[Scratch Build] Project Woodwater

[steff345]

Hi guys (and girls)

Allow me to first introduce to you all my entry to the Cooler Master Case Mod Competition 2012 – Project Woodwater – A scratch build that is made almost entirely of wood (Plywood, Redwood and Oak to be exact), including the optical drive and Hard drive mounts, and very other materials only where absolutely necessary.

The case would be made semi-open, where natural ventilation would be encouraged to the maximum extent possible, in addition to the water-cooled CPU, which would be by a 240mm rad mounted on the top of the case.

The inspiration for this project comes from wooden blinds, where the soft glow of light from the back has always fascinated me . This would be

beneficial for the case due to the open design, which would promote natural ventilation, thereby enabling the noise level of the case to be kept to a minimum.

The colour scheme for the build would be a combination of white and grey with minute touches of orange/red along with the natural colour of oak wood (with the wooden grain left exposed).

I humbly invite all you viewer to submit your comments and suggestions as I update the project build process.

Cheers!

Edit:

The Cooler Master products as part of the entry requirements to this contest: 2 x Cooler Master Sickle Flow Red LED Fans (to to be used for the radiator)

two beauties aren't they?

[steff345]

Here they are - the final beauties

Thanks Cooler Master for another wonderful opportunity this year as well - Feel honored to be a part of this great contest!

[steff345]

So here we are - The back panel cutout would be savaged from an old PC case. Here it is after removing it from the case, just before modding it to the required size:

And the other only part that would be used which is 'pre-built' - the motherboard tray, which of course is going to be modded to fit the build:

Here are the stuff I would be using for initial layout designs and measurement purposes, along with my humble set of drillbits, and below that, the case which the panels were

salvaged from:

[steff345]

On to the initial work - building the back panel of the case.

Initial measurements and cutting:

The wood which was used for the panel. You can see the 3D model of the case (the printout in the middle of the pic) which I use as a guide

Back panel cut and fitted with the IO panel. A lot of work needs to be done to smooth the edges and achieve a nice finish.

Thats it for now - will update in a couple of more days as soon as I get some time to proceed! Any suggestions, comments?

[steff345]

New batch of supplies arrived -

I then cut out the bottom panel, front panel and top panel. Pictured here is the rear and bottom panels:

Then attached the rear panel to the bottom panel using wood screws mounted from the bottom panel upwards

to the rear panel, with wood glue between for additional strength:

There will be an additional wooden support bar along the bottom panel with horizontal screws for added support for the two

panels

[steff345]

Next, I mounted the motherboard tray to the back panel. Pictured below is tray that was modified with a mount for additional support

by means of a horizontal beam. This would help stabilize the motherboard tray with the case.

Note the temporary edge banding is only for protection of the edges temporarily so that they don't get damaged during cutting/bending.

They would be replaced with better and matching edge banding.

Motherboard mounted to the case:

These mounts are to be drilled and mounted to the rear panel:

Complete view of the motherboard mounted in the case. Note that the block of wood is just to support the motherboard tray for the pic:

Next, I began working on the angled front panel strip. This proved more difficult than I initially thought where a steady slope was

difficult to achieve. Seen here is the outcome of approximately 3 hours of sawing.

As you see the edge is chipped and damaged due to the sawing, but the rest of the piece came out quite well.

[steff345]

Time for the Next Update!

Now, I cut a horizontal and vertical bar to support the motherboard panel firmly in place:

I cut a groove into the horizontal bar so that the motherboard tray supporting screw could be mounted on to this:

Here's a view of the vertical support bar, proving further support of the motherboard tray:

I cut several grooves into the vertical support bar so that the motherboard bends could be accommodated, and provide further

fit to the tray base:

Now the motherboard tray fits firmly in place after supports from all sides:

Additional screw from the rear panel to the horizontal support bar. The tip of the screw hole was made a bit wide to accommodate the screw head into the wood, so that

it sits flush with the surface:

[steff345]

Now I removed all panels which were mounted temporarily and fixed them firmly with 1" and 1.25" wood screw nails:

Next I cut the front 45 degree angle piece to size. Came out pretty well, after the initial cut in my last post:

Until next time! Cheers

[Jeffrey Stephenson]

Nice work! Good to see more mods made from wood.

[steff345]

thanks! much appreciated