Wooden PC case*UPDATE 1*

[WindowsDOS]

Hey guys, as the title suggests, I am making a wooden pc case.
Here is my design:

I am going to use a suspended HDD by having the hdd mounted onto a small platfrom from wood.
The optical drive will be the same type of thing.
Now, I have a couple questions.
1) Do I need to place it on a MB tray from a per-made case?
a) If not, how do I ground it?
2) How do I get a power button/reset button?

3)Are there any electrical worries I should have?
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Now, Let's dispel some myths
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Wood ignites at 450F

I will have two 80mm fans on the bottom, and one out the back for ventilation--This will insure the cooler air is coming in, and pushing the hotter air out

Any help is appreciated 😀
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NEW PROGRESS UPDATE-I have finished the Basic from of the case out of wood--will help decide where to put things--will post pictures soon

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I'll reply once I get to my Pc mate
Moto

 

[WindowsDOS]

Lol k

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Right, home now, I couldn't really type all this on my mobile lol

You don't need a mobo plate, although having one will make things a hell of a lot easier on yourself,
you can rely on the grounding through the psu cables, or for added reassurance, run a wire from one of the psu mounting screws to the mobo plate (you can solder right?, if not just screw it to the plate as well)
power/reset switches
http://www.mnpctech.com/spdprtToggle.html most modding websites sell switches, this one sells switches separately from the wire, scroll down a little to see the 2pin wire that goes to your Mobo, you can have two, one each for pwr and reset or just one for pwr like I do, up to you man
Any electrical worries? shouldn't be, as long as you practice sensible building, no socks rubbing on carpeting/metal in the case/work area you'll be fine
I would go for 120mm fans,not buzzy 80's, but personal pref etc,
and how about mounting the Hdd on something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-off-19mm-right-ANGLE-BRACKETS-fixing-repair-joining-/250905609321?pt=UK_DIY_Material_Nails_Fixing_MJ&hash=item3a6b23c469 then screwing it to the sidewall of the case, out of airflows way?
maybe put the optical drive in a vertical orientation too, front of the case and loads from the top?
as your going to make your own case, I vote you truly make it unique
shout up if I can help with anything else man, and We want pics of the build in progress ok?
Moto

 

[thesnappyfingers]

what kind of wood are you using? How are you finishing the wood? I hope you go natural, or stain it then finish it with a high gloss finish.

Cherry would be sweet but expensive, Poplar is nice two and mimics cherry if you can find the right grain....Now I kind of want to build a wooden case. , but so little time and so lazy with the time that is available.

Keep your progress posted.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

i have wanted to attempt something similar with wood. Making something in the style of an old jukebox or vintage radio. Good luck.

 

[WindowsDOS]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I am using pine and having combo of different stain collies and a high gloss finish. Moto-- since I can't get a mono tray how should I stand the motherboard up from touching the wood? I can solder, so just solder the wires to the psu and where on the mb?

 

[WindowsDOS]

Can the board touch wood? If so I can hold it by making wood clips to hold the board. And like I said, can I just plug it into the psu and let that do tye grounding because I don't have a mobi tray

 

[Motopsychojdn]

^Sorry for delay I sleep daytime hehe

yes the board can touch wood, wood is non-conductive (Yay!)
what I think is the best plan then is to mount the mobo thus,
small 2cm 'shelf' for bottom line of mobo to rest on then,
each hole in the mobo normally used for standoffs screw a normal Mobo screw through and into a standoff, now the Mobo is on little leg type things,
if you get a load of extra standoffs, stack them to make the 'legs' longer, long enough that you can rout/drill aligning holes in the surface its going to be mounted on, then you can glue it into place if you wish
theres an image on here http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareuk.inc&cat=13&post=287667&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

for mobo screw placing, but there may be better ones with measurements out there on the net too, for grounding I would just run a wire from the legs we've made (maybe one at each corner for pretties sake but removable in caqse you ever want to remove the mobo, use one of the little eye type endings you get in http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100PC-ELECTRICAL-INSULATED-CRIMP-WIRE-TERMINAL-SET-RING-SPADE-CONNECTORS-/330626109135?pt=UK_BOI_Materials_Supplies_Electrical_ET&hash=item4cfada0ecf
one on each end of the wire I reckon

 

[WindowsDOS]

I see that helps alot, but couldn't I use wooden dowels bigger that the standoff hole, trim it down enough so it fits, and put a screw in there with a wire in-between the screw and the wood making contact withthe screw to the psu screws to ground the mobo

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Could do, bit more work involved but you have to make sure the wire is totally shielded once it leaves the screw, you dont want any shorting out
Moto

 

[WindowsDOS]

I see, so what can I do about the drive bays? How can i fit them into the case without a cage?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

You could make the front thick enough, 1'' maybe, that would support the weight of them ok, and maybe a strip of metal joining the drives together, then screwed to the roof or side
Brackets can be made for anything
Moto

 

[WindowsDOS]

Could I just secure it like the HDD?

 

[Anthriel]

Whew! Whatever you do, you have to post pictures! 🙂

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Yup, make sure the little right angle brackets for the optical drive reach the screw holes on it before you buy them,
If you have any old metal meccano lying about, the strips from that make excellent bracket material btw,
already has holes in it and can bend to suit your needs
Moto

 

[WindowsDOS]

Nice. I'm doing this is my studio art class so I don't need to buy anything lol. Pictures up when I get home. Umm, how do I measure where my I/O shield us and how do make sure the pcie slots line up correctly without taking my mobo out?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

The key word there,
Measure 😛
get a normal Pc case and note the relative measurements between things on the rear,
then trace/draw an accurate, not approximate, accurate overlay that you can use to mark up the piece of wood you'll be using for the rear of the case,
that will ensure I/o and pcie stuff is in the right place
Moto

 

[jcgurango]

You should consider that hot air rises and cold air falls when placing your fans. Other than that, the project doesn't even seem all too far fetch. For your I/O shield you should really just check out the one provided by the motherboard you're gonna use. Also, do you plan to sell that case some day? I'm sure somebody would like it.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Even using the supplied I/o shield, Op still needs to cut a hole in the timber for it to sit in 😛
and that ofc must be relative to the pcie slots so no shortcuts I'm afraid
Moto

 

[WindowsDOS]

Yeah i have cosidered ventilation. I will not sell this, It is something that I made and will be personally proud of, sorry.

 

[thesnappyfingers]

You'll sell it, we all eventually sell it 😀 🙁

 

[WindowsDOS]

But I'm using it? I don't understand shy I'd sell it but your probably right. :/

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Because as nice as it is, you will have been bitten by the building bug
and projects get sold to finance the next one,
its the planning and building that gives the buzz hehe
😛
Moto

 

[WindowsDOS]

Lol. Pictures up today when I get home.