SCRATCH BUILD PROJECT LOST TREASURE

[Fotes Lykos]

Lost Treasure will be a handmade treasure chest that will contain the main system. Some of the planned features include a drive cover when the system is not in use, incorporation of a 1745 replica coin I have, as well as custom cut fan grills. I have already started work on the project and will start posting work log updates soon. I aim on posting updates at least weekly and as always feedback is always welcome.

[Fotes Lykos]

Here is my first update and a little more on the project. I will be uploading photos soon. I am currently working on the main module. My wood of choice for the case is white wood. I know its a lower grade material however I do want to achieve the look of a old treasure chest so the knots in the boards don't bother me. I have worked with this material before and with the right prep it stains and finishes nicely. The top is being shaped out of a block of wood I glued up from 1x6 lumber and measures 18in x 24in x 4.5 in tall (not the lightest thing). The size and weight of the block is making it hard to work with. The tools I am using to shape it are as follows hand held surface forming tool ( also known as surform ), block plane, hand held 1/4 sheet palm sander, and the bulk of the work is being done on my bench disk/ belt sander. I also cut the boards that will make up the rest of the case and am gluing those together as well. The finished case will be roughly 24 in tall 24 inches wide and 18 inches deep. To get the width I needed I got 1x12 and 1x10. I will be also posting my hardware list as well as qualifying products on my next post. Till next time happy modding.

[Fotes Lykos]

These are my qualifying products.

1. V6GT CPU cooler

2. Sickleflow 120mm red led fans ( x2)

Here are my main system components. This is going to be a media server for my home so as budget allows I will add more hard drives as well as upgrade to a better motherboard.

Gigabyte Main board (supports AMD CPU, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 6 internal sata connectors)

AMD Quad core CPU

8GB Kingston HYPERX DDR3 RAM

GIGABYTE NVIDIA Gforce GTS 450 1GB RAM graphics card

Western Digital 1TB hard drive

DVDRW optical drive

4 cooling fans

i AeroCool thermal control panel.

Thermaltake 700 watt power supply.

These components will be the basic system I will post updates If i choose to add or replace a specific component.

[Fotes Lykos]

Time for an update. I have been working hard on the project but just didn't have the time to keep my work log updated. i will be posting several updates over the next few days.

My initial plan for the dome top was to glue up a large block of wood which I did and shape it using a bench sander and various hand tools. This proved very impractical due to the weight of the block, so I am putting that block aside for another project and doing something easier. I wanted a 4 in high dome which in order to achieve with the least amount of waste is to use 2 1x3 inch boards glued together. An 8 ft section yields 6 pieces and will need 33 pieces total to finish the dome.

After gluing and clamping the boards I made a template out of some scrap wood I had.

After the glue dried I marked and cut the dome shapes using a jig saw fitted with a scrolling blade.

I then used my bench sander to give the pieces a rough sanding.

I then created small 4 inch thick blocks ( which will be easier to handle and shape.

After the blocks dried I used my bench sander fitted with a 50 grit belt to give the blocks their final shape.

i will edit this post with a picture of the final glue up as well as the finishing touches of the dome.

Here is the final glue up of the dome

After leaving it for a few days I evened out the surface using a hand held belt sander and finished it off with a palm sander.

Now to affix 1x2 rails using wood screws and glue.

[Fotes Lykos]

Here is another update of my progress up to now. I used 1x12 and 1x8 boards glued together to get the height I need.

Cutting the boards

Before doing anything else I marked and cut out the holes for the external drives and fans,

The side panels will be mortised and joined with glue and screws and the screw holes filled with a stainable wood filler.

After gluing the boards and leaving them overnight to set I did a dry test fit.

Before assembly I marked and cut out all openings for the drive bays as well as fan holes. I used a jig saw fitted with a scrolling blade.

pilot holes

cutting

As far as assembly goes as mentioned above I decided to mortise all the edges of the boards so they would lock better.

After all the prep work panels are glued and clamped in place

After the main box being done time to move on the removable back panel. The panel will be fixed using brass machine screws and t-nuts. The motherboard tray will ride on a track created using aluminum channel.

Now to create the drive cover. I will be using 1 in round ceramic magnets to hole the panel to the main system. My material of choice is aircraft plywood because it finishes very well as well is very strong which is important since the cover will take alot of use.

After cutting the main panel I cut 1 in wide rails to build up the back so it wont actually touch the drives. I then cut the hole for the coin I will insert as well as holes to seat the magnets flush with the back. I used a jigsaw and scroll blade for the center and a 1 in spade bit on my drill for the magnet holes.

Now that the prep is done I glue the rails using wood glue. After letting the panel set for a few hours I glued the magnets to both the system and panel using a fast setting epoxy.

The magnets were set roughly 2mm below the surface in order to hide them using wood filler.

After letting the entire assembly cure overnight I filled the magnet holes and a few other imperfections with wood filler and when dry sanded the panel.

[Fotes Lykos]

With the top and bottom done I am starting the finishing process.

After thoroughly sanding the entire case (60 grit, 80 grit, 120 grit, 150 grit, 220 grit), the I wiped the case clean with a tack cloth and applied a coat of stain. My color of choice was an oil based red oak color.

After letting the stain dry overnight I sanded the entire case with a 150 grit sandpaper followed by a 220 grit. I wanted a somewhat weathered look which is why I went with the coarser paper and used various degrees of pressure.

I then mixed a home made sanding sealer using 50% mineral spirits and 50% polyurethane. 2 coats will be applied and sanded in between with 220 grit sandpaper to ensure uniform top coat color.

After waiting overnight I applied the first coat of polyurethane and followed with a light sanding after using a 330 grit sanding sponge. I followed with another 2 coats waiting overnight for the previous coat to dry.

[Fotes Lykos]

reserved

Now to start putting everything together.

First thing is to Install the dome to the main chassis. I used a piano hinge and brass lid stays.

Next thing is to mount the fans and fan grills

Motherboard tray and drive cage.

I went and got a cheap case to take the motherboard tray and drive cage. I also took the switch and led cables.

Now to cut, paint and install the trim.

I will use 3/4 inch aluminum angle tor the trim . To finish I used a self etching primer followed by a copper colored hammer finish.

I also painted the drive cage and motherboard tray along with the trim.

I installed the trim using epoxy and copper nails.

I also will install decorative corner trim on the bottom of the case with the same method.

Now to install the case handles. The handled shipped with a very small screw that never would have held up. I substituted the original screws for 2 in long 8-32 brass machine screws alond with the right size nut and washers.

[Fotes Lykos]

Now to start connecting the hardware inside the case.

Making the switch panel

mounting of power supply and motherboard

In go the drives

wrap cables with sleeve.

I then start routing and organizing the cabled using tie wrap bases

Finishing off internal installation

[Fotes Lykos]

Here are final pics of the project

[Fotes Lykos]

Lost Treasure was a lot of fun to build. Due to budget constraints I had to cut a lot of corners on the build. Now that the deadline is up I will work slowly to finish my project to the original design of the build. Probably the biggest feature will be a desk module which will have a sand finish on top with a big X to mark the spot of the chest which will be hidden underneath. The chest will then via a hydraulic lift/support system rise to the surface and be lowered back with relative ease. Another feature that will be added is a remote control system so the unit can be turned on and off via remote control. I will also be adding additional hard drives as well as adding more memory (for a total of 16GB)