came back over to see if the bolts had come they have so I have the 15mm m3 countersunk bolts & the m6 countersunk bolts for the case feet (wanted to replace the standard bolts for countersunk ones) but thinking about it I might go with the easy option of using the stock bolts, undecided on that .

 

[waynio]

Great work as always mate.

Now maybe I'm being a little thick here, but is that definately the right way up?

Looks to me that the piece with the slots should be at the other side if you see what I mean?

Edit: looking at your last image in post 256 above, to me that is the correct layout?

LOL correct you are, when you mentioned that I looked at the pics again & then went over to check it out & yep, put the slotted 1 on the wrong side, just glad I can LOL about it as I just took it off the wrong end & put it on the correct end & all is good , I had them dismantled while I was filing the inside edges of the none slotted ones & must have put it back on the wrong side, d'oh thanks for pointing that out though mate before I took it for granted that it was right , but LOL .

I noticed that too and I am glad you said it before it as I thought I was going mad. I actually spend the last 1minute looking at my rig and the image to see if there was an obvious reason.

LOL it's sorted now but those pictures will probably get similar responses so I better update that alls ok .

 

[waynio]

Is it just me or does the pci/io panel look like a big "thumbs up"?
Great work btw, you have put an amazing amount of effort into this.

A thumb with 7 fingers lol .
Thanks ch3333z still want to get it all anodised but I'll have to paint some parts matt black the rest I should be able to get the helicoils out for while it gets anodised, I figure that is the best solution .

I'm just glad you hadn't glued it all together - that would've been a nightmare

Would be a good solution to use adhesive to put them together but I want to get it anodised so that's out of the question really, to be honest all the prep work to have things ready for anodising seems a lot of bother & interferes with the build quite a lot especially with things like helicoils or inserts so maybe a clear primer, then a candy paint & then a clear lacquer is what I should be aiming for with all this.

Also been looking around for a low profile 2x4GB good performance RAM kit same type of performance as the OCZ RAM currently used @ 1600 7,8,7,24 as I've had to resort to using CleanMem & so far since my last reboot yesterday morning it's stayed fine keeping the mem usage nice & low even after a couple of gaming sessions, much browsing, media, lil bit of design so maybe I'll be fine just sticking with that for a while as right now it's at 33% usage out of 4GB, the RAM with high profile heatsinks must be meant for watercooling.

 

[waynio]

I tried, I failed at making my own wish it were billet pci/io piece lol bleep happens, 1 of the bolts snapped in half & is stuck in the piece & the hole is countersunk so can't hide that & can't accept such a big imperfection so I drilled a spare pci/io piece off an old case & I'll go with that now, 2 things I'm gutted about: 1 the amount of time ultimately wasted on making this part. 2: it was starting to turn out awesome.

Also the 15mm bolts I ordered were 13mm this is why I had to countersink deeper so they'd stretch the full length.

I know I could fix it by filling all the holes & using adhesive to stick them together but that's not a standard I'd be truly happy with so I'm gonna try to forget about it & use the standard piece.

 

[waynio]

Surely you can remove the bolt by buying some very strong glue, and glueing the broken end of the bolt onto another smaller bolt. Then unscrew it out? Araldite should do the trick, or am I missing something?

Hehe I've tried that on past projects & is nowhere near up to the job, luckily after food & sleep & thinking about an alternative solution I've done it .

I was premature about calling it a failure .

So here's what I done.

I did the rest of the bolts to hold the plates together & the failed 1 I ignored & did a new bolt very close to it, had to grind the bolt down so it was correct length, then started on the mounting holes for attaching the piece to the mobo tray & back panel, used wd-40 on all the drilling, tapping & then put helicoils in all the mounting holes, I left the expansion card holes alone as I'm thinking of making a clamp piece that holds all cards in place.

So I'm going to use body filler to cover all the countersunk bolt heads & to hide the failed hole & for getting the mounting holes aligned to the mobo panel & back panel I'll use my tried & tested cotton bud stick with a blob of paint on method lol it works perfectly so why not .

 

[waynio]

Looking great, just needs a few bumps smoothed out. Little suggestion, although not sure if it would work - what about filling the holes with solder? You could use flux on them first to give the solder something to adhere to, and then sand it smooth again.

Might be worth trying on a sample piece.

