Retro wooden hack

[PHILDARV]

So, after building my first hack recently (http://www.tonymacx86.com/user-builds/135706-core-i7-4770-gigabyte-z97x-ud7-th-8gb-ram-hd4600.html) and viewing some of the great mods on here, I decided to try my own case mod.

Inspiration comes from neilhart and Jeffrey Stephenson http://slipperyskip.com

My woodworking/ metalworking skills are minimal, so I decided to try modding an existing case and see how it goes, so I bought this old wooden valve radio case from eBay:


First job, strip innards and start sanding nasty old varnished exterior:

After sanding:


A little colour applied and the inside painted silver:



More coming....

 

[alancurry]

Nicely done. Is your plan to make it look original from the outside?

Alan

 

[PHILDARV]

​

Nicely done. Is your plan to make it look original from the outside?

Alan

Hi Alan

Yes, pretty much original, however sadly the glass got damaged, so I'm putting my own spin on that...

 

[PHILDARV]

Attempting to create a motherboard tray:



Drilling mounting holes:



And a hole for the I/O

 

[rick26]

Great job so far looks very nice!

I love the retro design's specialy the little compact ones.

Rick,

 

[PHILDARV]

Starting to play around with location of the parts, I've drilled holes in the base of the case where the power supply is and underneath added a filter



And an MDF backboard built with cut outs for the I/O and power supply


I've cut the motherboard tray down a bit, but I'm still undecided if ill be keeping it like this

This is the removal, sanding, staining and re-fitting of some of the front panel pieces



The button visible is just a test power button which will be replaced by the original knob

 

[neilhart]

PHILDARV I like what you are doing here. That case will be a standout piece again.

Good modding,
neil

 

[PHILDARV]

Thanks Neil


Latest updates

Sadly the glass got damaged in transit to me, so I needed to create another

My first attempt at cutting perspex, with a nifty little tool


The make of the old radio is "invicta" and after a quick search on the web I found a logo from the 1930'S to 1940's. I decided to try my hand at engraving with my Dremel which I have only recently bought but am getting very attached to.

This is a print out of the logo in reverse in order for me to use to trace the engraving

I sellotaped the image to the perspex sheet and used a dremmel engraving bit and "had a go" - lots of firsts for me in this build

From the front

Added the front bars back with a new piece of "grill cloth" found on the front of fender speakers etc

Internal shot

I was hoping to get the motherboard wires from the power supply through the small slit at the front of the case, but after fitting the front bars back they just wouldn't go
So a new hole had to be cut


Fixing the perspex logo into place

Views from the front


A nice strip,light fit under the logo for effect (hopefully a good one)

Trying the electronic parts again

The power switch will be a momentary rotary switch, I've seen this CNC switch used on another mod, wired up and worked OK but the shaft was too short to fit through the case. I spent an hour or so looking into ways to extend the shaft but couldn't find a simple way so in the end I used a Durite 2 way rotary switch which had a longer shaft and works a treat


Old knobs attached via nut and bolt throughout the case, so they are just for show but do rotate

Power knob attached


And with the light on





Next to attach all the PC bits and get OSX working.....

 

[PHILDARV]

I'm still not decided if the logo and lighting makes or breaks it?

 

[PHILDARV]

I wasn't happy with the aluminium motherboard tray so I've replaced with perspex


Attached with Velcro


An external switch fitted for the light


And a hole cut in the back board


Current internal view