Project Forged: Handforged computercase

[Herman9k]

 

Project Forged

 

This case is meant as a tribute to my biggest interests; technology and blacksmithing. It took me the better part of two months to draw, with the challenge of combining the two into one uniform expression. It is the culmination of 3,5 years of grinding away in a smithy in Kramfors, northern Sweden, and HOPEFULLY good enough to grant me the Journeyman-letter in blacksmithing.

 

Form and constraint

Building a case from bottom-up is as simple as it is difficult. It is possible to make a working case out of a cereal-box in an hour, but you can also spend a hundred hours making sure your cable-management is picture perfect. I myself has never done much more then mounting components into an existing case, so the step to making a scratch-build was rather big. When i sat down to draw i gave myself a couple of guidelines:

1. Form over function.

2. Not a lot bigger then a regular midi-tower.

3. Not a box

I realized fairly quickly that i have no idea how big computer parts are, and a lot of my time was spent searching for measurements and figuring out how to mount the parts in the case. Form over function fell into oblivion and the case took on its rather sober shape you can see below. I believe the wrought iron and the circuit boards are allowed too shine, but sadly in their separate ways and maybe a bit too "safe" and sober in its design.

ANYWAY!

The drawing was approved by important men and the work has begun!

As of this moment the project is 5 weeks from the deadline.

 

Spoiler: My complete drawing as well as a description of the journeyman-letter.

Spoiler

The journeyman-letter is sort of a workcertificate for a blacksmith and in Sweden it is a very difficult task. It starts with a drawing, which has to be according to european drawing standard (I have NO IDEA if that is correct english, but you will understand what a drawing is in a sec), this drawing then have to be approved by examiners. The drawing need to specify a certain number of techniques as well as how much time you will need finishing it (in my case 220 hours). The time is measured by effective work time, hence you dont count coffebreaks, lunches or even firing up the hearth. Only the time spent directly on the project is counted. When the project is finished the examiners then compare the finished product against the drawing, as well as assessing the craftmanship in the techniques used. 

 

 

3 weeks into the project! Its erect! Here is some random shots from the work in progress:

I will try to update weekly, but i do NOT have much free time at the moment. Peace out.

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2016 by Herman9k
New project pic

[Thorimus]

Ser ascoolt ut! Lycka till, ser fram emot att se hur det går

 

Didn't expect many other swedes here did you?

[NinjaJc01]

1 hour ago, Herman9k said:

Hi people!

I'm a blacksmith from northern Sweden, currently working diligently on getting my Journeyman-letter.

The journeyman-letter is sort of a workcertificate for a blacksmith and in Sweden it is a very difficult task. It starts with a drawing, which has to be according to european drawing standard (I have NO IDEA if that is correct english, but you will understand what a drawing is in a sec), this drawing then have to be approved by examiners. The drawing need to specify a certain number of techniques as well as how much time you will need finishing it (in my case 220 hours). The time is measured by effective work time, hence you dont count coffebreaks, lunches or even firing up the hearth. Only the time spent directly on the project is counted. When the project is finished the examiners then compare the finished product against the drawing, as well as assessing the craftmanship in the techniques used. 

 

ANYWAY!

My project is a handforged computer-case with a very open design, with the graphicscard chillin on its side and without any choice but to be watercooled!

 

This is the first page of my drawing, with all pieces attached! I'm fairly confident that you're not interested in the rest of the drawing so i will keep it simple. (feel free to ignore the horrible, horrible photoshoping in the bottom-right corner, it had to be there. There's a rule...)

 

3 weeks into the project! Its erect! Here is some random shots from the work in progress:

 

I will try to update weekly, but i do NOT have much free time at the moment. Peace out.

Instant follow. Looks majestic and perfect for a nice hardline water cooled build. It really should be hardline though.

Edited September 19, 2016 by airdeano
Removed Quoted Images

[Herman9k]

4 minutes ago, NinjaJc01 said:

Instant follow. Looks majestic and perfect for a nice hardline water cooled build. It really should be hardline though.

I have planned for hardline, I just hope i wont fudge it up! i have never watercooled anything before.