Yeah I know, just focusing on getting it mounted to the mobo panel & back panel first then I'll consider things that could be done, the idea about the solder doesn't sound bad to be honest but I have no flux .

Ugh it's 1 of those days where I'm trying to do something but getting nowhere & just over thinking & was even considering going with a regular pci piece again so came back into the warmth to get my scatterbrain together lol .

My good old method of using cotton bud tips wasn't possible (cotton bud sticks were too thick for the holes), that method was only good for rivets or fan holes so instead I put bolts in the mounting holes, filled the sockets up with paint & then pressed it against the mobo tray so it was perfectly to the edge & it worked perfect, but I found I'll need to do that for the back panel first as there is a tiny gap so yeah that means I have 3 unwanted holes but luckily they are hidden behind an angle bar .

So time to rest, then go at it again tomorrow .

 

[waynio]

Great project to watch develope! Now that you have the pci/io plate in place in your last photo, you can really see the scale of the project! ITS HUGE!!!

Much kudos

Yeah that last picture makes it look gigantic lol .

I don't think you can solder to aluminium - it's too reactive and forms an oxide barrier too easily. And welding aluminium is tricky as the temperature difference between hot enough to just about weld, and a molten pool of aluminium, is quite small iirc.

Wayne - if all else fails would it be possible to blowtorch the aluminium to heat and expand the thread around the bolt and try and unscrew it with some pliers - looks like if you took the top piece off you could get a bit of bolt to grip onto?

Or just remove and remake the top sheet of aluminium, could even dremel the bolt down to as near as level with the second aluminium sheet as possible and place the top bit on with a little divet cut on the underside if needed so it sits flush...

The PCI bracket looks awesome btw - are you planning to paint it afterwards?

I decided to leve the broken bolt in there I'll just use some body filler to cover all the bolt heads & the failed hole & then paint matt black but getting it mounted to the case is the current priority, then getting the outer edges nice & then paint .

Pretty much this!

I mean it looked big before, but jesus!

Also, liking the shot of the wd-40 for scale.... the one thing every man should own!

kd

The last picture looks crazy for the scale of things but it'll look very different once the mobo is in & the psu & the fans, should look fairly cozy once the hardware enters or at least I'm hoping so .

Today I'll be getting the pci piece mounted properly starting with the back panel mounts first .

 

[waynio]

All but 3 of the holes lined up, the off 3 were only off by a smidge so I used my 3mm mill bit to expand the hole to where it was needed & it's nicely done .

My countersink bit is past it's best though & started making a bad job of countersinking so it's time to throw it away but I just ordered a new one so hopefully it will be here soon .

Also with it being so well fixed to the back panel I believe I can get away with not attaching it to the mobo panel, it's all solid so no real need .

 

[waynio]

From my own experience WD40 is rubbish for drilling and taping, go and get yourself a tin of special grease (usualy about 10quid for a massive tin which will last for aaages ).
Tin is white with bright orange stripe somewhere. Can check it tomorrow if you want.

Does the job fine for me qbazdz & is also excellent for getting marker off the metal .

A bit that I think every diy modder fears getting wrong when making the mobo mounts is done & correct so with me not being a drinker or anything I'll post a load of pics instead lol .

So, I put the case on it's side with the io shield in.

Took my last pc & placed it in the case.

Held it up enough to have the io bits fit inside the shield & drawn along the edge & with the edge being drawn I could remove the io shield.

Then line the board up to the line & poke a marker through to get the exact mounting positions, then spot drilled, then drilled, then tried tapping but the tap fell straight through , so I either used the wrong drill bit or drilled it badly so I went back to the trusty brass inserts & made the hole 4mm & whacked them in .

Then put the standoffs in.

Tadaaa & wooooo hooooooo .

Now all I need to do is drill & file the expansion slots in the mobo panel.

Also I pre-drilled the positions for the fan mount bars.

 

[waynio]

Would it not be simply easier to mark where the mobo goes, and then match the i/o panel to it not the other way around ?

LOL it's on & correct & it was an easy method .

Look at the dust on that heatsink!

kd

LOL yeah it missed the every 2 month schedule of an air blast out because of sandybridge in mind .

LOL with the ammount of skin that's probably in the dust on that heatsink, you could clone another person... Imagine how quick the build would come along with two wanios

Hehe awesome comment a week or 2 .