Learning how to case mod - help

[iBeInspire]

Hi all ~

Basically, I've bought a cheap £30 unbranded case to learn a little about how to cut and mod cases, but the side panels are extremly flexible. I only have acess to a drill and a jigsaw, and was wondering two things :

1) Is it safe/easy to cut a case with very flexible side panels?

2) What would be the easiest way to put a window in this thing with only a jigsaw and a drill?

I'm a complete noob at this, so it would also be helpful to drop me some suggestions as to what/where to get doble sides tape and acrylic

 

[garih]

Hi all ~

Basically, I've bought a cheap £30 unbranded case to learn a little about how to cut and mod cases, but the side panels are extremly flexible. I only have acess to a drill and a jigsaw, and was wondering two things :

1) Is it safe/easy to cut a case with very flexible side panels?

2) What would be the easiest way to put a window in this thing with only a jigsaw and a drill?

I'm a complete noob at this, so it would also be helpful to drop me some suggestions as to what/where to get doble sides tape and acrylic

use 10mm double sided foam tape. about £2 on ebay. same place for acrylic.

as to the cutting. im still unskilled at that one. last one i did i found it very hard to make a clean cut,

i cheated with mine, i used a smoked acrylic, made the cut, and put the acrylic on the outside of the panel. hiding my botched cuts.

then i changed my system to a case with a window already in!!

 

[B3rni3]

You can get double sided tape and foam tape from arts and hobby stores.

I would recommend picking up a cheap dremil tool if you can. I got one for about £30 from halfords a while back for working on my car and it is very handy. Will help keep cuts a bit cleaner.

As for the cutting cut slightly inside the line you want and file/sand it back to the line. This will make sure you dont over cut anything and will give you cleaner lines.

As for the jigsaw I am not sure how it will turn out hence why I said pick up a dremil if you can. If not try to brace the sheet your cutting on something ie between two desks or tables and weight it down on both sides to try and stop it flying about the place.

 

[tinytomlogan]

Cut inside where you want it, then file and sand to make a clean smooth line.

You can use 'C strip' to put an edge round before fitting the window too.

Double sided foam tape is deffo the way forward.

when you cut the window just be sure to make sure you have room to put the side panel on etc after fitting it. Some panels slide and if you put the acrylic too close to the edge the door wont go back on

 

[B NEGATIVE]

If you are not painting the panel i would suggest masking the panel with tape,jigsaws will scratch the panel as chips tend to run under the footplate and get vibrated out causing damage.
If you want good straight lines with a jigsaw,clamp a length of straight timber or,ideally,a spirit level, to the panel with the offset from the edge of the footplate to the blade spacing from the cut line.
Dont force the jigsaw,it causes blade deflection and the cut can come out ragged.

 

[iBeInspire]

Thanks to all
Firstly, I never actually thought of using a eBay for supplies, I definitely will now The dremil's not really what I was after, all the tools belong to my dad and I don't really want to spend even more money on something I may not even be good at.
Apart from that, all your tips have been listened to and I'll be posting a build log/modding log/some other creative name-log in the near future once the project is under way... However badly it goes

 

[jamesriley94]

I've always bought my acrylic and supplies from chilledPC:
http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/

They've had the best panels of acrylic I've used.

As others have said, tape the side panel otherwise you'll scuff it. It also helps to draw out where you're cutting on the jigsaw.
And just be very slow using the jigsaw.

I wouldn't bother being massively accurate on the acrylic - if it's stuck on the inside you can't really see it anyway, and overdoing acrylic with a jigsaw tends to be risky as if can crack if you aren't careful.
You're also far better off getting/using a metal cutting blade on the jigsaw rather than a wood blade. This helps especially cutting the acrylic, but also it won't bend out the metal of the case so you'll have less filing to do.

Dependent on the case, you may want to use edging on it. I did for my first mod project as it was just so much effort to file everything perfectly, although others may discourage this.
I used:
http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=60_95&products_id=242

Which worked really well, but if you're intending to do it properly, you'll need to spend a long time filing down the edges to make it look good.

 

[iBeInspire]

I was actually planning on getting a piece of acrylic about the size of the window, since it won't matter how it looks on the inside, and I won't have to cut it down to size - eBay is excellent for this since they have option for every size and shade imaginable

Also, I'm going to pick up some ''edging'', but I'll see if it looks better with or without it.

Just another question, What should I use to sand down the edges after the cutting? a Hand File, or a certain grit sandpaper (Please specify)?

 

[jamesriley94]

I was actually planning on getting a piece of acrylic about the size of the window, since it won't matter how it looks on the inside, and I won't have to cut it down to size - eBay is excellent for this since they have option for every size and shade imaginable

Also, I'm going to pick up some ''edging'', but I'll see if it looks better with or without it.

Just another question, What should I use to sand down the edges after the cutting? a Hand File, or a certain grit sandpaper (Please specify)?

Depends how good you are with a jigsaw...

But most likely filing then sanding.
If you have curved corners you'll need a half moon file

 

[ugiboy]

I have a very old case that I had ten years ago in my garage. I have bought my son a dremel so he can have a play. I will be watching this thread closely and hopefully learn something.

 

[airdeano]

on very cheap side panels, i'll screw a sized piece of scrap wood (gives it some rigidity)
so the jigsaw doesn't beat it up. the blade of the jigsaw should be between
24-36 teeth per inch (TPI). you don't want to cut it fast like a hot knife through
butter.
come to the radiuses of the corners slow down to a crawl or make many cuts.
plan where the plexi is to go and look inside to verify if the chassis will interfere
with the plexi (Tom's suggestion) because if installed too close to the panel edges
you can't install the side panel because the plexi hits the chassis.

good luck!

airdeano

 

[iBeInspire]

I've made sure I've got all the hand files, and I'll be ordering all the stuff off eBay this weeend when I have a little free time...
I'll progressivly update this thread with pics of how it goes, and/or if I encounter and issues ~