Custom Wooden Pc Case

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Rockergage

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Aug 4, 2014
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For woodshop class i planned to make a pc case out of wood in the shape of a Tardis. I understand it is possible but i am wondering about what i should do. I plan to have the motherboard be on the bottom of the case, should i layer the walls or floor with something? Should i place the mobo up against the walls or should i stay and inch or half an inch away? I planned to be about 1ft by 1ft by 2ft for the case with the top part and the bottom walk up base be extra which i build afterwards, would my fans be good if i put them with two on the bottom pushing air through and up to air on the side where the fans will pull the air out. i plan to use some random Intel mobo, a 800W or 850W PSU, four fans, Intel i5 4690K, a GTX 980 or 970 *fans aimed towards to push air towards the other airflow, would this be adequate or if more fans would work? Two more questions, One i had plans to make the top light thing be the power button, i wanted to make it so i pushed on it, it would go down, it would power up and play the doctor who Tardis noise. Would it be possible for me to wire the lights into the PSU and the sound thing if i put in a sound card or a small speaker? Final question, for spacing i planned to put the harddrives in a separate sealed off area, so with a 12 x 9 mobo then the 12 by 3 area *if going by 12 by 12, i might change it to 13 by 13 and leave area for the sides or make room for walling*, would that be a good idea if i made sure they were secure, i planned to have them stand straight up too if that changes it.
 
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I am going to get the police box sign for the non pc area part and then put in the small sign on the Tardis door. I'm thinking of seeing if I can make the computer parts be set up on hinges so I can swing it out.

It has turned on and I got Linux to run temporarily. I am going to buy the SSD and Windows 7 os and just run with the crappy Radeon card I have in there.
 
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The fans are in it pretty well and I am pretty sure using door hinges would keep it sturdy as it doesn't vibrate currently and is very quite and cold but the gtx 970 will add noise and heat.

 
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Being blue is kind of an important feature of the tardis :)
It is also said a few times in various episodes that the phone box the tardis is copying is made of wood, hence it also seems as if it where made of wood. Either the OP is being incredibly dedicated to his replica, or just convenience, it doesn't take away from the fact that it is REALLY COOL!!! I would love to have a case like that, but I like my own DIY wood case better (IKEA effect for ever :lol:), even though it's more of a test bench ATM.
 
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Hey Ryan, since you mention that you're a master carpenter, would you mind sending me a PM with a brief tutorial on how to properly stain wood? The tutorial I found online was quite vague about how to apply the stainer and how many coats to do. It would be a great help if you would, but any tips at all would be greatly appreciated.
 
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@OP im no master carpenter but i have worked wood a bit.

heres my advice.... use mineral spirits.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/2223728780835008845?lsf=seller:8740,store:16323016027572812088&prds=oid:2348001727438775887&q=home+depot+mineral+oil&hl=en&ei=HqHIVp-jFcje-QGhlqKIBA&lsft=cm_mmc:Shopping-_-LIAs-_-D24-_-202500132

this is a great product i'd really reccomend. it will bring out the woods natural grain and beauty and give it a very supple feel. a VERY easy way to get a consistent, smooth finish is to put it in one of these

http://www.walmart.com/ip/47817590?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227034975093&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=75435790954&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=175394860594&veh=sem

put the mineral oils in this spray bottle and turn the nozzle all the way to the finest spray setting. spray from about 20-30 inches away.

after you apply it to the wood you should definitely wait 24 hours so the wood can absorb the minerals and some of the moisture can evaporate off the surface.

then id reccomend applying it again, and waiting another 48-72 hours before putting your electronics on it.

DISCLAIMER: IVE GOT NO EXPERIENCE WITH PUTTING WOOD FINISHES WITH HIGH TECH ELECTRONICS. This is why i reccomend the extra waiting time to ensure any moisture has left the surface.....


another option is just a regular polyurethane by paint brush. and i would recommend water based as opposed to oil based because it will be a lot harder to see brush lines or other inconsistencies.

if you do 3 or 4 coats of a polyurethane you can then use a polishing sand paper (rated at like 220 or something very high) to polish it. higher the number the better beaucase you want to shine it without chewing thru the finish
 
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The reason i am not staining it or giving it a gloss is that i want the rough and gritty look at times. I want it to look like its the Tardis that went through milleniums. i am not done yet, i have 4 more parts to put on and install the HDD and SSD but other then that its completely functional. i am going to do the phone box sign and try to do the door sign that says its for official police business blah blah blah. Then i got a tardis lamp coming in for the top part where i will hide the power button. I will probably post the end result early march.
 
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I opened it back up to see if i could fix ram as i thought there was suppose to be a space between two slots and the colors went Red, black, Red, Black so i thought two reds Good to go screw the manual. Any ways i realized my heatsink wasn't allt he way in as it was one of the few thigns i've never installed as this was also my first computer build. *Did it really fast for my first computer build, even though i didn't install a real GPU or the CPU fan right or HDD's and SDD's. Took me like 40 minutes maybe less.

 
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Might have ruined the "windows" where there was no paint, i tried white, didn't like it and then I tried out black and i am waiting on it to dry. going to make the phone box sign tomorrow and then see how the "windows" look and make a white outline for the six individual windows.
 
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the windows look like there are H's in them and the policebox sign is crudely drawn, my only regret is that i didn't make it look like a sign from the little rascals and have backwards writing. i will post pictures to imgur in a bit, my graphics cards is fucking up and i don't know what shitty version of radion it is. So i am thinking of waiting to get the GTX 970 and hten just throwt hat shitty card at a homeless man.
 
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I have an urge to water cool my cpu, and I really don't want to cut anymore holes could I just have the radiator attached to the wall without holes behind it and have the fans pointed at the intakes
 
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