Thread
ATOMicZipMacPLUS/MacQuarium™
Well, after 18 months, I really think the ATOM NetTop Board has found a home, one that will be a pleasure to have sitting next to me on the Teak Desk.
The ZipMacPLUS™ will be losing all function as a 68k, but ubuntu for work (and OS-X for showtime/playtime) on the KVM'd 1600x1200 20" Pivot LCD will work out just fine!
Interior renovations:
It's going to be very colorful behind the clear plexi windows . . .
View attachment 17716
. . . closer look at the players and stand-ins . . .
. . . PSU mounted onto the A/B so it's hidden behind the CRT/CRT neck . . .
. . . cleared section and standoff stand-ins . . .
. . . razed areas for PSU and PCI Card . . .
. . . PSU mounted . . .
. . . bottom view . . .
. . . front view . . .
. . . back view . . .
. . . excised A/B componentsts . . .
. . . Chop-Top MoBo . . . with first standoff hole drilled through its hip . . .
. . . side view of MoBo/NetTop sandwich . . .
. . . rear view of same . . .
. . . once I've adapted the Parallel Port Zip250 garnish, it'll be a real Dagwood . . . with the (plastic) fish in the front!
NOTE: No functional Mac Plus parts have been harmed in the production of this . . . whatever . . . :lol:
I'll be isolating some of the circuitry.components of the A/B to do a few things . . . maybe . . .
. . . still working out the breakout for the rear, pins on the OEM connectors will likely be hotwired to plugs for the MoBo . . .
. . . undecided about KBD access panel, but USB2 seems to be the ticket for thumb drives or a KBD . . .
. . . tailless Rodents only, need apply.
Is funtime/hacktime project! :approve:
edit: for the life of me, I can't figure out why I feel a slight urge to paint the chassis in some sickly electric green hue . . . :
The ZipMacPLUS™ will be losing all function as a 68k, but ubuntu for work (and OS-X for showtime/playtime) on the KVM'd 1600x1200 20" Pivot LCD will work out just fine!
Interior renovations:
It's going to be very colorful behind the clear plexi windows . . .
View attachment 17716
. . . closer look at the players and stand-ins . . .
. . . PSU mounted onto the A/B so it's hidden behind the CRT/CRT neck . . .
. . . cleared section and standoff stand-ins . . .
. . . razed areas for PSU and PCI Card . . .
. . . PSU mounted . . .
. . . bottom view . . .
. . . front view . . .
. . . back view . . .
. . . excised A/B componentsts . . .
. . . Chop-Top MoBo . . . with first standoff hole drilled through its hip . . .
. . . side view of MoBo/NetTop sandwich . . .
. . . rear view of same . . .
. . . once I've adapted the Parallel Port Zip250 garnish, it'll be a real Dagwood . . . with the (plastic) fish in the front!
NOTE: No functional Mac Plus parts have been harmed in the production of this . . . whatever . . . :lol:
I'll be isolating some of the circuitry.components of the A/B to do a few things . . . maybe . . .
. . . still working out the breakout for the rear, pins on the OEM connectors will likely be hotwired to plugs for the MoBo . . .
. . . undecided about KBD access panel, but USB2 seems to be the ticket for thumb drives or a KBD . . .
. . . tailless Rodents only, need apply.
Is funtime/hacktime project! :approve:
edit: for the life of me, I can't figure out why I feel a slight urge to paint the chassis in some sickly electric green hue . . . :
Two usb ports in the original keyboard jack wouldn't look too out of place. and they are pretty easy to salvage from any junk x86 pc case. Dell machines are usually a great candidate for the two ports, and I've seen plenty of this machine die over the past few years..
for the life of me, I can't figure out why I feel a slight urge to paint the chassis in some sickly electric green hue . . . :
Ditto on the case, it was the ugliest of the three, had a borked bucket and came w/o MoBo . . . it just cleaned up very nicely, but it's still yellow, check the filed spots for the un-yellowed color. I'll be painting the raw edges to match the case.
Catchy name that! Maybe I'll change the title of the topic! [}] ]'>
Just so, besides, the front bezel Zip mod predates, and likely fomented the, very recent and extremely annoying, development of HackWhining™ as an unsanctioned 68kMLA activity. So this case is definitely off limits for such silly discussions. An open exchange of opinions is fine . . . in the other thread, only!
Catchy name that! Maybe I'll change the title of the topic! [}
] ]'>
Never mind, at least Mr. Ed was an animate object, My Mother the Car was a case of delusional psychotic behavior . . . :
Let's curtail this discussion here and pick it up in the latest thing . . . Zip
. . . PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let's curtail this discussion here and pick it up in the latest thing . . . Zip
. . . PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks . . .
The Plastic Fish are inanimate objects that simulate living organisms when animated by air bubbles. No real fish will be harmed by placing them into the icky chemicals sure to leech out of the CRT's bits even after a thorough washing . . .
