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Like most desks, my desk comes with a cabinet where you can store a computer tower. Like most mid tower cases, it's too big to fit in that cabinet but that wasn't before I started cutting holes with a hole saw to add 80mm fans to the rear for a little extra cooling. Once I found out the case wouldn't fit, I stopped the project.
Fast forward about 2 years and that cabinet was nothing more than an empty box storage unit. I then began building a NAS using a much smaller case; without even thinking about placing the case in there. It just kind of happened by accident. After I got it all together, I thought where in the heck can I store this thing? Then it hit me that the NZXT 210 Source Elite case is small enough to easily fit in that cabinet; but will 80mm fans realistically be enough to keep the inside cool especially when I intend to house 8+ 3.5" HDDs for the NAS?
So it began, I would just open the holes larger for 120mm fans. No problem. Until I started working on it did I realize that there is no place for the pilot bit to drill into to hold the hole saw in place. No amount of bracing the bottom of the drill against the sidewalls, going full blast and barely touching the surface to get a groove started; Nothing worked. I even got the brilliant idea to place the hole saw that cut that hole in the first place inside the hole say that is going to cut it bigger. Essentially using the small hole saw as the pilot bit to keep it from wanting to slide all over the place. Sadly I was not able to get the smaller hole saw to protrude out far enough to sit inside the hole so it could do what I wanted it to do.
So I made a jig to keep the 127mm hole saw in place. I forgot to take pictures until I had already begun, so what I skipped was this.
I took a piece of plywood I had laying around; Its roughly 1/4" thick plywood. The piece was about 12" x 12" so I cut a ~7" x 7" square out of one of the corners. I didn't do any measurements because this did not need to be perfect. I even used one of those rotary saws to cut it, so the edges aren't even straight. About an 1" from done cutting one end the bit broke so I just snapped the rest off. Wasn't important. I then took and drilled a hole in the center of that small piece with my 127mm hole saw. Now with pictures.
I took a 120mm fan I had and placed it over the hole.
I then flipped it around so the "back" of the fan was opposite of the plywood.
Then using the piece that I drilled out the center, I placed it on top of the fan like so;
Now I did that because I am trying to keep that fan from moving while I drill the screw holes for it. So I intend to sandwich it between some wood with a C clamp. I then took the wood that I cut the small square out of and placed it behind the other wood, like this;
As you can see, I already took the C clamp and pressed them together. I know you love my cardboard box work bench. I didn't take pictures of it because of it's awesomeness, but I do feel I need to mention why I was using it. Since I wasn't placing a lot of weight on it, I needed something that was hollow in the middle so the bottom of the C clamp could go to keep it level. I just ripped the center of the box open a little and just pushed it down in.
So you can see the layers, from top to bottom;
C Clamp
12" x 12" piece that I cut a small square out
The 7" x 7" piece that I cut a hole in the middle
120mm fan
The middle section that I cut out of the small square
I then took a 9/64" drill bit and drilled out all 4 holes in the jig. This is the result.
So now I went back to the desk and mounted this to the spot I wanted to drill.
As you can see in the above picture, I drilled two holes for 80mm fans in the rear and the center "small" hole is the prefab hole where the cables are supposed to pass through. Here I just need to drill holes for the screws, so I used the C clamp to hold it in place while I used the same 9/64" drill bit to drill out the screws.
Then I put the screws in and secured them in place with nuts out the back. You can also see where I tried to drill out that hole without a jig and just made a mess. Haha! Don't really care, no one will see it once the NAS is in.
I then used the hole saw to drill out the rest of the desk. Hole saw:
New bigger hole in desk;
Left over center section out of desk. Do note how bad the edges look, to prevent this you'll want to use tape on the back to make it more smooth, since I can't really move the desk out away from the wall without literally taking everything off the desk and disassembling it, I didn't care.
New hole much bigger than the cable management hole, complete with screw holes to mount the fan. You can see some scuffing from where I attempted this without the jig.
Fans should be here this afternoon and I intend to mount two of them blowing OUT the back of the cabinet. If they can't keep the temps in check, then I will drill out two holes towards the front sides, mount fans and have them blow IN to get more fresh air in. Not sure that will be required, but I have a PSU that can handle the extra fans if I need. (Also wont need to use the jig on those holes since I can just use the pilot bit.
