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Roisin Dearg (a Scratch Built "Modular" Case)

Wow that looks boss!!And here I am with my dual monitor setup thinking I'm the beeswax ,lol

 

 

Look really clean , kudos 

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3 hours ago, mAs81 said:

Wow that looks boss!!And here I am with my dual monitor setup thinking I'm the beeswax ,lol

 

 

Look really clean , kudos 

Thanks!

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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OK  this is just looking better and better. I love how this is turning out

 

I do have a concern about that monitor setup though. With how high it is, it seems that you'll be looking up at it all the time. That could lead to more issues then I want to mention. Thoughts on this?

Use this guide to fix text problems in your postGo here and here for all your power supply needs

 

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26 minutes ago, 8uhbbhu8 said:

OK  this is just looking better and better. I love how this is turning out

 

I do have a concern about that monitor setup though. With how high it is, it seems that you'll be looking up at it all the time. That could lead to more issues then I want to mention. Thoughts on this?

Thanks! You do have a valid concern. The line between the top and bottom monitors are right at eye level so I don't have to look up by much, especially if I lean back a bit in my chair, so I don't think there will be any problems. Besides, I'll mostly be working mostly from the bottom three monitors and use the top three for reference material such as sticky notes and calendars, long running processes that I won't be actively working on such as when running backups, refernece charts, etc. so I won't be looking up all that much.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I fell asleep watching my TV shows, then woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I worked on installing the HDMI cables for the monitors. For some goofy reason (Senioritis), I only bought three of the 12" locking HDMI cables to install permanently in the HDMI ports on the TV and the monitors. I'll admit math isn't my long suit (actually, it's so short, I need a magnifier to see it) but mixing up three with nine? Mutter, mutter, mumble, mumble. Two of the three are installed on the TV. I used the third one to help determine where to place the cables, pending receipt of the six currently on order (Accell is a bit pn the pokey side).

 

The cables for the bottom monitors were run on the bottom mount arms. I used some of the existing clips that weren't too full to partially corrall the cables and Velcro strips to finish corralling them. The cables are the 8' ones I used on the old setup so I know they work ok.

 

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The HDMI cables for the top monitors were run along the top mount arms before dropping down to where they will be plugged into the splitters.

 

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I also labeled all the cables to make keeping track of them easier (hopefully). Here is an example of a label on one of the active DisplayPort to HDMI adapters.

 

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I've plugged the DisplayPort to HDMI adapters for the bottom row of monitors into their HDMI cables.

 

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I used gaffer's tape to ensure the HDMI cables will not pull out of the adapters.

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I've temporarily bound the adapters and the cables together with Velcro strips until I get the cables that will run from the splitters to the adapters and computer.

 

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I still need to order the HDMI cables that come out of the splitters and run to the computer and the TV.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I installed the surge arrestor to plug the TV, speaker system, and printer into. It's on the wall behind the desk so most of the wiring will be off the floor. As soon as I make another trip to Home Despot on Thursday to pick up a plug, I need to shorten the power cable from the surge arrestor so it won't dangle on the floor after plugging in to the wall socket.

 

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I also installed hooks on the wall, again behind the desk and also to keep cables off the floor (no more dusty cable jungle on the floor! Yay!).

 

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I also made a shelf to set the HDMI splitters onto (the angle riveted to the front is to keep the splitters from accidentally getting pulled off the shelf).

 

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Since I took the photo, I primed and painted the shelf and it's hanging up to finish drying.

 

That white cord heading down from the desk in the last photo is an extension cord I kept on my desk for the occasions I needed to plug something in since it was such a pain in the tush to get to the outlets behind the desk. It's going away. I'm picking up a small four outlet power strip on my next Home Despot run I can mount on the side of the night stand the computer sets on and will be plugged into the surge arrestor only side of the UPS. Four outlets is overkill but that was the smallest one I could find that could be easily mounted to a vertical surface.

 

I also had a USB 3.1 Gen 1 hub setting on the desk so I wouldn't need to reach over to the computer to plug in thumb drives, etc. I'm replacing that with a four port hub that will also be mounted onto the side of the night stand (two of the ports are where I'm going to plug in the mouse and Bluetooth dongles). Both will minimize the need for cables running from the desk and night stand to the wall that would be in the way for cleaning and would need removing when moving them from the wall.