 

5 minutes ago, Thorimus said:

Ser ascoolt ut! Lycka till, ser fram emot att se hur det går

 

Didn't expect many other swedes here did you?

ååh dämn! verkligen inte  tack och bock!

[NinjaJc01]

2 minutes ago, Herman9k said:

I have planned for hardline, I just hope i wont fudge it up! i have never watercooled anything before.

 

ååh dämn! verkligen inte  tack och bock!

You could always use soft tubing to start with, and then go for hardline later. Although you will have to change all of the fittings if you do that.

EDIT: And your English is correct and very good.

[_TechPuppet_]

Definitely following, I love smithing and the idea you are building it from scratch. Excited to watch the process. ?

[Herman9k]

I just realized that there's no on-button in my design. darnit.

 

Anyway, this is what i've spent my week on.

 

 

This is my L-bracket. This is what will keep my L-shaped motherboard mounting thingis parallell against each other. My naming scheme is highly encrypted due to patents pending and north korean spies.

 

 

I start out with making two deep dents over a sharp edge on the anvil, exactly 56mm apart. I then forge the material down to a thickness half of what i started with, making the bar 112 mm between the dents.

 

 

The next dent allows the bar too pass on top of another 5mm bar making the backside completely flush, which is important because that is where my glass will be.

At some point I'm gonna rewrite my original post, actually explaining my drawing so you will have an idea of what the hell im talking about, but tonight is not that point.

 

 

Now it just needs a bit of filing and a couple of holes. this week sucked.

 

and this is why.

peace!

Edited October 29, 2016 by Herman9k
Image server changed protocoll, my links didnt.

[Sprcket]

Holy Balls that looks cool!

[Tobleh]

Wow! This is stellar work so far dude! I can't wait to see more. And I wish you the best of luck in getting your journeyman-letter

[Stefan1024]

This looks great! Keep going...

[Herman9k]

I found errors in my design!!

 

My L-bracket was too short, minor issue.

 

Then i sort of blacked out when i realized something was very wrong, luckily i only had to remake one part.

Third time's the charm!

 

HDD-mounting, some drilling and filing left

 

Radiator-mounting, drilling and filing left

 

 

Aaaaand its in pieces. Im gonna have to do this alot of times before im finished.

 

Thanks a lot for all the comments guys! It gives me a lot of energy them long nights in the smithy!

If you want a more day-to-day update of the build, you can check out my twitter or my instagram. see signature.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Herman9k
Fixed links for pictures

[Herman9k]

After checking out stefan1024's superawesome, superserious log i got a quick question:

 

Should i update my log in my original post?

[Stefan1024]

16 minutes ago, Herman9k said:

After checking out stefan1024's superawesome, superserious log i got a quick question:

 

Should i update my log in my original post?

Haha thank you

I'm more or less the only one doing this, but I like it this way. Some do link the posts with the big updates in the first post.

[Herman9k]

54 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

Haha thank you

I'm more or less the only one doing this, but I like it this way. Some do link the posts with the big updates in the first post.

I see, thank you for the information! I guess im just gonna keep going the way i do, 'big updates' is something that happens to people with a longer deadline then 10 weeks:P

[Herman9k]

I measured a hole wrong by 20 mm.. on a build with a 0.2mm tolerance.. not good. But I decided to keep the hole and make a flat rivet with my initials on it too cover it up. Should work!

 

 

Filing of pins! To center the pin I file the corners until the facets meet, then I repeat the process until i have a somewhat square pin of 6mm. To make it perfectly round, Ifile the corners to make it an octagon, then i file the corners again and lastly I make it babybottomsmooth-round. The pins will be riveted from the back of the material which it passes through.

 

 

Countersinked hole, will be riveted completely flush. (dat english. I have no idea how to express blacksmithing terms correctly even i swedish, so english is pretty hard.)

 

 

HDD-mounting and Radiator-mounting as good as done. It is possible to see my wrongly drilled hole to the right of my Hdd-mounting.

 

5 weeks until my next sleep-in.

Peace!

Edited October 29, 2016 by Herman9k
Fixed links for pictures

[Nup]

wow this is awesome. Keep the posts coming!!