. . . maybe a goldfish, carp can live in, and on, just about anything imaginable . . . [}] ]'>
. . . but you gotta feed and clean up after such filthy water vermin . . . so . . . not happening!
The ATOMicZipMacPlus will be driving the 1600x1200 LCD on the KVM, along with the QS'02 and Pavilion dm1 3g NetBook.
I decided on leaving as much of the A/B's bits hanging off it as possible, so there's no clearance for the PadDock/DuoDock receding MacQuarium hack . . .
. . . unless . . . nah!
)
Neither,the CRT will be the new MacQuarium home for the Plastic Fish if I can get it to work out just right. Otherwise I'll fab a nice clear Plexi approximation of the CRT and glue the neck section onto the back.
The Plastic Fish are inanimate objects that simulate living organisms when animated by air bubbles. No real fish will be harmed by placing them into the icky chemicals sure to leech out of the CRT's bits even after a thorough washing . . .
. . . maybe a goldfish, carp can live in, and on, just about anything imaginable . . . [}
] ]'>. . . but you gotta feed and clean up after such filthy water vermin . . . so . . . not happening!
The ATOMicZipMacPlus will be driving the 1600x1200 LCD on the KVM, along with the QS'02 and Pavilion dm1 3g NetBook.
I decided on leaving as much of the A/B's bits hanging off it as possible, so there's no clearance for the PadDock/DuoDock receding MacQuarium hack . . .
. . . unless . . . nah!
) Back with the latest update:
Before I get started: this bucket was thoroughly thrashed when I bought the otherwise cherry 128k->DayStar->Plus->MicroMac. This bucket has sentimental value and is lovingly being transformed into my, first ever, ClearMacDisplayCase.
I'll post the HowTo pics later if anybody wants to learn about using Plexi Scribes and Japanese Saws to do precise work by hand that's impossible to achieve with Rotary Tools. These techniques are useful across much of the hobby and pro tool using spectrum.
Before I get started: this bucket was thoroughly thrashed when I bought the otherwise cherry 128k->DayStar->Plus->MicroMac. This bucket has sentimental value and is lovingly being transformed into my, first ever, ClearMacDisplayCase.
I'll post the HowTo pics later if anybody wants to learn about using Plexi Scribes and Japanese Saws to do precise work by hand that's impossible to achieve with Rotary Tools. These techniques are useful across much of the hobby and pro tool using spectrum.
Ditto. My father actually has a nice set of hand saws that I've neglected to use opting instead to go the Dremel route. Good for quickly cutting ventilation holes into overheating cases, but not so neat for the work I plan to do in the future.
Back on topic, how do you intend to hold the corners of the top and rear pieces together at the seam?
Take it easy on the kid, guys. Before I locked up his bully pulpit I'd told him not to make any objections in any hacks threads but mine or he faced an official warning. I also told him that he can post whatever he wants to say in my threads, but he'd better slap a smile on it or put a sock in it.
A mild objection or two, some intelligent questions about what, why, how and yet another one about the plastic fish silliness is a vast improvement . . .
. . . way better than a smile or a wink, way to go, kid!
My hacks don't need support or disapproval, nor do those of others and such commentary is to be avoided. It's sort of an "I'm interested or not" kind of deal, sometimes even folks not particularly interested in mods or hacking will drop in for a question or a comment . . .
. . . not many in my hacks threads though, response rates are up now that I'm using illustrations, pictures and keeping .TXT down to a minimum. :
Most of the what and how commentary/pics will follow . . . one "what" is adding provision for two display enclosures:
. . . later on I'll do one that's a customized glazing semi-stock kinda thing . . .
. . . for now a partial chopped-top, hot-rod deal will be the main line of this hack attack . . .
. . . here's a very large part of the why, the pairs of pics speak volumes . . .
. . . chopping the top of the hot-rodding display moves it a full 13.5cm back from the edge of the desk, tucking The back right corner of the case underneath the shelf overhang. The little clamp in the "after" pics was placed so as to touch the recessed left front corner of the Plus Case before I moved it back to where it will sit. That way the air bubbling noises that go along with animating my plastic fish will be muted by the 10cm or so of extra viewing distance that will ease these tired old eyes when they glaze over in a . . . erm . . . reverie of whatever sort . . . with luck, it'll be creative . . .
. . . but reminiscing and napping will be good practice for the future as well! [)] ]'>
Not sure if this is the cool part or the useful part . . . I'd like to think a bit of both. However the Picture window planned for the left side with A/B LED backlighting will be definitely be a cool feature, I've wanted to do one of those for forever and a day. [] ]'>
edit, it's not as obvious as the broken fake vents on the right, but you can see where the vanes of the real set of cooling vents have been warped by overheating by the slow moving air passing across the heat sinks and clustered components at the top of the A/B, in front of the flyback transformer. Removing the TwiggyBox really put a hurt on some very elegant engineering done by the early design team.
