Project :: Tech.Blue

I've been wanting to do a Full case mod for awhile and I think I have the confidence in myself now to do it . I'm taking an Antec SLK-3700BQE and doing a few cool mods that I liked around here and putting them into one. I wanna let ppl know that this is my first mod and it's not going to be anything extreme. Simple and clean is what I'm going for. Hopefully a lot of you guys can help me out cause I already have questions, but first, the ideas and materials to be used.


Here's the window that used to be in there, but that's coming out for one with no holes and that is larger.



Here's the plexiglass to be used. the stuff is pretty cheap so if i screw up, no big deal:




Here's the screws that are going to hold the window in place and add a little flavor to the outside.




I'm getting rid of the ugly "ripples" in the front of this thing and putting in some mesh. Here's a trash can I found for about 5 bucks that had the mesh I thought I wanted but I think it's gonna be a little more open than I wanted.






All cut up. If you're wondering why I got a trash can, it's because I couldn't find any mesh that I liked. If you guys know of any good places besides modders mesh, then speak up.




I practiced cutting the old window and decided to try my hand at frosting it for possible use in the mod later on. I only had 400 grit and kept the grain going the same way so that it wasn't THAT bad. I need to get some 1000-2000 grit stuff and then it'll look sweet.





Ideas:

I wanna cut the window in such a way that you see everything except the drive bays. I'm not going to put in any design, i just wanna make it as big as possible without the cold cathode in direct view. Cutting things is where I start to back out, so if you guys could offer some tips and tricks on the best way of cutting plexi, case plastic and case steel, that would rock. The mesh in the front is going to slightly offset because the the front 120mm fan is off to the side and I want that with it's 4 x LEDs in plain view, but i also want the "ripples" in the front completely gone so it's gonna be somewhat of a "P" shape. Past that, I'm open to ideas and I'm sure i'll come up with more as the project moves on.

Thanks for reading.

Looks good man, keep it up. I like to see first time modder work. it gives me hope lol.

Don't use 1000 or 2000 grit... It will make it less frosted, like, a lot less... The Max i'd go is 800 grit...

KrakenGuy said:

Don't use 1000 or 2000 grit... It will make it less frosted, like, a lot less... The Max i'd go is 800 grit...

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i don't really mind how frosted it is, I just want it to be as smooth as possible.

LunchboX3904 said:

Cutting things is where I start to back out, so if you guys could offer some tips and tricks on the best way of cutting plexi, case plastic and case steel, that would rock.

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I am a fan of the jig saw. I know lots of people frown upon it, saying it's hard to get a good clean cut, but if you're doing something as big as a window it will be pretty easy and come out nicely if you take your time. If you do use a jigsaw, just make sure you mask around where you are cutting the plexi because it'll get scratched up otherwise. Check Home Depot for a high tooth per inch count on the blade too. I think the one I use is 32 TPI and it has worked great for plexi, steel and aluminum. Still would be the hardest to cut, but if you take your time it'll be fine.
After you're done with the cuttin, defintely sand/file the edges of everything though to get them straight and smooth.

My few cents

got a 79 cent cabinet magnet and hot glued it into where the plastic latch was on the door. now i can throw it closed and there's nothing to break.

Thanks for the tips Waffle. That's what someone else told me to do as well. I think i'm gonna see if I can't find a practice case to chop up keep the advice coming, I appreciate all of it.