Alright, so I spent most of the day redoing the side panel. I know I supposedly already did the side panel, but I was still never quite happy with it. Initially I used very thin plexi and edge molding and it just didn't have the clean factory appearance I was going for. I also initially left the 'wings' on the opening. This not only looked a bit shoddy to me but I also later discovered that the wings made it impossible to put the GPU intake fans in the optimal location... so without further adieu... I present my better side panel:
Used my dremel to nix the wings from the opening. A bit of filing and some touch up with black paint later made it look like they were never there. Drilled a few holes to match up with the remaining ones and the metal portion was done.
Once again I had to run all over town to find enough of the right size screws. I decided to simply cut threads in the plexi instead of using a washer and nut on the back side. This method made for a cleaner look since the nut and washer would have been visible to keen eyes. I've always appreciated the rugged industrial look of the hex nuts.
I didn't get any pictures of cutting the fan holes this time. That part was pretty much the same as any other process of cutting holes. I used a 4.5" hole saw and drained my dewalt battery. Getting the nice rounded inner edges to the fan holes was accomplished by using a sanding drum on my dremel to get rid of most of the coarseness the hole saw left. Then I used the dremel and sanding drum at about a 45 degree angle to get a rough shape established. After that it was a few hours with a Revlon 6 step nail file to get the final product. The first two steps of the nail file are fairly rough and do a great job of shaping the edge and getting it nice an smooth. Steps 3-6 are polishing grits that progressively bring out a glassy shine. For shaping and polishing plexy edges like this I think it works better than sandpaper. The nail file is soft and flexible and forms itself around the edge quite nicely. Sandpaper just creases causes more trouble than it's worth.
Sleeving these will be quick and simple. I twisted them opposite without realizing it. Whatever. Also... in this pic you can see the nail file I was referring to above.
Tah dah!
bleh! this hobby makes me have to do chores. I made a helluba mess today!!
and the cut on the side doesn't even look like someone did it.. 