One of the uses for the semi-stock plexi windowed case will be doing infra-red photography to illustrate differences the baffling and chimney effects of the TwiggyBoxGambit that I hope to see in terms of operating temperature reduction of the A.B.
I will, of course, be using the bucket on the 128k+++ for that experiment. [}] ]'>
A mild objection or two, some intelligent questions about what, why, how and yet another one about the plastic fish silliness is a vast improvement . . .
. . . way better than a smile or a wink, way to go, kid!
My hacks don't need support or disapproval, nor do those of others and such commentary is to be avoided. It's sort of an "I'm interested or not" kind of deal, sometimes even folks not particularly interested in mods or hacking will drop in for a question or a comment . . .
. . . not many in my hacks threads though, response rates are up now that I'm using illustrations, pictures and keeping .TXT down to a minimum. :
Most of the what and how commentary/pics will follow . . . one "what" is adding provision for two display enclosures:
. . . later on I'll do one that's a customized glazing semi-stock kinda thing . . .
. . . for now a partial chopped-top, hot-rod deal will be the main line of this hack attack . . .
. . . here's a very large part of the why, the pairs of pics speak volumes . . .
. . . chopping the top of the hot-rodding display moves it a full 13.5cm back from the edge of the desk, tucking The back right corner of the case underneath the shelf overhang. The little clamp in the "after" pics was placed so as to touch the recessed left front corner of the Plus Case before I moved it back to where it will sit. That way the air bubbling noises that go along with animating my plastic fish will be muted by the 10cm or so of extra viewing distance that will ease these tired old eyes when they glaze over in a . . . erm . . . reverie of whatever sort . . . with luck, it'll be creative . . .
. . . but reminiscing and napping will be good practice for the future as well! [
)] ]'>Not sure if this is the cool part or the useful part . . . I'd like to think a bit of both. However the Picture window planned for the left side with A/B LED backlighting will be definitely be a cool feature, I've wanted to do one of those for forever and a day. [
] ]'>edit, it's not as obvious as the broken fake vents on the right, but you can see where the vanes of the real set of cooling vents have been warped by overheating by the slow moving air passing across the heat sinks and clustered components at the top of the A/B, in front of the flyback transformer. Removing the TwiggyBox really put a hurt on some very elegant engineering done by the early design team.
One of the uses for the semi-stock plexi windowed case will be doing infra-red photography to illustrate differences the baffling and chimney effects of the TwiggyBoxGambit that I hope to see in terms of operating temperature reduction of the A.B.
I will, of course, be using the bucket on the 128k+++ for that experiment. [}
] ]'>I'm sure I don't understand your question, but:
If it relates to the clear plexi INNER Chassis section in the pic, it's a non starter, it remains attached to the chassis and front bezel.
If you're asking if the bucket retaining bolts at the top will be functional, they will be, in two different configurations . . .
. . . as shown, there is a 1/2" deep section of the "bolt tubes" remaining on the "bucket" . . .
. . . that includes the flat "bolt seat" at the bottoms of the tubes, so the standard bolts will hold the cutaway bucket to the front bezel.
For the pop-top of the bucket, I'll probably fab an interim standoff tube and bolt system . . .
. . . so that I can bolt the pop-top onto the cutaway bucket that's bolted up to the front bezel with the standoff tubes.
As for turning the rounded corners, achieving matched thicknesses and the fusion of Clear Plexi and Yellowed ABS . . .
. . . that's a function of roller guided router bits, plexi bending, selective treatments, shiplaps and back magic! [}
] ]'>Nope, clear plexi enclosure monocoque chassis coming right up. :beige:
Built-in sluiceway lid for MacQuarium flooding insurance as well!
Gotta swap in the guts from one of the Parallel Port Zip 250s as also. Got three of the lil' blue turds listed as "SCSI" on eBay recently, so they were basically free.
That'll be for the ATOM board's printer port, no other worldly use for a parallel port otherwise! :lol:
Built-in sluiceway lid for MacQuarium flooding insurance as well!
Gotta swap in the guts from one of the Parallel Port Zip 250s as also. Got three of the lil' blue turds listed as "SCSI" on eBay recently, so they were basically free.
That'll be for the ATOM board's printer port, no other worldly use for a parallel port otherwise! :lol:
Printers! :lol:
Actually, that was a bit of hyperbole, lots of ancient numeric control stuff runs off the parallel port . . .
. . . like my 40" CAMMJet . . . then again, that Plotter is one big@$$ Printer . . . with knives! [}] ]'>
Update: I'll edit in some verbiage tomorrow, it's bedti . . .