 

I have some more HDMI cables and HDMI splitters coming in tomorrow and Thursday so I'll be running errands that day. I may stay in bed tomorrow and just chilax all day since I'm sore all over from moving furniture back and forth all day.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I started routing the speaker cables but didn't like how the gray jacket stuck out like an elephant in a herd of turtles so I pulled them out and sleeved them. The correct way to do this would have been to unpin a connector on one end, thread on 1/4" sleeving and the appropriate heat shrinks, then repin the connector but that would have been a bit "challenging" with the heat shrink running right up to the connector...

 

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...so I cheated and used 3/8" sleeving and bigger shrinks and went right over the cable (I had to stretch the shrinks by opening a pair of duckbill pliers inside the shrinks to be able to get them over the connector). Scotch tape over the connector covers sharp corners and makes it a bit easier to force the sleeve over the connector.

 

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One thing I love about Kobra sleeving is it expands and stretches out well. Here, I'm inching the sleeving over the connector onto the cable (note how much smaller the sleeve is where I've stretched it on the cable on the left compared to the natural size on the right of the bulge).

 

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Here is a before and after photo...

 

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...and a closer view.

 

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Even though the original cable is only a bit over 1/4", I still was able to stretch out the sleeving enough to reduce its diameter enough to pretty much the diameter of the cable.

 

These shots show the cables starting to be routed.

 

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I used adhesive cable clips to keep the cables close to the angles.

 

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That's as far as I can go without moving the desk out from the wall again and I'm just too sore for that for a day or two. My hands are hurting from stretching the sleeving but it was worth it because the resleeved cables almost disappear against the black framing.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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Once again , the cables look great - it's coming along very nicely now,don't strain yourself 

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Thanks! And too late. My old, arthritic hands are paying this morning for sleeving those cables last night.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I finally picked up some more cables and started working on installing a few. I hooked up the 12" locking HDMI cables from the monitors to the cables I had already run (the idea is it's easier to reach the end of the locking cables than the ports hidden under the monitors). I also started installing the HDMI cables that will run from the splitters to the TV. Speaking of TVs, I just bought a new 43" TV today to replace the nine year old 32" TV I have now (the old TV works fine; I just wanted a bigger one with three HDMI inputs instead of two). They are going to deliver and hang it for me Wednesday.

 

I currently have a three outlet extension cord setting on my desk for temporarily plugging things. Today, In picked up one that has four outlets (three would have been plenty) and had mounting keyholes on the back for wall mounting so I could mount it on the side of the nightstand the computer will set on. Unfortunately, the mounting keyholes were on the wrong end from the way I wanted to mount it so I took it apart and drilled and filed an additional set of keyholes. Here is how it looks mounted on the side of the night stand (I used all four keyholes to make sure it stayed put).

 

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I also made a cork bulletin board from some cork and a picture frame I had ordered, and a piece of 1/2" plywood I picked up from Home Despot today to fill the space to the left of the TV. I haven't mounted it yet.

 

That's pretty much all I got done today since I spent most of the day running errands.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I finished up the bulletin board this morning. I used a hanging system called French cleats. The original French cleats (which are still used) was a strip of wood that had a bevel on top and fastened to the wall and a second strip with a matching bevel attached to the piece being hung. The matching bevels key into each other. Wooden French cleats are often used for hanging wall cabinets.

 

Another variation uses aluminum extrusions instead of wood. These are most often used to hang large, heavy pictures. That is what I used to hang the bulletin board. I made the bulletin board from a picture frame, 3/8" cork, and 1/2" plywood. I used a spray adhesive to glue the 1/2" plywood backing to the cork sheet, trimmed the cork using an Exacto knife, then glued and screwed the cork/plywood sandwich into the rabbit on the inside of the picture frame. The bulletin board wound up being larger than I had planned because I didn't know picture frames are sized by the size of the picture going into the frame, not the outside of the frame (mutter, mutter, mumble, mumble), so I had to trim off the outside of the top and bottom of the frame (it's amzing how large of items I have cut with my little bandsaw; I love that machine!). I had waited to trim the sides until after I got the bulletin board installed and I'm glad I waited because I decided it looked better without the sides trimmed.

