Mid-Century Madness

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15 Jul 2010 18:16 - 01 Sep 2010 14:20 #7174 by slipperyskip
Go!

A blogger over at Core77 challenged me to do something in the mid-century modern style. MCM is all about vast expanses of wooden surfaces. That works well with my experimentations in new materials and methods that I'm doing here.





This project will be built around a Silverstone TJ08. It is a steel case that fits micro-ATX motherboards.



My intention is to purchase all the materials at my local DIY. For me, that means Lowe's. I start off with 1/2" x 2" x 24" red oak boards that will be formed into the legs. Here is a stock board next to one that I have rough-cut into a taper. I make the taper by adjusting my table saw fence...nah, I'm just kidding.



I make the taper by carving off the excess material with a razor knife. The final shape is made by clamping all four legs together and running them across taped-down 60-grit sandpaper.



Result of efforts. The lengths will be trimmed when I figure out what looks right.



The legs have a slightly curved edge and since I don't have a router I found an acceptable profile in the mouth of this spanner.



By running the spanner along the length of the leg I am able to control my hand sanding effort. The idea is to maintain a consistency across all four pieces.



I bought a sheet of 1/4" red oak plywood and cut two side panels. I cut my panels by using various handsaws and time.



The top and bottom panels are cut from 3/8" birch plywood that I had lying around. The additional thickness aids structural support by providing a greater gluing surface area.



Actual gluing operation. Glue, clamp, wait, repeat.





For the bottom panel I decided to provide even more support by installing 1/2" quarter-round pine moulding.





Some hand-mitred pieces to complete the front and back. This bottom section will be painted.



I found some 12" width red oak veneer sheets at the store. They are installed by using a hot iron to activate the pre-applied glue. Skeptical but with open mind I decided to try it. I placed a sheet of non-stick aluminum foil across the veneer in order to protect the wife's iron.



I'm not even believing I'm posting this photo. Would this be considered a power tool? The cotten setting produces 400 degrees F and I just made sure I concentrated my ironing efforts on the edges.



I have to wait 24 hours for the glue to set before trimming up the edges. I remain skeptical. I will be using a Danish oil to finish this piece. My concern is the possible reaction the adhesive has with the oil-based finish. We'll see.



Test fitting the woven cane facing. Trimmed the veneer and all seems well...so far.



Cut some trim pieces out of basswood and applied the veneer to them. Normally I would apply the veneer after installing the pieces. Woven cane speaker grill material that is different from the picture when I ordered it. This cane is woven with a black plastic mesh that gives it a much darker look. I think it looks alright and it is certainly stronger than the cane-only variety.



The trim pieces installed to form a lip around the inside edge. This provides a lot of extra support to the structure.



The lip also forms a ledge for the faceplate to rest up against. The faceplate is pushed up against the lip from behind by the installed case. The caning will be mounted to the faceplate using a spray adhesive.

Thanks for looking.:D
Last edit: 01 Sep 2010 14:20 by slipperyskip.

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15 Jul 2010 18:36 #7175 by jj_Sky5000
Replied by jj_Sky5000 on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Very good start Slipperyskip

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17 Jul 2010 10:43 #7202 by Jolly-Swagman
Coming along nicely , look forward to seeing more on this!

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17 Jul 2010 19:18 #7212 by slipperyskip

60-grit sandpaper wrapped around a block to level out the face. First coat of natural Danish oil applied.




Veneer applied to face and trimmed. Second coat of Danish oil applied using 600-grit wet/dry sandpaper.

I should just quit now and call it a computer hidden in a speaker. :)

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17 Jul 2010 20:12 #7214 by Jolly-Swagman
Looks awesome now it has natural Danish oil applied, and yes does look like a bookshelf Speaker now, well done!

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17 Jul 2010 20:50 #7216 by Twodavez
Replied by Twodavez on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Looks really good and i'm envious that i can't do that kind of work...
Not to steal any of your awesome case mod gooness, but when i was talking to one of my friends, he turned me onto this site slipperyskip.com/page23.html which has some other pretty cool wood mods!

