Cutting up a case!

[smack323]

I have never had to make nice cuts in a case before. What tools have anyone use to? I was thinking a coping saw with metal blade but that might take awile, or maybe some type of metal cutting shears. either way i need to purchase the tools. I have nothing at home that i could use for this - price is somewhat of a concern as i dont want to spend a lot for one mod.

I am going to be building my HTPC rig tonight- the rest of the parts should be here today. something that I didnt even think about was the clearence for the video card. I ordered a Evga 9800 gtx -I have 9inch of clearence in my case for a card. I read some reviews that that card is 11inch long.. so it looks like an unused hard drive bay is going to need to be modded to make room.

[FZ1]

I think most use a dremel tool. Be conservative in the cuts and finish with sanding down to desired lines.

[GI-JOE]

I think most use a dremel tool. Be conservative in the cuts and finish with sanding down to desired lines.

Dremel here too. Works great!

[smack323]

yeah- i was figuring a dremel would be the best bet - but i didnt want to spend the money on one. I found some at the local hardware store for under $50 so I will just get one of those. I suppose there have been many times around the house that a dremel would have come in handy so I am sure it wil get its use.

[martini161]

depends on the material of the case, if its pretty thin stuff (aluminum) you can use tin snips and it will come out pretty well if you take your time and are willing to do lots of filing. plus they make great as a pair of heavy duty kick ass scisors to have around i use them to cut the tails of zipties

[smack323]

it is pretty thin. but i already picked the dremel up on my lunch... i will start a new thread later tonight with picks on the progress

[kappage]

i first tried to usea jigsaw before a dremel, boy did tht feck up

[martini161]

i first tried to usea jigsaw before a dremel, boy did tht feck up

if you have a good blade on the jigsaw and take your time it will come out well. when ever i cut something like this up i ussually cut a rough outline with a jig saw and clean it up with the dremel. some tips on the dremel:
only used reinforced cutting wheels
when cutting, run it on the highest setting
wear saftey googles (duh)
let the speed of the tool do the work, if you hear the motor slowing down alot, your using too much preasure
when you wear down a cutting wheel, dont throw them away as they are great for doing detail work
use the grinding stones for deburing, but only on the under side of what ever you are cutting as they will scratch up your paint real quick
make sure you tape off what you are cutting
instead of trying to cut in a straight line like you would with a saw, dip the cutting wheel in till you get through, then pull it out, move over and do the same thing. will make your lines much straighter
practice on scrap metal first ;)

[smack323]

thanks for the tips!

[martini161]

no problem, i wish i had heard the one about saving the worn down grinding discs awhile ago, as they really are a god send for small cuts and corners

[moon111]

I like to use a 1/4 grinder with a very thin cut off blade. Have to be careful. It's fast, but you don't want to go too fast because it can generate allot of heat.
Even if I'm going to go in with a dremel, I'll try to cut a majority of the material out with the 1/4 grinder. To me, it's allot easier to cut a 1/4" ribbon of steel
with a dremel then a whole panel out or something.

My current case is huge and made from scratch... out of aluminum. It probably took me the same amount of time to do as one fancy case window done in
steel. Go aluminum, you won't regret the extra initial cost. You can even find material at a recycler and buy it rather cheaply.