Project: Relic Crate

[zachissak]

Ok so this is not only my first case mod but also my first post on this site. So here are the steps as follows.

I have an old Gateway computer sitting around and decided to mod it for a HTPC to fit into the living room alittle better. Our living room is decorated in old world/Artifacts so I pictured an old Museum crate would be a great fit into the room.

Here is the PC as it started out.

From there the case was stipped of all of its parts and prepped for some Chrome Spray Paint.

Now came the chrome spray paint to give the case a more of a glow when I install some lights in it later on.

The outside of the case was painted a quick coat of black so that light wouldnt reflect off of the case through the cracks in the wood making the crate look solid.

From there came finding the right wood to use for the crate. I wanted something that was really thin, weathered, and easy to work with along with cheap. So what did I find...LATICE lol.

I carefully broke apart the staples that held it together and gathered it into bundles.

To get an idea of the layout of the wood I roughly lined it out on the side of the case.

Looks good to me, so I begin the glueing down with Gorilla Glue. As you can notice I am doing this out of an apartment with simple hand tools and a dremel.

So there is what I got so far. I think it is turning out ok so far. I am working on the trim and faceplate right now. The drives are going to be stealthed behind a piece of wood so it will look like a complete case. What I am needing though are some ideas on what kind of logos or words I should put on the case. I am wanting a logo for the right side and the left is going to have a window in it. But its going to be the details that make it work out. Also does anyone know of any ways to make this wood look even more weathered besides staining it? I have some stain but it seems alittle too dark right now.

 

[raymondes]

i love seeing mods that start from the 'boring beige case of doom'. Its lookin good. Keep it up.

 

[jackknife]

funny, i´ve built some wooden cases in the past, but never ever thought of THAT way of making one. Sweet!
Although, depending on inside lighting color, I might have opted for some light to actually shine through the wood. You know, that ominous glow of doom from inside the treasure chest

 

[zachissak]

I've actually thought about the extra lighting and the way that the case is made I will still be able make some light show through if I want, I'll just cut out some of the side panels from the back. I will have an update later today, I'm just about done with the wood work and I can start on the details. Finding what logo I want on the side is one of the hardest things. I can't decide if I want it to maybe say area 51, some kind of sickle and hammer, or some other kind of logo, any ideas would be appreciated. I also will be adding rope handles to it to make it easier to care and look more rustic.

 

[zachissak]

Ok so here is an update on the project. I am pretty much done, got hung up and ran outta glue before I went to work so had to put it on hold but here we go.

So here is the left side panel that is removable. I also had to make a rise off the panel to have open spaces behind the wood for a detail later.

Here it is with the broken pieces laid out. The black panel will be cut away for a window after the layout is finished.

I think it turned out really good personally. I plan to cut out the black and put in the acrylic window. I also left a raised up level so I can stuff it with some packing straw to make it look more like a relic crate.

Now it was time to work on the front panel, this part is what is going to be a chore because I gotta make the drive stealthed.

I had to put another raised section to make it leveled up to the side panels.

Here we go with the stealthed panel so far

And here is a final mock up of the front panel. The left side aren't glued down yet becuase I am trying to find a good way to stealth the power button. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Should have another update tommorrow night.

 

[Tsuyashu]

For the power button...all I can imagine is some kind of square tablet with symbols. Like a puzzle piece trap. If you get my drift.

Looking good

 

[Logan321]

unless you can find a piece of wood with a knot in it... then you might be able to use that as a power button, just knock it out, and file it down a bit, then glue it to a button under.

 

[mellojoe]

This looks awesome. I love the idea of the "broken" sidepanel with the window. It adds a whole new dimension to the project. Not just a "cover with wood", but an actual design and flavor.

Lovin' it.

 

[zachissak]

I'm liking the knot of wood idea but there aren't that many in the wood, I am adding 2 side latches to the edge, like what you put on a door and slide a padlock through, I'm thinking about making one of those pieces able to be pushed down and activate the switch. Today should get the window cutout and hopefully get the rope handle put on. Thanks for the input guys.

 

[vage]

I'm liking the knot of wood idea but there aren't that many in the wood, I am adding 2 side latches to the edge, like what you put on a door and slide a padlock through, I'm thinking about making one of those pieces able to be pushed down and activate the switch. Today should get the window cutout and hopefully get the rope handle put on. Thanks for the input guys.

This is the idea that I had in mind. Another thing I was thinking that you could do is to put small hinges on one of those pieces of wood where you stealthed your drive. Then you could have it swing up and have your power button, USB, audio, etc. right there, but hidden under normal circumstances.

 

[shadowlord]

looks promising !
it kinda reminds me of indiana jones and raiders of the lost ark.
and do you do your dremel cutting inside what looks like your living room? if so youre really [H]ard

 

[zachissak]

Indiana jones is actually where I got the idea. After watching the latest movie and their trip to area 51 with the artifacts it gave me an idea. I am thinking about putting some kind of area 51 logo on the side. Anyone got any good pictures of one?

 

[zachissak]

Indiana jones is actually where I got the idea. After watching the latest movie and their trip to area 51 with the artifacts it gave me an idea. I am thinking about putting some kind of area 51 logo on the side. Anyone got any good pictures of one?

And actually the dremeling is in my game room lol, fiance won't let me mess up the big living room.