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” - Mark Twain

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17 Jul 2010 21:24 #7218 by garfi3ld
Replied by garfi3ld on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
lmao Dave, take a second look at the domain name and the OP's username ;)

Wes

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17 Jul 2010 21:27 #7219 by Nacelle
Replied by Nacelle on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Wow! Not much gettin' by you today Dave.

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17 Jul 2010 21:36 #7221 by Jolly-Swagman
Not only that the link is also in his profile and signature too!! B)

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17 Jul 2010 21:45 - 17 Jul 2010 23:22 #7223 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Twodavez wrote:

Looks really good and i'm envious that i can't do that kind of work...
Not to steal any of your awesome case mod gooness, but when i was talking to one of my friends, he turned me onto this site slipperyskip.com/page23.html which has some other pretty cool wood mods!


That website sucks. The guy is full of himself. :)
Last edit: 17 Jul 2010 23:22 by slipperyskip.

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17 Jul 2010 23:22 #7228 by jj_Sky5000
Replied by jj_Sky5000 on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
wow Twodave you need to get out more/// I lol for about 2 minutes

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18 Jul 2010 03:15 #7270 by Twodavez
Replied by Twodavez on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Hey, it's been a rough week ok? :P :P :P

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” - Mark Twain

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22 Jul 2010 18:49 #7408 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Something kinda like this....


The latest in clamp furniture. Ultimate adjustability. :hehe:











I broke down and put a vent in the top. It's made of solid red oak. Still need to do some work on the back end around the case opening. The finish needs some more gloss to it and I need to find a logo for the front grill. I'll call this 90% complete.

The wife likes the longer legs. I'm not sure so I'll just leave them this way for the time being.



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24 Jul 2010 16:02 #7470 by garfi3ld
Replied by garfi3ld on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Congrats on all of the coverage! Saw it on Gizmodo yesterday

Wes

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24 Jul 2010 16:17 #7473 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Thanks. I was fishing for some feedback on a tiny out-of-the-way antique furniture website and the next thing you know I'm on Gizmodo, Boing Boing and Core77. Must have been a slow news day. :)

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24 Jul 2010 16:52 #7474 by garfi3ld
Replied by garfi3ld on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
If I would have known it would being In all that traffic I would have covered it.


So other than putting the components in it, what's left?

Wes

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24 Jul 2010 16:53 #7475 by garfi3ld
Replied by garfi3ld on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
If I would have known it would being In all that traffic I would have covered it.


So other than putting the components in it, what's left?

Wes

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25 Jul 2010 15:49 #7499 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
So you were waiting to see if it was gonna suck or not? LOL Me too. All my projects have been on Gizmodo/Engadget for the last five years. I'm just glad to keep the streak alive. This is the first time an unfinished project made it. Engadget is waiting for the finished project.

I still need some parts to put in it. I'm hoping this coverage will make getting that stuff easier. As far as the box goes, I've still got work to do on the front grill, back panel and a final finish to the woodwork. The vent system will be custom to whatever equipment goes inside.

Stay tuned.

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25 Jul 2010 16:32 #7501 by garfi3ld
Replied by garfi3ld on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
Let me know if you need help, im sure I know a few people who would love to have their parts in your mods.

Plus maybe you will win some stuff in ours :)

Wes

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25 Jul 2010 17:24 #7504 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
My biggest need is for a motherboard/CPU that is MicroATX and 6Gbps SATA. I think there is only one model available (Asus Rampage III or something). I have a 6Gbps SATA Crucial 256GB SSD (C300) and it deserves better than a 3Gbps connection.

I need to talk to someone at Asus. I've only ever dealt with Gigabyte but my contact there has moved on. Sponsors onboard so far are Microsoft, Crucial and Silverstone.

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26 Jul 2010 21:45 #7557 by garfi3ld
Replied by garfi3ld on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
yeah that is a very specific motherboard you are looking for.


I could put you in contact with the people who replaced Angela over at Gigabyte if needed.

Wes

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27 Jul 2010 19:22 #7605 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
I appeciate the offer Wes. I used to deal with Tomas, the guy who Angela replaced. My friend Tim at Gigabyte-Taiwan can't even get their US office to respond to my e-mails. Maybe things have changed but I've pretty much given up on them.

