Sawing off half the rack chassis?

[cyklondx]

Hi,
I would like opinion in terms of sawing off half of the rack chassis. My plan would be to buy a cheap/barebone rack chassis saw off everything after hdd trays with backplane.

I'm specifically looking:
1) for types of saws i should be using.
2) what brand of servers/chassis i should be looking up on ebay to sacrifice for my hba.
3) I'm specifically looking for 2U, and 12 bays;
4) the backplane must be recognizable with typical sas controllers or hba controller on pci-e.
5) No "magic" power plugs.

Why I want to do this? Well things are just expensive, and this seem like a cheap option, I never had much luck modding those 2u psu's to make them quiet so i guess chopping it off is much better option.

 

[pendragon1]

sawzall

 

[owcraftsman]

A jigsaw w/metal blade and a rip guide for a straight cut.
If cost to gear up is a factor, a rip guide can be fashioned out to any straight edge material like a 2x4. Secure it to a work bench with a couple of clamps

 

[unholythree]

Would be hard to do cleanly with a sawzall.

Jigsaw would be the best option with affordable everyday tools. Kinda angle the blade in at the corner as you start; so it isn't trying to saw through inches of steel at once along the side. Work slow and put the rip guide on the side you want to keep so if it runs away on you it isn't in that direction.

If you have access to a metal cutting vertical bandsaw with enough clearance it would get you a nice clean cut.

If you cut a little further back past the back plane you could always cram an ATX PSU inside the chassis and one of those molex powered SAS expanders.