December 11, 20187 yr Author Popular Post .. I guess it's tomorrow again... So what do you do while you're waiting for paint to dry?.. You take a look at figuring out how to mount the 3.5" Hard Drive in a somewhat tight for space case. There wasn't enough room in front of the motherboard to mount it without standing it on it's side which blocked the view through the front beveled glass window. ... No that won't do... .. The area behind the power supply?.!!! ... Well now what have we got to work with? First we'll need a metal bracket, or brackets for mounting the Hard Drive in a space only 5" wide. 5" wide means the 3.5" wide by 5.75" drive would have to stand on end, and would leave 1.5", or .75" for outside of the drive per side for mounting. … What about inside mounting of the drive bracket, with easy access to the drive? .. Let's see now, if I take these 3.5" X 5.25" drive bay adapter brackets, rotate the brackets 90° and mount them to the bottom of the hard drive like so... We get 4.5" between the brackets!!! Now how do we go about the easy access mounting? What do we have in scrap wood that might work...3/4" X 2 5/8" X 6"... Cutoff from making top case sides 1/2" X 5 1/2" that's 2 1/2" wide... The 3/4" X 2 5/8" was cut down to a length of 4 1/2" to fit between the metal brackets. It had to be grooved to clear the Hard Drive mounting screws. The cutoff was cut to a length of 4 7/8" The two parts were then glued together to form a T. This is how the wood T fits into the hard drive metal brackets. The wood T bracket gets mounted into the top of the Silver box like so... Rear view... Hard drive, and metal brackets slide onto the wood T. This photo taken with Oak top of case set in place. It's a tight fit, but leaves enough room to connect cables, etc.. This is the view from the front of the case... I'll let the paint on the motherboard tray/backplate assembly dry further overnight before handling it. ... So until tomorrow... Edited December 11, 20187 yr by Larry Buskirk
December 11, 20187 yr Popular Post 7 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said: So what do you do while you're waiting for paint to dry?.. From this thread appears you actually accomplish something... Me, I brew a travel mug of coffee, take a sip or two, then after I wake up, I reheat in the microwave and finish...repeat as often as needed until all paint is thoroughly cured.
December 11, 20187 yr Popular Post Closest project I have in this direction of wiring and computers is my 12 volt power supply for one side of the shop. That was enough.
December 12, 20187 yr Author Popular Post Tomorrow again... Went over and got the motherboard tray/backplate assembly out of the neighbors boiler room this morning. Here it is sitting in the case with the power supply temporarily installed, along with the Hard Drive set into position for final case fitting purposes. I had the original bottom liner under the motherboard tray, and discovered it raised the power supply just enough to hold the top of the case up slightly. So I removed the liner, and everything fit as it should have. So as long as I wasn't going to use the liner, I had to remove the glue/paper/felt that was stuck to the hardboard that was the bottom under the liner. Once I scraped all of the glue, etc. off using a utility knife blade as a scraper I decided to put an air vent in the bottom where the rectangular opening in the tray was. So here it is. I'll be putting a couple of vent holes in the back of the Silver Box behind the drawer tomorrow. These will allow airflow to circulate around the CPU bottom plate for cooling. While I was at it, I discovered that the inside of the upper case section was just slightly larger than the Silver Box. I fixed this by using more of the iron on edge banding. The strips will be affixed to the lower, and back edges of the inside of the upper case section. I use masking tape to hold the banding in position for ironing it in place. And here is one of the almost finished sides. I ended up running two strips next to each other in the back, to fill in around the metal computer case, but didn't take a photo of that. The bottom edge strips line up the insides of both the lower, and upper case sections so that I can run a cleat down both sides to attach the two case halves together. That will be one of tomorrows projects. So until tomorrow...
December 13, 20187 yr Author Popular Post Tomorrow again, so time for my daily update. Today I got the holes drilled for the lower case vents. I also surrounded the area with more of the iron on edge banding. The banding frames the edge of a metal grate I cut out of the Compaq case side panel. I also framed off the top of the upper case section. I used 1/2" X 1 1/4" Oak strip for the front, and sides. And a piece of 1/2" X 3/4" Oak strip for the rear edge. This is how the front view looks. Here's how the lid will fit. This is the two case halves stacked, and with the lid. I'm in the process of making a partial filler panel for the front window area. I'll be filling about half of the opening (left side) with an Oak filler panel. I'll only be using two of the small glass panes on the right side of the opening. I'll be adding something cool in the area that I'm filling in. That's all for today... So until tomorrow..
December 13, 20187 yr Why does it need a window on the front? Do you have to keep an eye on the electrons or something. Maybe make them walk in formation or do formations like a marching band?
December 13, 20187 yr 31 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said: That's all for today... So until tomorrow.. Coming along very nice...got me intrigued now. Never thought about combining woodworking with a computer build to make it retro. When this is done will it pick up WLS with Larry Lujak, Little Tommy and Animal Stories?