 

[m0s3s27]

You have a good idea on your hands, and are off to a great start.I will be watching this one so keep up the good work.
if you want to distress the wood a little you can beat it up a little with a bag of nails.just hit it lightly, or a hammer and put a little stain in the indentions, and i believe muratic acid will give it an old look. just brush it on let it sit for a while and rinse. It can be picked up at a pool or hardware store. Hope that helps.

 

[zachissak]

Ok so alittle update, I got the rest of the trim worked out and all glued down. Then I cut out the opening for the Acrylic window that will be added. I am thinking about doing some engraving on the window but don't know what to put there. I am thinking maybe something to do with radioactive weapons or something. Now it was time to start on the power button and cd faceplate. I decided to go with a wooden button that looks like a knot on the wood thanks to comments on here. I mounted the power button switch to a 3.5" drive holder and drilled a hole in the wood where it was at. From there it was creating a wooden button that wasn't perfect round and alittle more organic in shape. So here we go...

This was the first power button that I made and I will be making another one that has the grain going close to the same as this one got turned alittle before I noticed. Figured I would finish to see if the idea is going to work anyway.

Ok so there we go, now just some finishing touches and I'm on my way.

 

[WipeoutFTW]

Great work mate. Love the design of the power button. Any plans to stain the wood at all?
I think you inspired me to build a wooden case now.

 

[mellojoe]

So simple. And yet so brilliant.

+1

 

[zachissak]

I am thinking about staining the wood, I had some stain but it was way to dark for my taste, I'm thinking about going alittle bit darker to make it look more aged. I want to get all of the logos on there first so that i can stain over them to see how they look, that way it will look aged entirely instead of just the wood and not the stencils.

 

[matrix563]

awesome design! suscribing

 

[Mohonri]

Wow. I think an appropriate thing to say right now would be "never has a mod so cheap looked so good". Seriously, it's a fantastic idea, and looks great.

For a weathered look, I would have suggested you let the wood sit outside for a few weeks before gluing it on the case. It's a bit late for that now, of course. Other ideas for "aging" the wood:
1) Sand it all down very smooth, round the corners, and use a light stain on edges and corners. Perhaps even a thin coat of lacquer. In other words, make it look like it has been polished with years of use.
2) Whitewash. Water down some latex paint, brush it on, and then wipe off everything you can. Some residual paint will remain in the cracks
3) Really scuff it up. Carve dings and splits out of the wood. Bash the end grain of the trim with a hammer or mallet so that it mushrooms a bit. Rusty (or rusty-looking) nails help, too.

Instead of putting in an acrylic/plexiglass window, you could cover the back of the hole with a piece of window screen. It's dirt cheap and has practically zero resistance to airflow.

I have an idea for your stencil--why not copy the one from the crate at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark? I found a nice picture here: http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Image:9906753.jpg

 

[zachissak]

awesome thanks for the link to the picture that is exactly what I was looking for. I should have an update sometime tommorrow with videos of the button and the drive tray.

 

[zachissak]

Ok so another update, I am nearly finished and only have to install everything and get a neon light for the interior. Also I need to paint the decals on the exterior of the case but it is going on the back burner for alittle bit until I get a few more days off.

Ok so here is the case entirely finished, I added rope handles to the side, these are functional handles that can be used to more the computer as I will probably have the case laying on its side on a stack of other crates. I also added some locks and latches for decoration, I am debating on leaving them outside to rust alittle before I put them on there but we will see.

Please Enjoy and any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Mr_And3rsson]

hmmm im not to sure about that green stuff that you've added on the window...
in one way it kinda looks good and it the build
in another way i think that it doesn't fit and that it would look better if you could see the wood piece where they are broken off at the window

 

[EclipseMTL]

That's a neat idea! And i'd personally leave the locks out to rust or something, it'd add to the feel of the case.

 

[Deton]

LOL...
very original artistic though.

 

[karu]

I had my doubts a little when you started this about how it would look. I will never doubt again. Awesome progress!

 

[leSLIe]

looking very nice

some burned letters on it, would make it look even better

 

[vage]

I think it would be kind of cool if you could get some kind of eary glow coming from the window, but I dunno how good that would look in reality, just in my head. Looks freaking amazing though, good job.

 

[leSLIe]

something like this, from Raiders of the Lost Ark

without the svastic of course

 

[mellojoe]

Totally dig it.

Great build!!

 

[zachissak]

Thanks alot for the comments guys, right now the computer is housing an old 450mhz p2 windows 98 system but is soon to be upgraded with home theather PC in mind. Also I am thinking about getting a red neon light to put inside to give it a glow when the computer is on. I am still working on getting the drive tray to work right, The piece that I am using to hit the open button is snagging alittle and won't stay where I want it so I am having to figure out something else. Also the locks are being rusted right now to give it a more antique look. I had a blast building this case and all together it cost me about 40$ in materials. Not bad IMO for a one of a kind case.

 

[matrix563]

gives a whole new meaning of hitting a crate with a crowbar!

 

[dbu8554]

Wow thats fucking awesome man makes me want to do some of the case mods I have been thinking of, quick question guys are there people out there that make a living off modding other peoples cases just wondering thanks.

 

[zachissak]

I have also wondered if there was someone out there selling custom cases like that but most of the places I have seen are people selling custom painted ones alone. I would be more than willing to sell this case if someone was to offere the right amount lol. I already have my plans for my next case.

 

[Peder]

Looks great, can't wait to see how you finish it up!

 

[Mohonri]

gives a whole new meaning of hitting a crate with a crowbar!

No kidding. Do you know any theoretical physicists by the name of Gordon?