Project Sinister: Out Comes the Evil
(Page 1 of 7 )
Sinister was definitely proving to be sinister. With the installation of the hinges, I discovered a problem with the side panel. Read now about the next step of Sinister's creation, how I solved this panel crisis, and see the creation of this evil case mod.
This is part 3 of 4. The other parts are linked below:
Part 1: Project Sinister: Something Sinister This Way Comes
Part 2: Project Sinister: Things That Go Bump In The Night
Part 4: Project Sinister: Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
When I was opening the panel on the suicide hinges, I found that the panel was rather unstable. The obvious solution to this problem was to install a second hinge. After installing the second hinge everything seemed to be working perfectly. The panel opened and closed with no difficulties whatsoever. However, a new problem surfaced with the side panel in that the effort of opening the panel was causing it to bend.
With no way to adjust the tension of the brackets I decided after much thought my only course of action would be to reinforce the side panel. There were a number of ways that I could have done this. My first idea was to install cross-braces in the panel, forming an “X” internally to give the panel more strength. However, with the suicide hinges being an important feature of the modded case the “X” shape would stand out and be rather aesthetically unattractive.
My second idea, however, proved to be a far more attractive solution. Taking a sheet of the perforated steel that I used to make the fan filters, I set to cutting it to fit the side panel. I wanted the edges of the perforated steel to overlap onto the brackets, though, to make the action of the hinges work with the perforated steel I was using to strengthen the panel. If I hadn’t cut it that way, I would have been left with the original problem and a discarded piece of steel as the bending where the hinges attached to the panel would still exist.

With the panel cut to size, I need to drill holes for the brackets to be anchored through and holes to anchor the perforated steel to the side panel.
Next: Working on the Side Panel >>
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