Anyway, Engadget posted their story about my unfinished project so now I don't have any leverage to get any sponsors onboard for this project. That's my fault for trusting someone to not pimp out my work for their own gain.

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29 Jul 2010 20:42 #7664 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
At the end of the Gizmodo article they said "We'll update you when a finished model is available for viewing." They understand that I'm holding them to that statement. If you make microATX boards and want exposure on Gizmodo then PM me...soon.

So after that minor distraction I thought I would catch up on the work...


Cut a hole in the top by drilling a series of adjacent holes, hand sawing a rough opening and rasping out the remaining material. Because the legs are mounted at an angle I had to "level" out the upper leg ends so that they would set flat against the table bottom.




This is a floor vent made from solid red oak that I got from Lowes. So far, only the grill cloth has come from elsewhere. I had to remove its finish down to the bare wood and refinish it with the Danish oil. It is actually a better match than the photo shows. It remains loosely set for now.




The table top is a very thin piece of crappy plywood and warping was going to be an issue. To fix that I glued a laser-cut plank of solid maple to each end. The stripping is for additional support and to form pockets for the leg ends to rest in. The smudges and fingerprints are from my Danish oil work on the other side. All of this will be painted.

Thanks for looking.

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30 Jul 2010 02:11 #7669 by garfi3ld
Replied by garfi3ld on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
nice, that vent matches the look well

Wes

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30 Jul 2010 10:43 #7672 by Nacelle
Replied by Nacelle on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
I have that vent in my bathroom. :)

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10 Aug 2010 18:53 #7950 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
The plan is to build my own louvered vents soon...maybe before this "project" is finished.

I started the grill work and it was so much fun I didn't stop to photograph any of it...except this shot.


The grill consists of 92 pieces of laser-cut 1/4"-wide basswood of various depths. Gluing up long lengths of material only to cut much of it away is how I keep the structure square, parallel and somehwat sane. This photo shows most of the material removed from the outer two of the five "blocks".





The idea for the grill pattern came from a room-divider design I saw in two different places in the same day. I'm currently looking for paint that will help it blend in. Something in a nicotine-stained ivory-colored plastic will probably do.



Here's where the twin 140mm's go.



Any of the five blocks can be used for front panel duty. A slot-loaded optical drive fits perfectly.



The top vent does a nice job of hiding.





Some action photos of the Silverstone chassis being "interfaced".

Thanks for looking.

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23 Aug 2010 01:56 #8391 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern

Finsihed veneering the back edges that surround the internal case. Next, I completely dismantled the enclosure and sanded it down using 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and Danish oil. Set it aside to dry for a week and then applied several coats of semi-gloss brushing lacquer. Finished up by waxing the pieces with Johnson's paste wax using #00000 steel wool as an applicator. These were all new methods I was experimenting with. Reassembled the pieces.



Painted the grille with a latex paint I got from Lowes. The color is called Clarified Butter and it is suppose to look like nicotine-stained ivory. The final photos should do it better justice.



The front control panel starts taking shape. I designed the front grille so that a slot-loaded DVD will just barely fit within the rectangles. The face is black walnut. A few chrome buttons will finish this up.




Thanks for looking!

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23 Aug 2010 03:54 #8396 by garfi3ld
Replied by garfi3ld on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
the most interesting thing is how at anypoint during your build you could say its finished and I would be impressed. I thought you were about done and then you added the slot load lol

Wes

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26 Aug 2010 23:01 #8564 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern

garfi3ld wrote: the most interesting thing is how at anypoint during your build you could say its finished and I would be impressed. I thought you were about done and then you added the slot load lol


I've got a few more details to finish...like these...



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01 Sep 2010 06:29 #8720 by slipperyskip
Replied by slipperyskip on topic Re: Mid-Century Modern
I thought I would share my new photography setup with you. I have had problems in the past shooting my larger projects. This is my solution:

I bought an old-fashioned spring roller window shade from Lowes for less than $6 and mounted it on the wall directly below my sunniest window. I have two bright white hard poster boards positioned on either side reflecting light back onto the subject. At the end of the day the shade is easily rolled up which is a great feature according to the wife. When I'm completely finished I'll just remove the shade.

It's totally green but susceptible to the occasional passing cloud. :)

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