 

I used a pair of French cleats to keep the bulletin board rigid top and bottom. Here, I've installed the fixed half of the cleats on the bridge left of the TV.IMG_0007.thumb.JPG.bd69f8eee89df98823c7bb3c1e2d7b17.JPG

 

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The other half of each cleat is screwed to be the back of the bulletin board.

 

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Te cleats are off center since the bulletin board is larger than planned. I probably got carried away with the screws but I had a box of 100, they were pretty short, and I would rather use too many than not enough especially since the bulletin board is pretty heavy.

 

Here is the final installation.

 

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(No, I was not drunk when I took those pictures! Honest!)  This system, while holding the bulletin board securely in place, still allows it to be quickly and easily removed from and reinstalled onto the bridge if I need to get behind the TV.

 

I'll be futzing around with other things today so I'll probably have another update later on.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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Except for the audio cable that will run from the computer to the Corsair SP2500 2.1 speaker system (it's on order but hasn't been delivered yet), I have all the cables routed and hooked up (except for the HDMI cables going to the TV since it's getting replaced next week). I shortened the power cable for the surge arrestor on the wall so it won't lay on the floor. The speaker satellite cables have been routed and connected to the subwoofer (I still have the control pod setting on top of the subwoofer; I'll move it to the desk later).

 

Here are shots of the HDMI splitters and the cable jungle going into them (the white three outlet extension cord on the desk will be going away later on).

 

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The purpose of the splitters is to allow cloning monitors 1-3 on the TV. I had a similar setup with the old computer and the current TV except the TV has only two HDMI inputs (he new one has three). This is handy for playing music, watching movies, adjusting volume, reading e-books (that was really handy), etc.

 

The new computer has a graphics card that has six mini-DisplayPort connectors on it. To feed the monitors and the TV's HDMI inputs, the output of the mini-DisplayPorts has to be fed through active HDMI adapter dongles. To keep things neat (kinda sorta) and sorted out, I taped the dongles together and bundled the cables together with Velcro.

 

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All that "stuff" is pretty heavy to be hanging from mini-DisplayPort ports so I'll have to rig a small hook on the back of the computer to hang a tether attached to the cables to support the weight.

 

Of course, all cables are labeled at each end to help keep things sorted out (the cable on the bottom is one of three cables that will be installed on the TV HDMI ports to make reaching the ports easier; the other two are installed on the current TV).

 

I added another hook to the wall to hang cables onto when disconnected from the computer and/or when cleaning the floor.

 

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This added hook keeps the printer cables off the floor.

 

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Tomorrow, I'm digging out the veneer and rough cutting it to size for cementing to the case top, front, and side panels.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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Here is a sneak preview of the veneer.

 

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The wood species is a quarter sawn, figured Anigree, an African hardwaood. The veneer is paper backed (eliminating the wrinkles typical of thin veneer) and came in a 24" x 96" sheet. I kinda hated to cut into that sheet but I now have them cut down to the individual pieces for the top, front, and side panels (the one in the picture is for the top panel). The veneer sheet had suprising few defects and undesireable features (such as off center knots) so layout was pretty easy.

 

Even though I have had cabinet making training and experience in the distant past, I've never actually worked with such large pieces of veneer. However, I've worked with laminate quite a bit in the distant past and the techniques for using contact cement are identical for both so I should have no trouble applying the veneer to the panels. Weather permitting, I'll be applying the veneer tomorrow morning before it gets too outrageously hot (relatively speaking).

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I got up this morning at Omigosh O'clock so I could get to work on applying the veneer to the case panels before it got too hot. It was 89o when I went outside at 5:30PM. At 9AM, when I finiished everything, it was 97o (it's supposed to get up to 114o today). Even though it is located only 2' above Hell, there are reasons I love living in AZ and these two shots of what I saw this morning is but one of them.

 

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I took these about three doors down from my home since there was a short but really bushy palm tree bloocking much of the sunrise. We get some incredible sunrises and sunsets in this neck of the world and this sunrise isn't anywhere nearly as spectacular as some I've seen (although it's nothing to sneeze at!).

