PROJECT: HTPC-4 Part 1

Yes, I started another one, before I had even started to paint HTPC-3. This one is a lot less complicated and besides, I needed something to do while the paint/wood filler/etc etc dried.

Here's a shot with the sides and front panels glued on.

This case was going to be low-low profile, measuring inside the box at 2-1/2" tall, 16" wide and 10" deep.

The outside dimensions being 3-1/2" tall..

17" wide...

and 10-1/2" deep.

And sorry about the pictures (all of them in fact). The photographer and the camera are horrible.

Here's a quick shot with the top laid on it.

Here's my trusty Dremel drill press.

I used my router attachement to make this... but what for?

This.

I'm experimenting with different ways of attaching the top to these boxes. So far both are pretty weak but manage to keep the top in place. Still they aren't very effective and may just go back to just gluing a couple of pieces of wood to the underneath of the top to keep it in place. For now though, this works and turned out great.

This is how I glued the nuts in place. I filled the hole with wood glue screwed the bolt in just enough, placed the top on and pulled all the bolts up, thus preventing the bolt from sinking to the bottom of the hole. I'd didn't work quite that easily, but it worked.

And the finished product. Verdict: UGLY

I was going to go about this one a little differently, that is to say, I was going to use sheet metal for some parts. So I bought this and prompty measured out the cuts.

And voila!

Two cuts and the holes drilled for the M-Atx PSU (2.5" High). Because the case is so lo-profile, it won't allow for a dedicated card. It will acomodate a 1/4" height WiFi card, and that's pretty easy to drill a whole for, but for the most part I'm keeping this simple. Make sure your mobo has a 780G Northbrige or equivalent and you don't need a dedicated card.

Yes, I am the absolute worst at cutting holes with a jig-saw. I need to buy some bigger hole saw bits. But the sub cuts, courtesy of my router addon to the dremel worked awesomely.

Seriously, I suck.

Here I used some metal for the side mount and a piece of MDF as a spacer on the side against the front panel. Worked perfectly. I added some wax paper there, as the spacer was stil drying and had some glue squeezing out.

A quick shot of the rear panel, unglued

The rear panel being glued on...

And due to some forethought, I fastened the panel with some screws before-hand, just in case. Well, the glue didn't hold at all, (I forgot I used liquid nails last time, doh.) and the only thing keeping it on was the screws. So I drilled a couple more on and there we are.

More on this as it develops... it just needs to stop raining.

Late!