Fast forward about 2 years and that cabinet was nothing more than an empty box storage unit. I then began building a NAS using a much smaller case; without even thinking about placing the case in there. It just kind of happened by accident. After I got it all together, I thought where in the heck can I store this thing? Then it hit me that the NZXT 210 Source Elite case is small enough to easily fit in that cabinet; but will 80mm fans realistically be enough to keep the inside cool especially when I intend to house 8+ 3.5" HDDs for the NAS?
So it began, I would just open the holes larger for 120mm fans. No problem. Until I started working on it did I realize that there is no place for the pilot bit to drill into to hold the hole saw in place. No amount of bracing the bottom of the drill against the sidewalls, going full blast and barely touching the surface to get a groove started; Nothing worked. I even got the brilliant idea to place the hole saw that cut that hole in the first place inside the hole say that is going to cut it bigger. Essentially using the small hole saw as the pilot bit to keep it from wanting to slide all over the place. Sadly I was not able to get the smaller hole saw to protrude out far enough to sit inside the hole so it could do what I wanted it to do.
So I made a jig to keep the 127mm hole saw in place. I forgot to take pictures until I had already begun, so what I skipped was this.
I took a piece of plywood I had laying around; Its roughly 1/4" thick plywood. The piece was about 12" x 12" so I cut a ~7" x 7" square out of one of the corners. I didn't do any measurements because this did not need to be perfect. I even used one of those rotary saws to cut it, so the edges aren't even straight. About an 1" from done cutting one end the bit broke so I just snapped the rest off. Wasn't important. I then took and drilled a hole in the center of that small piece with my 127mm hole saw. Now with pictures.
I took a 120mm fan I had and placed it over the hole.
I then flipped it around so the "back" of the fan was opposite of the plywood.
Then using the piece that I drilled out the center, I placed it on top of the fan like so;
Now I did that because I am trying to keep that fan from moving while I drill the screw holes for it. So I intend to sandwich it between some wood with a C clamp. I then took the wood that I cut the small square out of and placed it behind the other wood, like this;
As you can see, I already took the C clamp and pressed them together. I know you love my cardboard box work bench. I didn't take pictures of it because of it's awesomeness, but I do feel I need to mention why I was using it. Since I wasn't placing a lot of weight on it, I needed something that was hollow in the middle so the bottom of the C clamp could go to keep it level. I just ripped the center of the box open a little and just pushed it down in.
So you can see the layers, from top to bottom;
C Clamp
12" x 12" piece that I cut a small square out
The 7" x 7" piece that I cut a hole in the middle
120mm fan
The middle section that I cut out of the small square
I then took a 9/64" drill bit and drilled out all 4 holes in the jig. This is the result.
So now I went back to the desk and mounted this to the spot I wanted to drill.
As you can see in the above picture, I drilled two holes for 80mm fans in the rear and the center "small" hole is the prefab hole where the cables are supposed to pass through. Here I just need to drill holes for the screws, so I used the C clamp to hold it in place while I used the same 9/64" drill bit to drill out the screws.
Then I put the screws in and secured them in place with nuts out the back. You can also see where I tried to drill out that hole without a jig and just made a mess. Haha! Don't really care, no one will see it once the NAS is in.
I then used the hole saw to drill out the rest of the desk. Hole saw:
New bigger hole in desk;
Left over center section out of desk. Do note how bad the edges look, to prevent this you'll want to use tape on the back to make it more smooth, since I can't really move the desk out away from the wall without literally taking everything off the desk and disassembling it, I didn't care.
New hole much bigger than the cable management hole, complete with screw holes to mount the fan. You can see some scuffing from where I attempted this without the jig.
Fans should be here this afternoon and I intend to mount two of them blowing OUT the back of the cabinet. If they can't keep the temps in check, then I will drill out two holes towards the front sides, mount fans and have them blow IN to get more fresh air in. Not sure that will be required, but I have a PSU that can handle the extra fans if I need. (Also wont need to use the jig on those holes since I can just use the pilot bit.