[TurboTim]

Gotta love handcrafted cases. Looks awesome!

[Herman9k]

Tired as duck, but I prevail.

 

 

It took med three hours this saturday to drill eight holes in my "L":s that hold the right side of the motherboard and the waterpump.

0.2 mm tolerance, gotta love it -.-'

 

 

Some directing required.. a tenth of a millimeter at the anchorpoint makes a hell of a difference at the top.

 

 

A particularly uneffective monday resulted in a finished "front L-bracket".
 

Not a lot of forging left, its gonna be scary to start riveting it all

 

Edited October 29, 2016 by Herman9k
Fixed links for pictures

[KrMaH]

Dæven døtte! Drit fett kosept! lykke til!

[Herman9k]

My plan in the beginning of this project was too get the case upright, to be able to testmount and compare pieces against each other. The problem withn this method is that progress i FEELS very fast in the beginning, only too slow down to almost stand-still when i get to the small stuff. Not optimal when my energy is running low.

 

I had to reforge my "L":s. Again. I have also started working on my HDD-mount.

 

 

I have butchered an old case just to get a rough idea of how off i am.

 

Todays iron is not very suitable for forging, hence i have a big problem with the iron cracking on me. The cracks are from the manufacturing process and is only visible when the iron is wrought, or forged as it is commonly known. 

 

 

Four weeks left, the progress is far from fast.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Herman9k
misslabeled pic and bad spelling, fixed broken pictures

[Herman9k]

THE END IS NIGH!

As of this moment I have two and a half weeks before the examiners arrive, and only 4 rivets left in frabrication.

I plan on using the remainder of this week experimenting and training on techniques i have yet to master, such as soldering and riveting in countersinked hole.

 

Pin on the back radiator-mounting filed and finished.

 

 

The square part of the pin locks the lower part of my PSU mount in place, when riveted.

 

 

 

 

Imagine a man who can take photographs with focus at the right place. That is not me.

 

 

 

 

 

HDD-mount ready for riveting.
 

 

Glass-mount in progress.
 

 

I am now a human CNC-machine. All glass-mounts finished.
 

 

Cable-loops after milling and cutting.

 

 

Filed and ready for soldering, I made a couple extra for use in practice. 

 

 

 

 

 

Man I am ready for that sleep-in.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Herman9k
Fixed links for pictures

[simson0606]

wow, amazing results already! it's really different from all other builds on here.

 

keep it coming

[Herman9k]

I have FINALLY begun the painfully slow process of assembling, it took me a whole day to finish 6 rivets. Mostly because my nerves are currently carved from a very very thin glasswire.

 

 

Rivets for the front done

 

All pieces will be brushed...

 

 

..with this machine, to remove the worst of the scales and to bring a little bit of a shine to the party.

 

 

The piece on the right is brushed.

 

 

Preparation for gasswelding.

 

 

 

 

A little messy, but i will clean that up in assembly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Threading with a 3-step process, each tap cuts a little more than the last.

 

 

O_o Errmagerd, this might just work.

 

 

A fast trial-mount of the motherboard-standoffs.

 

 

 

My cable-loops, soldered with the gasweld and brass-solder, a bit on the messy side, but i do like the contrastic colors.

 

 

I dont think i have ever had such high pulse, during such a long time, as before i riveted the first countersinked hole on the case. One misstep at this stage will probably result in reforging at least two parts. I spent half a day practicing riveting instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost too easy.. now i worry i might get run over, or the smithy burning down over night..

 

 

 

 

Managed to squeeze a couple of glass-mounts in there as well.

 

 

 

 

 

These parts are from my first, very own computer. The motherboard is of the brand Abit, which i have never heard of, and the graphics-card is a geforce 6600 gt. QUALITY!

 

Edited October 29, 2016 by Herman9k
Fixed links for pictures

[Herman9k]

Anyone have any idea of how I can fix my pics in my previous posts?

I cant find anything wrong with the links

[Jetfighter808]

29 minutes ago, Herman9k said:

Anyone have any idea of how I can fix my pics in my previous posts?

I cant find anything wrong with the links

Try using 

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