Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, SpotTheCat, Nemesis

 
Forge
Lord High Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 8253
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Gone

Fri Dec 28, 2001 12:50 am

It's something that's always fascinated me, but I never really felt the need to participate beyond slapping bumper stickers on my tower.

How many modders do we have here tonight?

Anyone want to help me put a window and a cold cathode in my Addtronics monster?
 
Darth Willis
Gerbil
Posts: 36
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: somewhere around Nashville
Contact:

Fri Dec 28, 2001 5:26 am

I'm a lightweight modder myself. I do well on the hacking and wiring bit, but when it comes to painting... I've discovered that painting is my enemy. I've currently got a dusty Antec SX1030 sitting and waiting for me to strip and sand off the train wreck that is the blue pearl coat that I tried on it in October. Funny how an artist by edumacation can't paint worth a flip. Heh.
It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
 
J5
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 126
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Fri Dec 28, 2001 2:06 pm

I'm a relative newby and in fact I've never done any sort of modding but I do plan on in a few days try to dremel out a few holes for some fans to attach to the side of my case. The case is an ugly beige so I hope I can brighten it up some time too!
 
dolemitecomputers
Minister of Gerbil Affairs
Posts: 2600
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Utah

Fri Dec 28, 2001 10:56 pm

I might be able to help. I done some modding. Lot of fun.
 
DjEasyDick
Gerbil In Training
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Lewistown, MT
Contact:

Sat Dec 29, 2001 1:06 am

Provided you can do it with tools and parts locally, I'm all about it. For some reason, I can't justify buying a window "kit" and installing that.

I'm all about the cutting and the soldering though, just let me use my own supplies and my own plan, please!
 
HowardDrake
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3523
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Action Jim's Rumpus Room
Contact:

Sat Dec 29, 2001 3:17 am

Biggest "mod" I've done is grab a Matrix Orbital display and put it in my MP3 server. Now it runs headless and I still know what's happening on it. I've cut myself on too many cases without cutting to want to try it intentionally :smile:.

-Howard
 
Forge
Lord High Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 8253
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Gone

Sat Dec 29, 2001 5:07 am

If I ever get a Dremel, I will be a force to make the [H] tremble. I ph33r no destruction. I solder on Ti500s. :smile: :smile:

As it is, I'd like to remove the metal vents over the fan mounts on this Addtronics W8600 and replace them with proper wire fan grilles. These block too much air and make the fans whistle and hum.
 
dolemitecomputers
Minister of Gerbil Affairs
Posts: 2600
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Utah

Sat Dec 29, 2001 10:41 pm

If you buy a dremel I recommend getting one that is not cordless. I bought one from Walmart for around 40. Worked great but for every 20 minutes I cut the dremel had to be recharged for 3 hours. That delayed my project for a long time.
 
DjEasyDick
Gerbil In Training
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Lewistown, MT
Contact:

Sat Dec 29, 2001 10:47 pm

You cut with a dremel for more than 20 minutes? Bummer.

Forge, I definately see the connection between soldering on Ti500's and cutting sheet metal :smile:
 
champs
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 194
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: PDX
Contact:

Sun Dec 30, 2001 2:11 am

Not only that, the cordless ones are weaker and cheaper. You get what you pay for -- mine burned out after a couple of months. In fairness, a lot of the work I did could have been accomplished with tin snips or a drill.

Another tip -- unless you've got a drill press, hole saws aren't worth it.
 
DMG
Gerbil
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: In your dreams...

Mon Dec 31, 2001 4:27 am

Can any of this stuff [cutting] be done by hand? Like, say, w/a hacksaw? I always hear Dremel this, Dremel that. Does anyone do it olskool?
 
DiMaestro
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 890
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: North Dakota NoMoah!

Mon Dec 31, 2001 5:00 pm

Cutting metal by hand is possible, but you can never get the clean edges needed. Dremels make life very easy, and the best part is, they're cheap as hell. 30.00 for a cheap corded one..
 
lenzenm
Gerbil Team Leader
Posts: 292
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Greenfiled, WI
Contact:

Mon Dec 31, 2001 5:07 pm

Not to mention that the bits are cheap as well; you can frequently use the "cut off wheels", which are a carbon fiber disk. They cut through damn near anything, and $4.00-US will get you 10 of them.
Add a buffing file attachment for $2 to smooth the edges, and you're off.

Problem is, Dremels have a reputation for burning out...either the batteries (for the cordless models), or the motors themselves. I'm looking at either the Black&Decker or Craftsman alternatives; they're supposed to be heavier-duty than the Dremel brand, and the bits are interchangeable.
 
highlandr
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 575
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Somewhere in downstate IL
Contact:

Thu Jan 03, 2002 12:25 am

My friend never had any trouble with his dremel, though we never did any heavy duty work with it. Mostly just cutting through thin lexan. anything worse than that (i.e. 1/4" plexi) and we used his band saw. they are very handy for small cutting jobs though, and the versatility you get through their many attachments make them very nice.
 
J5
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 126
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Thu Jan 03, 2002 12:29 am

As I recall (From my last time in Sears and many others) that Craftsman has a lifetime warranty on any product should it break, fail, or just plain screw up under normal working conditions. I'm pretty sure that is how it is so I'd feel pretty safe buying a craftsman.
 
lenzenm
Gerbil Team Leader
Posts: 292
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Greenfiled, WI
Contact:

Thu Jan 03, 2002 1:42 pm

Unfortunately, that waranty is not universal. All the hand tools have it, bust most of the power tools have either 1 year or 3 year waranties.
 
Spune
Gerbil XP
Posts: 399
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: Middle of nowhere AB Canada

Sun Jan 06, 2002 11:39 pm

I was thought it was interesting how when people do mod's its a "dremel" . I had never even heard of a dremel before then.

I have had good luck with both Black & Decker and Craftsman tools. I don't how they compare in price but the quality has always been good.
 
combo
Gerbil
Posts: 37
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Fri Jan 18, 2002 3:31 pm

First time modder here. I recently got all the tools for a case mod I plan to do. An Enermax Fs-1030BB (Blue Bezzel and black body) A Dremel Multirotary pro kit, A blacklight and a blue cold chatode light, UV Addative for water, Plexiglass and a compleate water kit. If anyone is interested I'll post my results sometime next week when it's done.
 
dolemitecomputers
Minister of Gerbil Affairs
Posts: 2600
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Utah

Fri Jan 18, 2002 7:27 pm

Great combo! Enermax cases are very nice. I love cold cathodes. I have a blue one. You can leave it on for hours and it generates very little heat.
 
BrahmaBull
Gerbil
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2002 7:00 pm
Contact:

Tue Mar 26, 2002 7:39 am

I've done some little mods, two 4" blowholes on the side. I got 9 fans on my full tower plus the one in my PSU so there 10 fans, nice cooling power.
 
trekker8
Gerbil In Training
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2002 7:00 pm

Tue Mar 26, 2002 9:16 am

Lets see... side window with 4 fans. 4 topside exhaust fans. 2 rear fans. 3 front fans. Hehe think I have enough fans? Amazingly these fans dont produce a whole heck a of a lot of noise. I used super quiet fans with medium rpm. Oh and the rest of the case is painted dark blue, car polish finish.

I took a simple stock case no name and added aluminum faceplates with the fan grills with screens built in.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
GZIP: On