Dozuki Noko Giri: one hot little Mama Saw! She was really sweet until I knocked out a couple of her teeth . . . time for a replacement blade. This one is named Mitzi, after my Aunt Mitsuko.
The nasty little saw separating the two case sections after all the long cuts have been made, is way beyond repair. After I break down and buy a new one, I may clip off the squiggly/gnarly front two thirds of it and use the back third for close quarters work . . . or not, me likes nasty! [
] ]'>
< YAWNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!! >
. . . not so bad actually, my Japanese saws are something like 23 years old and they're all on the original blades . . .
. . . but they're are getting a bit long in the tooth . . . those that haven't fallen out . . . [)] ]'>
. . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz xx(
Actually, that was a bit of hyperbole, lots of ancient numeric control stuff runs off the parallel port . . .
. . . like my 40" CAMMJet . . . then again, that Plotter is one big@$$ Printer . . . with knives! [}
] ]'>Update: I'll edit in some verbiage tomorrow, it's bedti . . .
Dozuki Noko Giri: one hot little Mama Saw! She was really sweet until I knocked out a couple of her teeth . . . time for a replacement blade. This one is named Mitzi, after my Aunt Mitsuko.
The nasty little saw separating the two case sections after all the long cuts have been made, is way beyond repair. After I break down and buy a new one, I may clip off the squiggly/gnarly front two thirds of it and use the back third for close quarters work . . . or not, me likes nasty! [
] ]'>< YAWNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!! >
. . . not so bad actually, my Japanese saws are something like 23 years old and they're all on the original blades . . .
. . . but they're are getting a bit long in the tooth . . . those that haven't fallen out . . . [
)] ]'>. . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz xx(
well if i was doing that, i'd probably use this:
Body Saw
I'd probably do it in the garage too, but that is just me
Looks like you have quite a relationship with your Japanese saws,
and after all I thought these guys in the the other forums were being funny.
What is the intended use for those finely crafted tools you have there?
They almost look surgical.
Body Saw
I'd probably do it in the garage too, but that is just me
Looks like you have quite a relationship with your Japanese saws,
and after all I thought these guys in the the other forums were being funny.
What is the intended use for those finely crafted tools you have there?
They almost look surgical.
I've got that one too, along with all the other pneumatic tools that'll run off a 15A job site compressor, I used the nibbler yesterday to rough in the clearance cuts for the Radius_81/110/Zip . . . the manual sheet metal tools are close at hand in a very full dough pail with my sheet metal tool belt wrapped around it. The body saw cuts on the pull stroke, just like Mitzi but the kerf of your blade of choice is probably 10x what I wanted for mating the pieces after the cutting was done.
] ]'>
Check out the specs on the thickness of Mitzi's blade and the width of the kerf setting. The plexi scribe makes a wider slot, but the guidance is priceless. there's still a bit of deflection of the blade, I'll take a shot of where Mitzi strayed offline rounding the top right corner and cutting across the bolt tubes. After the edges are filed and sanded straight as an arrow and as smooth as ABS gets, the slot dividing the bucket halves will be no more than 1/64_in./.6mm. or I'll be very disappointed in the results. That's noticeably thinner than the tightest you can close the gap between bezel and bucket on a Compact Mac. They left that gap wide enough to make spotting variances more difficult, no need for that when doing fine joinery by hand.
If anyone else tries this or a similar cut, make sure to install the depopulated front bezel, taking Mr. Ryoba (the larger, double edged saw in the linked tenon cutting video) for a walk through that section of the case would be a good idea as well. His teeth have no set, so the thicker blade still makes for a kerf thinner than the plexi scribed guidelines.
Should have installed the other lid on the PlusBox for the cuts . . . they'd have been cleaner . . . :-/
Nope, nobody jokes about the tools and what they can do, just my love for them. [
] ]'>Check out the specs on the thickness of Mitzi's blade and the width of the kerf setting. The plexi scribe makes a wider slot, but the guidance is priceless. there's still a bit of deflection of the blade, I'll take a shot of where Mitzi strayed offline rounding the top right corner and cutting across the bolt tubes. After the edges are filed and sanded straight as an arrow and as smooth as ABS gets, the slot dividing the bucket halves will be no more than 1/64_in./.6mm. or I'll be very disappointed in the results. That's noticeably thinner than the tightest you can close the gap between bezel and bucket on a Compact Mac. They left that gap wide enough to make spotting variances more difficult, no need for that when doing fine joinery by hand.
If anyone else tries this or a similar cut, make sure to install the depopulated front bezel, taking Mr. Ryoba (the larger, double edged saw in the linked tenon cutting video) for a walk through that section of the case would be a good idea as well. His teeth have no set, so the thicker blade still makes for a kerf thinner than the plexi scribed guidelines.
Cutting the dovetails for the tool boxes I've yet to start. Also for cutting the simple and complex shaped lids off the rest of the completed one piece carcasses of the boxen. That's exactly the process I've just done to the Plus carcass . . .
