Page 7 - Cherry wood Case with water cooling

Im just careful about the noise that will be made once the raised panel door is on the front (whistle) because of the volume of air. I do have 2 120 in the pump housing, 1 in the top, and one 135 in the power supply to keep the air moving. I can make it bigger after I find out what will happen with the door.

In a mock up of the finished product I wanted to see how everything was working out. I was very pleased to see this layout was working very well. Yes it is large but it is supposed to look like a cabinet in my new office. It will blend in perfectly after I build the raised panel door.

The top fan is a 1225 from Thermaltake. Larger then the 120 for max air flow.


This is what I need to accomplish this time.


Then the next step will involve 3 different hole sizes at one location. The first step will be to drill a 1/16" pilot hole to maintain the center of the hole.

Then to drill the top of the case to inlay the fill port for the water cooling.

Turning the fill port upside down and placing it in the hole tells me if there needs to be any adjustment.


All is good here so now to flip the board over and work from the bottom side of the case top.

Drilling a test hole in a piece of scrap will let me know if it is large enough for the nut to the fill port.

Just right. Now to drill the actual board deep enough to get threads from the fill port. Then its time to drill the 3rd hole that allows the fill port to penetrate the top board.



My daughter was excited that I took a picture of her hand to be on the Internet.



An here is the final picture of the fill port (a DangerDen product) inlaid on the top board to fill the water cooling.

Here is the mounting holes for the fan and just laid on the board for fitting. You can see the fill port hole on the bottom and a little more detail as to the shoulder cut that would allow the unit to be attached to the case.



The bottom of the case was opened to match the pump housing. This for connecting the computer to the water pump rig with the hoses and electrical connections and most important, air flow. (that cut was done free hand and no fences to keep the blade straight)

I took a break and went to the pool with my kids. They were hot and so was I. After I got back I had the router all set up for the final mitre interlocking cuts and whipped them out.







Now things are really beginning to come together.

One last pic for the night. I wanted to show you just how much easier it is to use a interlocking mitre router bit. The corners look great but look at how accurate they are.



Its important to keep 90 degree corners and this bit does just that with ease.

Then disaster strikes. The bottom of the case hit the floor and broke. I can't believe this but all is not lost. Since I was in the middle of the glue up then maybe I could add a couple of clamps and glue the crack. And the good news is that it is the bottom and the crack won't show all is OK.


I wanted to give you a idea with this type of glue the process it requires. You have to wet down both sides of the wood to activate the glue.


I was trying to take more pics but when the bottom broke I quit with the camera and worked as quickly as I could to get the parts together before the glue activated.

Sorry...

I took the case out of the clamps this morning. Every looks great. Now some removal of the glue and sanding and this thing is ready for some more action.



The bottom glued up nicely. I am happy with the results. Here is a pic of the repair on the bottom board.



Things are coming together nicely. I am beginning to see the fruits of my labor. I have to make the trim for the unit. All the molding will be homemade. I have several bits to chose from for the design of the molding. The case will be modular to remove it from the pump housing for any repairs necessary. That will require me to put 4 of the brass inserts to screw the case to the pump housing. I will be cutting a rabbet cut on the sides. This will allow a shoulder to put Plexiglas covers on the sides. The door will be a raised panel door with the 3 barrel hinges to access the drives. I plan several custom grills for the fan openings. So this is the beginning of lots of fun.

I wanted to get back to you with the rig I used for some of this work.
Here is the router bit in the router / lift combo. The dial to the right allows for adjusting the bit height. The throat plate is zero clearance for best cutting without tear out


The router below the table is the Porter Cable 7815 3.25 horse power with the speed adjustments. Its a real work horse.


The fence is a Freud with micro adjustments for correct positioning of the fences. They can be adjusted together or independent of each other.



And this is the entire setup. There is a remote on off switch wired to the router for ease of power control, and its on locking casters to move it around when needed.

The next set of router bits are the raised panel for the door. I have a great collection of bits. The router tends to be one of the most versatile tools in the wood shop.