 

Back to the ranch...er...work... I set up a work table, covered it with some scrap cardboard to protect it, and laid down the two smallest panels and their veneer (I figured if I was going to goof, it would be on one of the first panel or two and I had enough left over veneer for a do-over on one of the three smallest panels). Here, I've already brushed on contact cement onto the panels and the veneer backing.

 

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I was worried that I might not have enough contact cement to finish the job because I was afraid I would have to put two coats on the veneer if the paper backing soaked up too much of the cement but I lucked out. All I had to do was put down a heavy coat on the veneer backing without needing a second coat.

 

When the contact cement had dried to the point it is just barely tacky, I laid wood strips (paint stirring sticks, in this case) on top of the panel...

 

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...then laid the veneer on top of the sticks.

 

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Once I was satisfied the veneer was aligned on the panel correctly, I started removing sticks a couple at a time and rolling down the veneer with a hard rubber laminate roller. The contact cement bonds to itself on contact (duh) and the roller ensures full contact is made without any air bubbles.

 

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 While waiting on the contact cement on a panel to dry enough, I worked on trimming the previously veneered panels inside where it was cooler. This shot is of a panel about to get rough trimmed using scissors (the veneer is really thin so the scissors cut it easily).

 

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I used an Exacto knife to rough trim the window and fan openings (killing three blades in the process).

 

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This little gizmo is designed for trimming edge banding, a type of veneer with a hot melt adhesive used to cover the raw edges of plywood (you activate the adesive with a hot clothes iron). It works kinda like a little block plane with guides. The scissors did a pretty decent job of trimming the outside edges of the panels but the Band-it cleaned up the spots not quite right quite a bit.

 

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The final trimming was done with a sanding block and 220 grit sandpaper. I also "broke" (slightly rounded off) the corners and edges with the sandpaper. I wrapped the sandpaper around an empty pill bottle to trim sand the fan openings and the radiused inside corners of the window opening. This is a shot of the finished right side panel.

 

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After trimming the edges, I sanded the faces of the veneer and put the panels away. I'll be applying at least three coats of a clear satin finish brushing lacquer on Wednesday. Since I have to wait three hours between coats, I'll be spending much of the day on that. I can hardly wait to see how the figuring will pop once I hit it with the finish (it will look a little like a herringbone tiger maple).

 

Oh shoot, I almost forgot I need to drill out the fan mounting screws in the veneer of the top panel. I'll do that in a minute, then I'll need to take care of some errands.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I was up Omigosh O'clock again this morning to get set up lacquer the veneered panels. The temperature was brutal today. What's frustrating this time of year is, when the weather is dry enough to avoid rain, it's going to be brutally hot. When the the weather cools down, we get spotty thunderstorms. It was 90o outside when I went out at 5:30AM. :S At least I was greeted with another nice sunrise.

 

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Here are the panels ready to be lacquered.

 

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In the first two hours (recoat time was 2 hours, not three like I said earlier; it pays to reread the directions), I got two coats down but, when I was ready to recoat two hours later, the surface felt grainy. Apparently, the first coats raised the grain of the veneer, despite me having wet the wood and resanding it after it dried the day before, the normal procedure for avoiding raising the grain when applying the finish (mutter, mutter, mumble, mumble). I lightly dry sanded it with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper, wiped it down with a dry paper shop towel, blew away any loose dust, then wiped the surfaces with a tack cloth (cheese cloth treated with something sticky, usually partially dried varnish) to get rid of the rest of the dust.

 

Here are the panels shortly after applying the third coat.

 

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About an hour after I got the fourth coat laid down, the TV guy showed up with my new TV and installed it.

 

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It's "only" a 43" 1080 dumb TV but, considering the previous 32" one was a 720, the improvement was rather dramatic. I wanted a 1080 to eliminate any possible scaling issues when cloning the top three monitors to the three HDMI inputs on the TV. I did NOT want a "smart" TV. I do not do any streaming and the so called smart TVs spy on you, even when the "smart" features are disabled. 

 

Here are the panels after the sixth (and last) coat.

