Case of Wood

[Martine]

I am sick of my Spire case and bad airflow, so I am trying to build a new case and because I have some spare wood, I would make it out of wood. Is that a good idea? What am I suppose to watch out when building like this?
I have searched through some threads/sites but.. yeah, no. Can someone please direct me to a thread/site for building case from scratch.
Later on in the summer I will share this experiance of building. I already have some sketches but I will wait for your response.
Thank you.

[lilhasselhoffer]

What, exactly, are you looking for?

If you're looking at a custom build from the ground up, check out the motherboard specified dimensions, specifications for HDD size, and power supply dimensions (most of which can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX).


Do you want some advice, from people who have done it?

This seems like a good way to do a build, as the documentation is only mildly lacking: http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/tech/case-mod.html.


Honestly, we need more than such a vague question. Give us something, and we might be able to help you. As it stands, this thread has no well defined point.

[Martine]

Originally Posted by lilhasselhoffer

As it stands, this thread has no well defined point.

Sorry about that. What I want is to know, if I can put motherboard/HDD ect. directly on wood. Would that cause any damage (sparks..) to components?

Originally Posted by lilhasselhoffer

Do you want some advice, from people who have done it?

With size of components and airflow I have no problems all I need is material and some guidance to continue my desin. But I would like to see how others have done a case made of wood, if there were any problems I need to watch out.

I always forget people don't see what is in my head.

[micropage7]

Originally Posted by Martine

Sorry about that. What I want is to know, if I can put motherboard/HDD ect. directly on wood. Would that cause any damage (sparks..) to components?

not coz wood wont flow any electric so its save
but better put some spacer below that, not much about 2-3mm you can use hard paper or plastic, so the heat from board could be released faster

what about this

[Martine]

Originally Posted by micropage7

not coz wood wont flow any electric so its save

I know wood doesn't conduct electricity but I once heard there may be some problems with moisture in wood

[t_ski]

There are a few wooden cases listed in the Project Logs section. You can look there for some ideas. If you have the time and the skills, you could go all "Nick Falzone" on it.

[micropage7]

Originally Posted by Martine

I know wood doesn't conduct electricity but I once heard there may be some problems with moisture in wood

i guess you need to make sure the wood is completely dry and the place where you gonna put the case is important and give a good airflow or you can give it clear coat on it

[Sasqui]

If anything, wood will help control humidity if it's seasoned. And as long as you have good airflow, you won't have any problems. I recall seeing some great wood case builds, it's probably the easiest material to work with assuming you have the tools.

I want to make a case out of clay

[lilhasselhoffer]

Ok, I think I have a better understanding now.

1) Wood is not a uniform material. Know that, while it does form easier it also deforms easier.
2) Never mount anything directly to wood. Wood has the tendency to wick moisture, which is what you might have heard.
3) Don't mount components directly to anything. There's a good reason that just about every single case uses standoffs.


That's all I can offer. Everything else is up to your imagination.

[SnoopKatt]

As long as you follow a generic case design, the build should go over pretty well. However, if it's a computer that you will move around a lot, it's probably not a good idea, as the case alone could easily exceed 40 pounds.

Quarter inch plywood would probably do it (and maybe half inch for the major supports). It will be a huge time investment to get everything sized properly, but once it's finished, there will be nothing quite like having a unique computer case.

As far as moisture goes, what might help is spray painting some layers of gloss or another coating that repels water.

If you go ahead with the project, please post pictures!

[Martine]

Originally Posted by SnoopKatt

If you go ahead with the project, please post pictures!

Here is the start of project S.C.A.R.