The Left Handed Build

piggin · 24 Mar 2011 at 22:50

JohnTedd said:
I would be very interested (you may have seen my attempts in my project log) particularly in how to braid and make up cables from scratch without splashing out on loads of tools.

Yes m8, I have seen your braiding. Nice job.

I will see if MrsP will do some camera work (or soldering) on the weekend.

I will see what I can put together & post it in the build log

King Damager said:
A 'mini' how to braid guide would be nice

Looks like the build is coming along nicely

And yeah I think it is a universal thing you know... My girlfriend's favourite few are 'that costs HOW MUCH?'
and
'Yes, but do you really need it?'

kd

lol, yes I have had the HOW MUCH one a few times now.
I had another big box delivered the other day (more disapproving looks from MrsP)
Unfortunately, she had to sign for it as I was in work. So no hiding that one. :mad:

I did have a very cunning plan, both of us in work, miss the delivery man & I pick up the box on the way home.
Unfortunately the delivery driver missed us both in the morning but called back in the afternoon as MrsP was getting home from work. BUSTED

alex2k10 · 25 Mar 2011 at 15:33

piggin said:
lol, yes I have had the HOW MUCH one a few times now.
I had another big box delivered the other day (more disapproving looks from MrsP)
Unfortunately, she had to sign for it as I was in work. So no hiding that one.
I did have a very cunning plan, both of us in work, miss the delivery man & I pick up the box on the way home.
Unfortunately the delivery driver missed us both in the morning but called back in the afternoon as MrsP was getting home from work. BUSTED

This is why i get all my stuff delivered to work. Granted people at work look at me funny be the misses never finds out so thats all good. Imagine if i put this much thought into my work i would probs be getting paid more and the misses wouldnt care what i spent o well lol.

JohnTedd · 25 Mar 2011 at 16:27

alex2k10 said:
Imagine if i put this much thought into my work i would probs be getting paid more and the misses wouldnt care what i spent o well lol.

Hmmmmm I don't believe it is possible for a wife to think that you earn enough (and therefore not care what you are spending)

piggin · 27 Mar 2011 at 17:27

alex2k10 said:
This is why i get all my stuff delivered to work. Granted people at work look at me funny be the misses never finds out so thats all good. Imagine if i put this much thought into my work i would probs be getting paid more and the misses wouldnt care what i spent o well lol.

Unfortunately I can't get my stuff delivered to work.
Even if I did come up with some cunning plan, I would be found out.
Then I would be in even deeper trouble. :mad:

JohnTedd said:
Hmmmmm I don't believe it is possible for a wife to think that you earn enough (and therefore not care what you are spending)

I agree, the more you earn, the more they spend.

RJC · 27 Mar 2011 at 18:23

Been keeping a eye out on this thread, liking the work

piggin · 29 Mar 2011 at 07:34

RJC said:
Been keeping a eye out on this thread, liking the work

Thanks m8.
I have taken a few photos over the week end to do a mini cable braiding/ manufacturing guide.
I will put some words with it & post later in the week (hopefully).

piggin · 30 Mar 2011 at 21:34

As requested by a few people, this is how I produced my cable extensions.
Firstly I purchased some AWG18 copper wire for the cables

I then cut all the cables to the correct length with my side cutters from the pound shop

Each end of the cable had its insulation stripped back (8mm from the end)
(I borrowed a cable stripper for this job)

I purchased male & female atx pins

Place the pin on the end of the cable

Bend the inner tabs of the pin over the exposed copper core

This was achieved by using a small set of long nose pliers (from the pound shop)

Then fold the outer tabs over the insulation of the cable

I decided that I required a little help with the soldering. As Mrs P was not that keen, I purchased a set of helping hands

A quick blob of solder on the wire/inner tab section.

The next stage is braiding the wires.

First cut up some heat shrink (Mrs P was very helpful with this but she did get carried away)

Place a piece of 3mm (3:1 shrink ratio) heat shrink on the end of the pin/wire.

Then apply heat (Mrs P's hairdryer did the job)

Repeat this on the other side

I purchased a few mts of braid to do this project

Cut the braid to length & slightly melt the ends to stop them fraying. (Used a cigarette lighter for this, pound shop again)

Place the cable up the inside of the braid

Put a piece of 7.9mm heat shrink over the top of the braid.