 

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I had a tough time applying the lacquer evenly because the heat was drying it too fast (it only got up tp 116o today; I got a little sick on the last coat from the heat, the fumes, or both), even when applying wet coats. The final finish isn't quite as flat as I would like right now but, as it dries overnight, it may flatten out somewhat. If not, I'll have to lightly sand it with 400 grit, followed by 600 grit.

 

I was a little surprised how much the lacquer darkened the wood since it (DEFT) is dead clear. Still, I'm happy with how it looks.

 

I'm knocking off early tonight.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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Looks great, also I don't think the lacquer darkened the wood but rather brought out its true color. That is to say if it's anything like paint, at my shop (well when I had my shop) most paints, especially candy paints never showed the true color until the clear coat was applied. You don't see veneer being used much on pc cases, very cool

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10 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

I did NOT want a "smart" TV. I do not do any streaming and the so called smart TVs spy on you, even when the "smart" features are disabled. 

I'm with you. I'll keep my TV's dumb since I often hook them up to additional devices with those features built in already. 

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10 hours ago, TekRed said:

Looks great, also I don't think the lacquer darkened the wood but rather brought out its true color. That is to say if it's anything like paint, at my shop (well when I had my shop) most paints, especially candy paints never showed the true color until the clear coat was applied. You don't see veneer being used much on pc cases, very cool

Thanks!

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I'm baaaack. Sorry to be such a stranger. After I hauled the lacquered panels inside the following morning and laid a couple of coats of lacquer on the top of the night stand, I took off for CA to visit some friends (he is like the brother I never had and she is like another sister to me) so I wouldn't have to huff lacquer fumes (I'm down to one functioning braincell and didn't want to fry it. I was going to go out of town somewhere for a night or two to escape getting brain fried but, when I asked one of the friends if he wanted what was left of my old computer, he said yes if it meant I would be coming out for a visit. So... 

 

I got home a little while ago but I haven't unpacked yet (I'm pooped and I brought home a lot of stuff!). I'll be doing that tomorrow along with laundry. Then, before I can drag the computer case into the bedroom, I need to replace some floor tiles so I'll be tied up for a few days before I can start working on the computer again.

 

The lacquer on the panels did shrink a bit more while I was gone so it is flatter. It may look fine when the panels are installed on the computer.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I've got some of my unpacking done but I thought I would share a couple of the toys...er...tools I bought while in SoCal (the rest is girly and household cleaning stuff that would bore you).

 

This one was funny. I've been looking for a Dremel torch but wanted to buy it locally so, if it proved disappointing, Dremel makes excellent rotary tools but some of their accessories are disappointing, such as the drill press attachment (the rotary tool mount is too flimsy), the handle that attaches to the rotary tool that's upposed to improve your grip on the tool (again, too flimsy), the roto-zip like attachment and the cutting bits used with them (again, too flimsy to use on anything harder than drywall), so I wanted to be able to easily return it if it should also prove disappointing. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one in this piddle squat, one horse megalopolis I live in.

 

My travel alarm had turned wimpy on me while I was out there and needed replacing so, after we had dropped my friends' cars off for servicing, we went in my buggy to Fry's Electronics to find a travel alarm (found one). The Fry's in San Marcos (unlike the joke of a Fry's in my neck of the woods...er...desert) is a candy store for all three of us. After I found the alarm clock, my "sister" was browsing around, found the torch and bought it to me show me since she thought it was cute (well, it is cute!). She was surpised to see how excited I got when saw it since she didn't know I was looking for one. It works quite well.

 

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I wished I had had it when I had all those heat shrinks to shrink. It also comes with a soldering tip.

 

My friends had an Ace Hardware near them that was better stocked than anywhere around where I live but was going out of business and everything was on sale. I picked up a few miscellaneous hardware but one thing that I wished I had had when we were putting up the "bridge" for the monitors, TV, and bulletin board: an illuminated inspection mirror.

 

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It telescopes out to 33". It should come in handy.

 

I know all this non-computer crap I've been posting is boring as watching dead grass grow but I need to get certain things done while I can still easily get at them before I put the printer back where it belongs and lug the boat anchor...er...computer case into the bedroom for final assembly and set up (accompanied by fervent praying it will work). Sorry!