Should have installed the other lid on the PlusBox for the cuts . . . they'd have been cleaner . . . :-/
Those Japanese Dozuki saws are fabulous tools. I bought one years ago which quickly became my preferred saw, much to my surprise, as I had grown up around and had inherited a set of quality woodworking hand tools.
I have used mine in manifold ways (apart from sawing up Macs, I confess), e.g., on 1/4" veneered plywood when making panel doors for a kitchen refit. They will cut such ply entirely without tearout, something that is virtually impossible using a conventional western handsaw, or varieties of table saw. Reciprocating saws? Forget it.
The reason they work like they do is that the blade is so thin and the teeth so fine and sharp. You would indeed get a fine, accurate, clean cut on plastics using one of these that would be more or less impossible to achieve otherwise.
The downside is that the blade and the teeth are so fine that they tend to suffer from careless use, or even after a couple of years of regular, careful use, and you can't just sharpen them again like a "western" saw because of the way they are made. Maybe the high-end, expensive versions last longer, but I wouldn't know — the cheap ones have their virtues.
Lee Valley sells a folding Dozuki, which opens and folds together so that the blade is no longer a danger, more or less like a pocketknife. Very handy tool and cheap with it.
I have used mine in manifold ways (apart from sawing up Macs, I confess), e.g., on 1/4" veneered plywood when making panel doors for a kitchen refit. They will cut such ply entirely without tearout, something that is virtually impossible using a conventional western handsaw, or varieties of table saw. Reciprocating saws? Forget it.
The reason they work like they do is that the blade is so thin and the teeth so fine and sharp. You would indeed get a fine, accurate, clean cut on plastics using one of these that would be more or less impossible to achieve otherwise.
The downside is that the blade and the teeth are so fine that they tend to suffer from careless use, or even after a couple of years of regular, careful use, and you can't just sharpen them again like a "western" saw because of the way they are made. Maybe the high-end, expensive versions last longer, but I wouldn't know — the cheap ones have their virtues.
Lee Valley sells a folding Dozuki, which opens and folds together so that the blade is no longer a danger, more or less like a pocketknife. Very handy tool and cheap with it.
Here are the before cleanup shots of the places where I should have used Mr. Ryoba's more thick, set free toothed blade instead of Mitzi's exceedingly thin blade with slightly set teeth.
It's easy to spot, in hindsight, where the set of the teeth and thinness of the blade led to it straying off line when it met up with variations in the depth of the ABS it was cutting. Set teeth make for wobble room and cut drift in such situations. This can be particularly nasty when a bandsaw blade decides to follow the path of least resistance when ripping wood that has a strong grain pattern and hardness differential between grain layers. By the time you notice the top of the cut wandering offline, you can bet the bottom is way out of whack, feed rates and blade choice are critical for the bandsaw. The manual tool equivalents are the same raw deal. [] ]'>
Note the nubbins of the bucket bolt tubes in this shot, they'll do nicely for final assembly.
The scrape marks in the rear view are from being a bit too hurried in using the Dozuki Noko Giri making the plunge cuts. The "first tooth" of these saws work very nicely as plexi scribe type tools when working ABS case parts. Again, the Ryoba should have been used, maybe the 06-240 Cross-cut RazorSaw that was misnamed Dozuki back when Japanese PullSaws were first hitting the mail order tool catalogs. The Dozuki Noko Giri was misnamed Dozuki Noko.
I'm learning about lots of new Japanese saws for the wish list along with more accurate nomenclature . . .
. . . we'll see if I can remember to use the correct names, but the simplified versions are so much shorter and easier!
If anyone wants to give these tools a try, There's a nice little Ryoba, that's equivocally named "Bear Saw" which is the mfr's name, IIRC. I got it at Lowe's for somewhere between 20 & 25 dollars as a knock-around field saw. When broken down to the blade & handle components, it fits in a medium size toolbox very nicely. Mine rests in an elongated, antique (it looks antique from general appearance, build quality and manufacturing methods) metal mechanic's toolbox.
Highly recommended!
WARNING: THESE SAWS ARE HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! }
It's easy to spot, in hindsight, where the set of the teeth and thinness of the blade led to it straying off line when it met up with variations in the depth of the ABS it was cutting. Set teeth make for wobble room and cut drift in such situations. This can be particularly nasty when a bandsaw blade decides to follow the path of least resistance when ripping wood that has a strong grain pattern and hardness differential between grain layers. By the time you notice the top of the cut wandering offline, you can bet the bottom is way out of whack, feed rates and blade choice are critical for the bandsaw. The manual tool equivalents are the same raw deal. [
] ]'>Note the nubbins of the bucket bolt tubes in this shot, they'll do nicely for final assembly.
