by Skouperd » Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:17 am
Tyger, you are absolutely correct. The biggest concerns for me working with wood was the following:
1. Expansion / contraction, as the wood absorb humidity, and dries out
2. Splitting due to too much stress on certain joints
3. Discolouration due to UV and sun
So, I don't think I will lie if I say I've done about 200 hours of research (over 5 years) on wood finishes. As the amount of research will confirm, the finish to the wood has been a real nightmare to me for ages. On the projects to date I've been trying all kinds of finishes, raw-linseed oil, wax, Danish oil, varnish, polyearathane, and who knows what else. I've build a mahogany cabinet for my bathroom (specifically to see how good heat and humidity could be absorbed) and sealed that with Danish oil. Every 6 months or so I will just give the cabinet a fresh wipe and to date, despite the heat and moisture, the cabinet is still perfect with very little expansion or drying out. As such, I've decided not to fight the expansion of the wood too much, which is why you'll see my bottom joints etc have a 1.5mm to 2mm gap (this was on purpose, not a flaw in my measuring techniques) in order to allow for expansion.
In terms of the heat, granted the heat of the components will be considerably higher than your average bathroom, but I believe that with the amount of airflow passing through the case (in total there is 8x120mm fans spread througout the case) I recon the airflow should get rid of the heat quickly.
With regard to discolouration of the wood, if you ask most people what colour is mahogony, they will tell you a dark brown colour, in actual fact it is more red than brown and only over age does it turn to brown. Some people uses cheap tricks to stain wood (which is wrong on just so many levels) to get the colour that they will eventually get. Since I did not stain the wood (wtf stains solid wood?) I am hoping that over time, the wood does actually discolour to the colour that everybody associate with it.
By the way, the cut out behind the CPU is big enough to house a 9th 120mm fan which I could install to perhaps keep the underside of the motherboard cool which I trust should help reduce the warping associated with heat of the motherboard tray.
If you have an interest to tackle a project like this, I will definately recommend it. There are some very challenging moments, like cutting out the PCI Slots, or ensuring that the bracket for the back-io-plate is exactly the right dimensions (you out with more then 0.5mm and the back plate will fall out), but at the end of the day, it is a hell of a ride.
With regard to orders, I am actually thinking of building another one as I've learned a thing or two on this one, so this case may just be going on auction....
Tyger, you are absolutely correct. The biggest concerns for me working with wood was the following:
1. Expansion / contraction, as the wood absorb humidity, and dries out
2. Splitting due to too much stress on certain joints
3. Discolouration due to UV and sun
So, I don't think I will lie if I say I've done about 200 hours of research (over 5 years) on wood finishes. As the amount of research will confirm, the finish to the wood has been a real nightmare to me for ages. On the projects to date I've been trying all kinds of finishes, raw-linseed oil, wax, Danish oil, varnish, polyearathane, and who knows what else. I've build a mahogany cabinet for my bathroom (specifically to see how good heat and humidity could be absorbed) and sealed that with Danish oil. Every 6 months or so I will just give the cabinet a fresh wipe and to date, despite the heat and moisture, the cabinet is still perfect with very little expansion or drying out. As such, I've decided not to fight the expansion of the wood too much, which is why you'll see my bottom joints etc have a 1.5mm to 2mm gap (this was on purpose, not a flaw in my measuring techniques) in order to allow for expansion.
In terms of the heat, granted the heat of the components will be considerably higher than your average bathroom, but I believe that with the amount of airflow passing through the case (in total there is 8x120mm fans spread througout the case) I recon the airflow should get rid of the heat quickly.
With regard to discolouration of the wood, if you ask most people what colour is mahogony, they will tell you a dark brown colour, in actual fact it is more red than brown and only over age does it turn to brown. Some people uses cheap tricks to stain wood (which is wrong on just so many levels) to get the colour that they will eventually get. Since I did not stain the wood (wtf stains solid wood?) I am hoping that over time, the wood does actually discolour to the colour that everybody associate with it.
By the way, the cut out behind the CPU is big enough to house a 9th 120mm fan which I could install to perhaps keep the underside of the motherboard cool which I trust should help reduce the warping associated with heat of the motherboard tray.
If you have an interest to tackle a project like this, I will definately recommend it. There are some very challenging moments, like cutting out the PCI Slots, or ensuring that the bracket for the back-io-plate is exactly the right dimensions (you out with more then 0.5mm and the back plate will fall out), but at the end of the day, it is a hell of a ride.
With regard to orders, I am actually thinking of building another one as I've learned a thing or two on this one, so this case may just be going on auction....