Building Ikigai, My Award-Winning Wooden PC Mod
Here’s how I built a unique mod, combining CNC with hand woodworking.
I used a Cooler Master SFX power supply for this project that is going at the top of the case. I played around with the orientation of this seeing how the wiring would look, facing the wires towards the front was the best option.This got a Wenge enclosure and Kumiko grill piece as well.
Since Wenge is so strong, I decided to make a thinner enclosure, and made a few test pieces as usual to get the basic dimensions. I then resawed some Wenge stock with my bandsaw and glued it together.
I wanted the grain to be continuous like the main case Wenge so I cut it accordingly:
To fit with the rest of the case, I used dovetail joinery again for the corners. I did this the same way I built the main case joints but without the miter in the corners. Here are the joints cut before getting cleaned up.
After a bit of cleanup, the joints fit together and the basic power supply compartment is done.
I used the CNC machine again to make mounting holes for the power supply. This will be glued up in a later step.
Next, I needed to attach the power supply compartment to the acrylic distribution panel. I achieved this by making a small rabbet in the front of the compartment that would fit over the front of the acrylic.
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I then made some holes in the bottom of the Wenge to put screws into the acrylic. I also machined some vent holes so the power supply could breathe and so the cables could exit the compartment and head to their respective locations.
One final step before I could take the case further was to attach the acrylic to the Wenge frame. To do this, I made a groove in the Wenge for the acrylic to sit in.
I then made holes in the top and bottom of the wenge for bolts that would attach it all together. With this done, it became one cohesive unit and I could lay out where the graphics card and motherboard would interact with the bottom of the case.
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waltc3 Incredible, masterful...my head began to throb just looking at all the disparate steps and preparations...;) Bravo.Reply