The scrape marks in the rear view are from being a bit too hurried in using the Dozuki Noko Giri making the plunge cuts. The "first tooth" of these saws work very nicely as plexi scribe type tools when working ABS case parts. Again, the Ryoba should have been used, maybe the 06-240 Cross-cut RazorSaw that was misnamed Dozuki back when Japanese PullSaws were first hitting the mail order tool catalogs. The Dozuki Noko Giri was misnamed Dozuki Noko.
I'm learning about lots of new Japanese saws for the wish list along with more accurate nomenclature . . .
. . . we'll see if I can remember to use the correct names, but the simplified versions are so much shorter and easier!
If anyone wants to give these tools a try, There's a nice little Ryoba, that's equivocally named "Bear Saw" which is the mfr's name, IIRC. I got it at Lowe's for somewhere between 20 & 25 dollars as a knock-around field saw. When broken down to the blade & handle components, it fits in a medium size toolbox very nicely. Mine rests in an elongated, antique (it looks antique from general appearance, build quality and manufacturing methods) metal mechanic's toolbox.
Highly recommended!
WARNING: THESE SAWS ARE HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! }
I've finished with the first pass at filing the joinery on the case sectons and the results are a tad disappointing in fit and finish. No time for pics right now, later on those. Overall I'm still very pleased with the outcome.
Some sleight of hand in the implementation of the clear sections will cover a multitude of sins!
These were planned ahead of time, BTW. }
Some sleight of hand in the implementation of the clear sections will cover a multitude of sins!
These were planned ahead of time, BTW. }
THX for your support, it's nice to receive good feedback every now and then. :beige:
Update:
. . . after pics of first file fitting . . .
. . . I've shimmed the bucket halves to match up the planes/corners of the original config as closely as possible . . .
. . . it's easy to spot where the saw went offline on the sections with thickness transitions . . .
. . . the worst spots are still less than 1.5mm of separation . . . right where the original bucket sections will be mated . . .
. . . slightly disappointing . . . but the cracks won't be noticeable when I'm finished anyway! }
Update:
. . . after pics of first file fitting . . .
. . . I've shimmed the bucket halves to match up the planes/corners of the original config as closely as possible . . .
. . . it's easy to spot where the saw went offline on the sections with thickness transitions . . .
. . . the worst spots are still less than 1.5mm of separation . . . right where the original bucket sections will be mated . . .
. . . slightly disappointing . . . but the cracks won't be noticeable when I'm finished anyway! }
THX!
The Programmer's switches on the "MoBo" are already momentary switches.
The Power Switch will activate the MacQuarium lighting, air pump, and A/B backlighting while the Brightness Control will . . .
. . . continue to do its thing. }
I don't really need to have three monitors hooked up to the ATOM Board. Maybe I should put a SCSI card in there and use the Zip I already have hacked for it and a SCSI HDD? Dunno, I'd rather have the 250MB Parallel Zip in there.
The Programmer's switches on the "MoBo" are already momentary switches.
The Power Switch will activate the MacQuarium lighting, air pump, and A/B backlighting while the Brightness Control will . . .
. . . continue to do its thing. }
I don't really need to have three monitors hooked up to the ATOM Board. Maybe I should put a SCSI card in there and use the Zip I already have hacked for it and a SCSI HDD? Dunno, I'd rather have the 250MB Parallel Zip in there.
DB-25 IDC Connectors and Ribbon Cable.
Case cuts are finished . . .
. . . plans:
. . . 1/4" Plexi . . .
. . . Shiplap all 9 sides to depth match surface to the different case thicknesses . . .
. . . Plexi-Bender to form the two curved surfaces on a jig . . .
. . . practice on low profile case or just wing it and cut it down if boo-bood for LowRider SportTop. }
Case cuts are finished . . .
. . . plans:
. . . 1/4" Plexi . . .
. . . Shiplap all 9 sides to depth match surface to the different case thicknesses . . .
. . . Plexi-Bender to form the two curved surfaces on a jig . . .
. . . practice on low profile case or just wing it and cut it down if boo-bood for LowRider SportTop. }
Bingo!!!! [
] ]'>I need the handle section and bolt tubes to hide the Epoxy Putty buildup of the CRT access panel for the MacQuarium's water level, gasketed/bolt down access port and air the tubes headin' in and and back out
I was thinking about cutting it down to the ventilation slots, but nine sides to mate up is plenty far enough over the top . . . even for me . . .
. . . TWELVE sides would be a suborbital trajectory. :
O1M, it's not even close to being finished, today I cut everything away on those three sides that's going to be clear plexiglas/perspex.
I forgot about cutting the A/B side away for backlighting, but that's a simple process. I'll be using the sabre saw with a fine down-cut blade to do that.
Mating up just five sides without and bends will be duck soup! }
I think I looked at the wrong Dec. 30th post. Maybe this pic helps more for visualization:
That's one side, the sketch markyb86 posted above shows it, and the other two, as a flat layout for cutting and bending.
