making a Wood computer case

[justanoob]

Im thinking of making a wood computer case out of maple. My biggest question is how would i protect my components from shock(and other untimely death) and how would i achieve max/efficient airflow. Also how would i protect the wood from heat, would a standard polyurethane or spray lacquer work?

 

[mrmez]

Should work fine. Wood doesn't conduct, so accidental electrical shorting isn't an issue, neither is heat.

Just gotta measure and drill holes for mobo standoffs, drives, psu etc etc. Will take a bit of planning to get everything spaced and installed nicely.

As for cooling, depending on use/components etc, you should be fine 1-2 intake fans and 2 exhaust fans (also an exhaust for the PSU). Have a look at existing cases to get an idea.

 

[techgeek]

However the opposite is also true. Because wood doesn't conduct, it can allow electrical potential to build up between the electronics and the chassis which can be accidentally discharged via static into sensitive components. Also the chassis acts as a ground plane keeping EMF interference from affecting the stability of the system.

If you intend to do this, I would consider using a plate beneath the motherboard to mount it to. This should provide an electrical connection through the motherboard to the IO shield as well. Also at the very least I would consider running a grounding wire from the chassis of the PSU to this plate. Everything else should be fine, though I might consider grounding the HDD's / SSD's to the plate as well. This should keep everything at the same potential. Ideally the drives should be grounded through the GND on the power connectors, but sometimes you don't get a proper grounding connection to the chassis of the device.

 

[justanoob]

so i would attach a plate to the wood case, then use standoffs and screws to attach the motherboard to the plate?

 

[techgeek]

Yes, that's what I'd do. Then run a ground wire from the ground plate to the chassis of the PSU and possibly the drive cage. Have you given any thought how you want to manufacture the drive cage. You might want to consider finding a cage from a metal case and mount that inside you wood case. In this case then I'd run a wire from the plate to the drive cage. That should take care of all your grounding concerns.

Do you intend on having any front panel connections? USB, analog headphone jacks, etc.

 

[justanoob]

I would atleast have power,reset, and some usb ports. could I make the drive cages out of wood too, or would it be too difficult/ grounding problems.

 

[techgeek]

Well the grounding "could" be an issue. Technically speaking, the drive should connect the GND from the power connector to the chassis as well as the electronics. However you can't always rely on this connection. Especially if paint or anodizing is isolating the connection. As for difficulty, depending on your proficiency, you should be able to make the cage from wood. Another thing to consider is the cage itself can act like a heatsink for your drives. With wood, it won't help dissipate the heat. Something to consider.

As for the front plate USB connections, I would consider putting these on a metal plate as well which should be grounded. In this case it might be easier to make a metal plate front connector plate with all your switches and connectors on it and then mount it to the case. Then just ground the plate.

 

[MasterDell]

Literally just made a computer out of wood. Works great. It looks pretty nice. I put in a red plexiglass window to see everything and also a hinged door for the top of the case to be able to see anything. Putting a GPU in was too tricky and this build was just for AFKing in OSRS so I used a staggering AMD-2650. It honestly works so well. For a power switch it was a bit janky. I drilled a little whole in a discrete location and put the switch I got off of Amazon there: http://www.amazon.com/HDE-Power-Motherboard-Switch-Button/dp/B00345WH4A

I considered static as being an issue and I was going to put fire resistant paint on the inside to contain the fire (if it happened). But I decided to just not even bother since it wouldn't matter if the think did catch on fire.

The wood I used took a while to choose. I kept going everywhere to find the right stuff. Originally I was going to use fence paneling and then I went to the floor section for kicks and giggles and then on my way to the checkout at Rona I saw this long piece of board which I believe was meant to be used as a "DIY" shelf piece or something.. Anyways. Worked great. I messed up on my measurements the first time so I have an extra box with red plexi glass kicking around but other than that, no real blips. Out of town right now but Ill definitely post pictures in about a week.

For drive cage I didn't really used one. SSDs could go anywhere so that is an option. But what I did was I used an old laptop HDD and its HDD bracket. I would suggest just using an SSD.

 

[justanoob]

another thing where could i find the front panel connections, just do a google search and look for 3.5/5" bay. As for the power button, just get a dp switch and wire it into my motherboard.

 

[MasterDell]

Edited my post

 

[techgeek]

Well you could look for an old computer case to steal the switches and front panel connectors from. You could also look for a momentary switch at somewhere like newark or element14 (I think that's what they are calling themselves now).

If you go the old computer case route, I'd look for a DIY case and not one from an OEM like Dell or HP. Sometimes OEM's use non standard wiring and connectors on the motherboard end for their cables.

 

[justanoob]

If I still wanted to go with the wood hdd/ssd cage could I just put a plate in and somehow connect the the drives to that. What if I made a separate enclosure for them?

 

[MasterDell]

If I still wanted to go with the wood hdd/ssd cage could I just put a plate in and somehow connect the the drives to that. What if I made a separate enclosure for them?

I really suggest using SSDs entirely and if not that, a 2.5" HDD. SSDs can be mounted anywhere so I don't see much of a point in making a separate enclosure if you got that route. If you have space, you could use a large amount of double stick tape mounting the SSD to the PSU itself. (Sounds insane but as long as the PSU still has ventilation it is just fine). Then secure it by putting a piece of electrical tape over the SSD sticking it the the PSU. This is just in case the double stick tape decides to give up one day.

 

[justanoob]

Yea since I already have two hdds, getting all ssds wont work. If I wanted to my a metal/wood hybrid drive case how would I ground them?

 

[MasterDell]

Almost positive HDDs/SSDs are grounded through SATA power connectors.

 

[techgeek]

Yea since I already have two hdds, getting all ssds wont work. If I wanted to my a metal/wood hybrid drive case how would I ground them?

As I said it's not an absolute must because the chassis "should" be connected via the power cable. However when these are designed, the manufacturer does make some assumptions, one being that your chassis is likely to be steel (or some other electrically conductive material) and will get a chassis ground via the case.

The most important in my opinion is first that the motherboard is mounted to the plate and that plate is somehow grounded to the power supplies chassis.

If you go with a wooden drive cage, just go with that and see how it goes.