December 14, 20187 yr Author Popular Post 22 hours ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: Why does it need a window on the front? Do you have to keep an eye on the electrons or something. Maybe make them walk in formation or do formations like a marching band? It really doesn't need a window in the front, but having it will let me view the big copper finned CPU heatsink. It looks kind of like one of the old finned tube radio tuners. 22 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said: Coming along very nice...got me intrigued now. Never thought about combining woodworking with a computer build to make it retro. When this is done will it pick up WLS with Larry Lujak, Little Tommy and Animal Stories? Thanks Dave, I've got a few more things to retro it up. Some of them will be in addition to the case build. This build will be my new "Command Center", and the case is just the beginning of this build. All of the "Old AM" radio hosts, Larry Lujak, Dick Bionde, The Wolfman, etc. .. Well, it's tomorrow again so here's my latest project update. I modified the drawer, and lower case section to have the drawer stay out 1/2" further when in the closed position for airflow purposes. The back of the drawer was a bit closer to the back of the case than I first noticed. I added 1/4" to the back of the drawer front, along with adding 1/4 inch to the drawer opening depth. Here's how I did the drawer. This is a side view of the case before adding to the drawer depth. The drawer is in the position it will close to. This is the other side after I added to the drawer depth. Here's a view of the front. I've still got to do the other side, the parts are already cut, so I'll glue them up tomorrow. I'll also be adding a 1/4" X 1/2" strip across the top of the drawer. I also filled in the area that shows around the motherboard tray with a piece of Oak veneer. This view shows the grate that will cover the ventilation holes to keep objects in the drawer from coming into contact with the bottom of the motherboard. I used the same type grating for the rear vent intake. They will both be mounted with brass screws. Here's a view of the motherboard tray, power supply, and hard drive set into place over the grate, and Oak veneer. I'll get the other side glued up in the morning, then I'll get the lower case section final sanded, and into finish. I'll be concentrating on the lower case section so I can get the computer assembled, and up and running. I'll then go back to the upper case section, as it can be removed without disturbing the computer. That's it for today.. So until tomorrow..
December 14, 20187 yr Where did you get this grating? I might use that instead of aluminum screen on my next 12 volt power source build. Your project has inspired me to upgrade one I have already.
December 14, 20187 yr Author The grating I cut out of the side panel to the Compaq case that I used the motherboard tray assembly from.
December 14, 20187 yr 6 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said: The grating I cut out of the side panel to the Compaq case that I used the motherboard tray assembly from. Did the same thing for my speaker covers in the ceiling of shop. One's man junk, another man's treasure.
December 14, 20187 yr 37 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said: All of the "Old AM" radio hosts, Larry Lujak, Dick Bionde, The Wolfman, etc. .. Well, it's tomorrow again so here's my latest project update. Those were the good old days...Several of the Animal Stories as well as many of the WLS personalities, station spots etc. from the 60's-80's are on You-Tube. W-L-S 890, in Chicago! "Those were the days my friend." Build is really coming together nicely...this is going to be very cool...looking forward to seeing this all lit up.
December 14, 20187 yr Author 11 hours ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: One's man junk, another man's treasure. The art of repurposing will be further carried on as this build continues. I'll also be repurposing a small "White Clad" cabinet that looks like an old ice box for the base of this computer build. It will house the printer, and printer supplies. I'll also be retrofitting a monitor to go along with the theme of the build. 11 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said: Those were the good old days...Several of the Animal Stories as well as many of the WLS personalities, station spots etc. from the 60's-80's are on You-Tube. W-L-S 890, in Chicago! "Those were the days my friend." Build is really coming together nicely...this is going to be very cool...looking forward to seeing this all lit up. Thanks Dave, I'm still contemplating lighting for inside the case. The CPU cooler has a white lit LED fan. You forgot WCFL out of Chicago as well, and you're right "Those were the days my friend."
December 14, 20187 yr 4 hours ago, Larry Buskirk said: You forgot WCFL out of Chicago as well, Oh no, hadn't forgot WCFL...that's where LLJ originated began before he was with WLS. When one station wouldn't come in, the other would. Kids today will never know about AM radio or the weather signal skip phenomenon. In fact, I had a WCFL antenna ball on my first and second cars. Don't remember the promos for them, but I got one. Wish I had those back...antenna balls & 1st cars.
December 14, 20187 yr 2 minutes ago, Stick486 said: you left out WAAL, Ft Wayne... Don't remember that one, but WOWO, Ft. Wayne was big.
December 14, 20187 yr 12 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said: Don't remember that one, but WOWO, Ft. Wayne was big. they were nation wide w/ the right atmospheric conditions... now for the weather report... (sound of rustling window blind) it's dark... or the moon's out.. or it's raining...
December 14, 20187 yr 2 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said: Kids today will never know about AM radio or the weather signal skip phenomenon. Ain't that the truth!!
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