Routing the nine different shiplap joints to get everything to fit flush on the surface would be the fun part!
So I'll be cheating!)
That's one side, the sketch markyb86 posted above shows it, and the other two, as a flat layout for cutting and bending.
Routing the nine different shiplap joints to get everything to fit flush on the surface would be the fun part!
So I'll be cheating!
) Yeah, each side will be rabbeted, but a rabbet is usually employed at a right angle whiie shiplap is planar application of a rabbet.
I was originally going to equalize the thickness of the sides by rabbeting them with a roller type undercut bit, but found a lazier/safer method in varying the depths of the rabbet of each side of the plexi.. It would be too easy to tear out an inside corner of the case with the former method.
I'm considering a bevel on the plexi edge so that it protrudes a bit above the surface of the case, but that might prove problematic in terms of scratches on the plexi and adding another level of complexity.
Now that I've been looking at the thinner clear plexi side for a few hours, I might take the most simple approach of all. Putting the bevel on the nine sides of the Bucket by hand by scraping won't be bad at all. The bends in the thinner plexi will be much less noticeable in terms of distortion, less obtrusive in terms of clarity and the sub-surface glazing would less prone to collecting scratches.
hrmmm . . .
I was originally going to equalize the thickness of the sides by rabbeting them with a roller type undercut bit, but found a lazier/safer method in varying the depths of the rabbet of each side of the plexi.. It would be too easy to tear out an inside corner of the case with the former method.
I'm considering a bevel on the plexi edge so that it protrudes a bit above the surface of the case, but that might prove problematic in terms of scratches on the plexi and adding another level of complexity.
Now that I've been looking at the thinner clear plexi side for a few hours, I might take the most simple approach of all. Putting the bevel on the nine sides of the Bucket by hand by scraping won't be bad at all. The bends in the thinner plexi will be much less noticeable in terms of distortion, less obtrusive in terms of clarity and the sub-surface glazing would less prone to collecting scratches.
hrmmm . . .
I see how it looks now, but why? It looked better when the whole of the top and back sections were transparant. That goes for the 45 degree bit which, at present, sticks out in a rather ugly manner.
(Also, how did you join it back together-you'd cut it, right, but now it's joined again???)
(Also, how did you join it back together-you'd cut it, right, but now it's joined again???)
The clear inner chassis insert holds up one corner and the two clamps hold it in place at two others temporarily.
When I'm finished, I should be able to pick it up by the handle. The handle section will hide the access panel in the CRT/MacQuarium and interior lighting, including the edge lighting of the A/B.
The chamfered sections have functional cooling vents in them, whereas the cooling vents on the (now missing) side of the top are non-functional/for looks only. I need to keep the venting/convection cooling of the case unmodified as much as possible for running convection cooling tests/IR Photography sessions on the 128k+++ . . .
. . . that's why I'm not modding the A/B side of the case yet.
There's airflow across the back side of the A/B that would be blocked either way I do the window mod.
I've pretty much decided to go with the KISS principal for the glazing, matching all the surfaces is doable, but any imperfection would drive me up the wall. The PITA factor for re-doing the clear panel when it gets scratched up means I'd never fix it. So I'll be using the thin plexi/case bevel approach. Since this will have the beloved plastic fish in the CRT/MacQuarium and relatively current, upgradeable components, it has a good chance of remaining in service as a family heirloom long after I'm gone. We've got things in the family made by several generations of crazy hackers and fine craftsmen dating well back into the 1800s.
When I'm finished, I should be able to pick it up by the handle. The handle section will hide the access panel in the CRT/MacQuarium and interior lighting, including the edge lighting of the A/B.
The chamfered sections have functional cooling vents in them, whereas the cooling vents on the (now missing) side of the top are non-functional/for looks only. I need to keep the venting/convection cooling of the case unmodified as much as possible for running convection cooling tests/IR Photography sessions on the 128k+++ . . .
. . . that's why I'm not modding the A/B side of the case yet.
There's airflow across the back side of the A/B that would be blocked either way I do the window mod.
I've pretty much decided to go with the KISS principal for the glazing, matching all the surfaces is doable, but any imperfection would drive me up the wall. The PITA factor for re-doing the clear panel when it gets scratched up means I'd never fix it. So I'll be using the thin plexi/case bevel approach. Since this will have the beloved plastic fish in the CRT/MacQuarium and relatively current, upgradeable components, it has a good chance of remaining in service as a family heirloom long after I'm gone. We've got things in the family made by several generations of crazy hackers and fine craftsmen dating well back into the 1800s.
As clips go, they're fairly ugly, but they're just there for the photo update.
The cutaway sport-top will be all Plexi and easily removable, no handle lifting. That'll be the continuous use top, tucked out of the way back underneath the shelf.