Now fit the ATX plugs (these are directionalised & will only fit one way)

Shrink the end in the correct position.

After a little time, you will have this

G-Dubs · 30 Mar 2011 at 21:59

very nice guide

could you message me intrust where you got your braid. i'm guessing not ocuk so don't want to breach forum rules

i've been looking for some of the fabric type braid for an upcoming project.

JohnTedd · 31 Mar 2011 at 16:16

I really appreciate the mini guide, along with details of where you got your tools.

We've got a 99p shop near us - perhaps they have those tools and I could save even more money

Diggsy · 31 Mar 2011 at 16:28

Good guide, and the braiding is great, but the only thing I am not keen on is there is an awful lot of heatshrink used. Was that deliberate?

Turambar · 31 Mar 2011 at 16:31

piggin said:
Firstly I purchased some AWG24 copper wire for the cables

Typo? You're using AWG18 (standard size for PSUs judging from the two I have in front of me) wire from the photo. AWG24 would be far too thin surely.

piggin · 31 Mar 2011 at 22:48

JohnTedd said:
I really appreciate the mini guide, along with details of where you got your tools.

We've got a 99p shop near us - perhaps they have those tools and I could save even more money

No problem m8, I would stick with the £1 shop as the quality is a little bit better.

Diggsy said:
Good guide, and the braiding is great, but the only thing I am not keen on is there is an awful lot of heatshrink used. Was that deliberate?

Thanks Diggsy, I put an extra few mm of heat shrink on the ends of the cables, as I have had problems with braid pulling out of the ends in the past.
I have pulled & bent these cables extensively with no problems.

Turambar said:
Typo? You're using AWG18 (standard size for PSUs judging from the two I have in front of me) wire from the photo. AWG24 would be far too thin surely.

Turambar, thanks for pointing that out, it is AWG18 or 1mm.
The confusion arouse when I was going to use AWG24 for the 24 pin extension but decided on standardizing everything with AWG18.
This also meant, I only had to purchase one coil of cable instead of two.
Therefore keeping the cost down :rolleyes:

Guitarman0 · 31 Mar 2011 at 22:55

Great guide mate. Makes me want to make my own cables and rebraid

piggin · 5 Apr 2011 at 22:59

Thanks, hopefully I will have more time tomorrow evening to put up my next update.

JohnTedd · 6 Apr 2011 at 11:39

piggin said:
This also meant, I only had to purchase one coil of cable instead of two.
Therefore keeping the cost down

Mrs Piggin must be so proud of your thriftiness

piggin · 6 Apr 2011 at 21:51

lol, I don't think Mrs P sees it that way.

Especially when things like this turn up on the door step.

Just like christmas all over again.

Only purchased a few items this time.

I required a few 140mm fans

Also a few 120mm fans

Also needed a few cold cathodes

SATA power connections

Pipe fittings

3 pin fan fittings & pins

Anti vandal switches

Some good old MX3

Had to get the MX3, as I purchased this

Normal high standard of fittings in the box

Quick look at the contents of the box

And finally the block

JohnTedd · 8 Apr 2011 at 18:18

Achtung! Competitor labels on your photos....

Wow that is a lot of kit. I can see Mrs. P glued to the shoe catalogues now...

Can't wait to see it all in place.

JohnTedd · 8 Apr 2011 at 18:19

piggin said:
Anti vandal switches

These aren't to protect against Mrs. P are they?

Gundog48 · 8 Apr 2011 at 18:22

Now those are some proper fans! Any idea how loud they are going to be?

piggin · 10 Apr 2011 at 06:25

JohnTedd said:
Wow that is a lot of kit. I can see Mrs. P glued to the shoe catalogues now...

Can't wait to see it all in place.

I thought that would be the last box but more have come this week.
I think the shoe bill is going to be massive :eek:

JohnTedd said:
These aren't to protect against Mrs. P are they?

I am more concerned about the case itself. As it will sit on the floor, I will have to place armco around it to stop Mrs P with the hover.

Gundog48 said:
Now those are some proper fans! Any idea how loud they are going to be?

They will not be very loud, as they will all be run through fan controllers.
The 38mm fans shift a lot of air at low speeds.