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Need Help: Front Panel drive bay dimensions/cutout

F

Fighter2a

n00b
Joined
Jan 2, 2007
Messages
49
I'm building my own front panel and was wondering if anyone knows of a .pdf file or something that would have something I could trace to get the exact height and width. I'm just cutting out a slot big enough to fit two cd-rom drives. My first attempt was OK at best. Part of the reason was that I had to cut it out with a jigsaw and the corners were hard the other reason was I didn't have a good cutout drawing. Any help would be appreciated.
 
I can't help with the dimensions - try sneaking into your local big-box computer store with a measuring tape.

To get clean corners, drill holes with a suitable radius. The outside of the hole should line up with the edges of the rectangle. Then use the saw to cut straight lines between the holes. If you want a sharper corner, once the opening is cut out, you can use a file or some such to square the corner.
 
Thanks for the reply Michael. Thats exactly what I tried to do last time with the corners, it didn't work out so well. I image if I had a drill press it would work out a lot better.
 
This time I rigged up a router with a flat edge attachment and went along the lines of the rectangle plunging into the plastic and using the attachment to get a straight line. It worked WAAAAAAY better then the first attempt with the Jigsaw. I'll be posting pics of that along with other steps when I finish and make a project log.
 
The dimensions of a single "5 1/4 in" drive are 42mm (H) by 145-148mm (W), depending on manufacturer. So two together will be 84mm(H) x 145-148mm(W).
 
Fighter2a said:
This time I rigged up a router with a flat edge attachment and went along the lines of the rectangle plunging into the plastic and using the attachment to get a straight line. It worked WAAAAAAY better then the first attempt with the Jigsaw. I'll be posting pics of that along with other steps when I finish and make a project log.
Click to expand...

The only problem with a router is trying to reduce the speed for plastic. However, I guess you worked around that. For others, you can get a router attachment for a Dremel that might be cheaper and would be somewhat more appropriate for light-duty plastic or aluminum cutting.

BTW - I have a drill press but got along fine with a right angle drill guide for a long time. These are available at good woodworking tool suppliers like Lee Valley or (in the US) Rocksomethingorother. Also, using brad-point drill bits beats conventional drill bits for making clean holes in plastic (or almost any soft material - don't know if they'll handle aluminum).
 
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