The full size glazed bucket-top will require removal from the chassis for in order to install/remove it so I can use the sport-top.
The cutaway sport-top will be all Plexi and easily removable, no handle lifting. That'll be the continuous use top, tucked out of the way back underneath the shelf.
The full size glazed bucket-top will require removal from the chassis for in order to install/remove it so I can use the sport-top.
:lol: It's really a swap-out hardtop, no cloth involved . . . think AMC Pacer meets Picasso on a really bad day for Cubism.
Machs nix.
Update time: I've settled on specs for the tallest configuration that will need to fit under the shelf:
This is how the final hack will appear from eye-level when approaching the OnlineWorkstation in the bedroom.
I've begun the search for a slimline tray loading DVD/R/RW with a tray height of 11mm or less. I'm hoping one of the spare CD Caddys will sacrifice its life to become the period perfect hood ornament for the new Optical Drive. The CD-SC's plastics will remain sacrosanct after all . . .
< . . . probably. : >
This view shows the interference areas . . .
. . . there are no firm plans for the sport-top, several approaches beckon, so it'll be a sculpture in progress . . .
. . . by trial and error process. }
Machs nix.
Update time: I've settled on specs for the tallest configuration that will need to fit under the shelf:
This is how the final hack will appear from eye-level when approaching the OnlineWorkstation in the bedroom.
I've begun the search for a slimline tray loading DVD/R/RW with a tray height of 11mm or less. I'm hoping one of the spare CD Caddys will sacrifice its life to become the period perfect hood ornament for the new Optical Drive. The CD-SC's plastics will remain sacrosanct after all . . .
< . . . probably. :
>This view shows the interference areas . . .
. . . there are no firm plans for the sport-top, several approaches beckon, so it'll be a sculpture in progress . . .
. . . by trial and error process. }
Update time again:
Wiring harness pathways, plexi ducting and fan placement testing complete. [] ]'>
It's quite a tight fit down in there, as planned . . .
. . . the top row of components fo'ard the Flyback will soon be taking up residence in the doggie bag . . .
. . . gotta make room for the MacQuarium access hatch, the fan and the internal plexi cooling ductwork/spillway/roof . . .
. . . the PSU wound up about 3/8" farther back than I'd envisioned, despite the crowding effect . . .
. . . a dummy header for the yoke harness will be added where it doesn't belong . . .
. . . you can't have everything. :-/
The sheet metal work is complete for now, I've got a bit of wobble room for the VidCad . . .
. . . plenty of clearance for the Power Harness on the other side . . .
. . . just gotta decide what to do about securing the VidCard's backplane plate . . .
. . . the Power Harness tucks very nicely underneath the Zip Drive, that was a slight concern . . .
. . . and here's POV shot from behind the three-sided plexi picture window.
Lots more to plan out and implement, but It should be up and running before too long and the remainder of the hack can be simmered on the back-burner for a bit. Research indicates that milling/grinding glass is hell on electrical tools and I don't want to try to do CRT chopping with pneumatics . . .
. . . next time that cheap-$#!^ Harbor Freight wet tile saw hits rock bottom sale prices and I've got some loose dinero . . . }
__________________________________________________________________________________
Gratuitous Japanese Saw plug . . .
This appears to have become the definitive thread on the subject, so I'll edit in descriptions later . . .
Wiring harness pathways, plexi ducting and fan placement testing complete. [
] ]'>It's quite a tight fit down in there, as planned . . .
. . . the top row of components fo'ard the Flyback will soon be taking up residence in the doggie bag . . .
. . . gotta make room for the MacQuarium access hatch, the fan and the internal plexi cooling ductwork/spillway/roof . . .
. . . the PSU wound up about 3/8" farther back than I'd envisioned, despite the crowding effect . . .
. . . a dummy header for the yoke harness will be added where it doesn't belong . . .
. . . you can't have everything. :-/
The sheet metal work is complete for now, I've got a bit of wobble room for the VidCad . . .
. . . plenty of clearance for the Power Harness on the other side . . .
. . . just gotta decide what to do about securing the VidCard's backplane plate . . .
. . . the Power Harness tucks very nicely underneath the Zip Drive, that was a slight concern . . .
. . . and here's POV shot from behind the three-sided plexi picture window.
Lots more to plan out and implement, but It should be up and running before too long and the remainder of the hack can be simmered on the back-burner for a bit. Research indicates that milling/grinding glass is hell on electrical tools and I don't want to try to do CRT chopping with pneumatics . . .
. . . next time that cheap-$#!^ Harbor Freight wet tile saw hits rock bottom sale prices and I've got some loose dinero . . . }
__________________________________________________________________________________
Gratuitous Japanese Saw plug . . .
This appears to have become the definitive thread on the subject, so I'll edit in descriptions later . . .