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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18 minutes ago, Pangea2017 said:

Is the dremel good? tought abougt getting the Dremel VersaTip as alternative to a much larger hot air and soldering station.

I haven't really given it a good workout yet. The first test I did, filling it with butane, was the one that caused other small torches I tried to fail and get returned. I had no trouble filling this one. It would be nice if there had been a sight window to see what the actual fuel window was but I could feel the much cooler liquid butane rising in the tank and could tell that way when it was full. As long as I can hear liquid rattling inside, I'll know I still have fuel.

 

The torch has a safety trigger to prevent accidental starting but even my old, arthritic hands can easly fire it up. The flame can be locked on if wanted. So far, all I've done with it it is to burn it with and without the blow torch attachment. I haven't tried the attachment for shrinking heat shrinks or the soldering attachment. It does appear to be a nice alternative for my much larger propane/MAAP gas torch.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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I was going to run (ok, waddle) errands today but I'm still recovering from my trip and didn't feel like crawling around on the floor replacing floor tile so I'm taking it easy today. I did take my vixen file to the edges of the case panels to remove the lacquer that got on them so they would still fit, then blackening the edges that will show (the edges of the top fan holes and the left panel window) with a felt pen. 

 

Then I installed the fans and the fan hub on the top panel.

 

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That's it for today.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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Another quickie update. Getting old sucks big time! I've been pecking way at replacing the damaged and loose floor tiles. Even just doing a few at a time takes the starch out of me and leaves me aching in strange places. I developed a weird back pain while in CA that starts on either side of my spine and works its way around to the sternum. For the life of me, I can't figure out waht I did to cause it. It would get worse when l'm sleeping. At least, it has gotten a bit better.

 

The other strange place I'm hurting happens after removing the old tiles (some come right up; other require a scraper blade in my multitool to get them up) and replacing them. After removing the old tiles, I have to hand scrape all the old, gooey adhesive down the bare MDF (I'm amazed the morons who built my home used MDF for the floors) with a paint scraper, which, in itself, is a chore. After that, the bare MDF has to get a couple coats of a latex primer, then, when dry, I can lay down the tiles. Even for the small batches I've been doing, it's a three hour process. It's a pain in my backside. Seriously, that is where I'm hurting! Big time! I can barely walk. Weird!

 

I got a break today since I had to go in to get blood drawn for my semiannual blood work and to run some errands. Last night, for a change of pace, I tried hooking up my new TV to my speakers. That did not end well. I had one "heckuva" time just getting the 3.5" stereo cable plugged into the TV. Then, I was getting only the left channel speaker working. After checking the cables and the speakers using my notebook's audio output, I figured out the cable must not have been fully seated. Once both channels were working, I noticed the bass was wimpy sounding. After a few more tests, it appears my subwoofer has gone belly up (a common problem with the Corsair SP2500s). So, it looks like I'm going to be buying new speakers since Corsair no longer makes the SP2500 (mutter, mutter, mumble. mumble) and never sold parts for it. I'm seriously considering Monoprice's 5" self powered studio speakers or their newer 6.5" coaxial speakers. I've heard a lot of good things about the former (the newer ones don't have any reviews yet) and I don't need a thundering bass for the music I listen to. Hopefully, I'll be able to get by without a subwoofer which will open up more room for my feet in the kneehole of my desk and will be one less thing to clean around on the floor (I can always add a sub later if I feel I need it). 

 

Before that, I installed the 1/4" tempered glass in the computer's left side panel. I put down some 6 mil, 1/2" 3M VHB tape, then filled the gap around the glass with silicone caulk to further secure the glass to the panel.

 

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(Sorry for the lousy pictures; my tired also hurts.) I don't want to put it back into the case until the caulk has more time to cure so it's laying flat on my washing machine for now.

 

I still have a few more tiles to replace but I'm at the point where I'll have to move furniture and crawl around under the monitors to get to them. Joy! Once that is done, I can bring the computer case into the bedroom and start putting everything together for (hopefully) keeps.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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1 minute ago, mAs81 said:

Nice !! I like that wood color 

Thanks!

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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