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Last
March we did some modifications on a ThermalTake Tsunami case
and so when the long suffering Tsunami was replaced with the
Shark on our test right last month we decided to continue
the tradition and mod out the Shark a little bit. What started
it all was a desire to have the new case look a little more
unique and to be a touch quieter. I decided that closing off
the side grilles with a piece of plexiglass would be a good
start and perhaps some more lights and some paint. So a week
ago I stripped the Shark down and started the process of prettying
it up some.
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For
comparison, here's the before.
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What
we used for this mod:
• Small Philips (star) screw driver and an adjustable
wrench (To get the side lock off)
• Paint and primer
• Fine sandpaper
• Plexiglass/Lexan
• A power drill (Hmmmm.. Torque.)
• A metal file
• A hot glue gun
• A bank of Sunbeam laser LEDs
• A Sunbeam 8" blue cold cathode light
• Utility knife
• Plexiglass knife
• Brass bolts, washers and nuts (To retain the side
panel)
• Soldering iron
• Lots and lots of time
• Lots and lots of Coffee
The case
was fairly easy to disassemble. There's a series of screws
on the back of the case door, we just removed all of them
and set them aside. Some of them were different lengths so
we separated them into containers and marked what plates they
came out of. When taken apart the front has thirteen screws,
an upper bezel, lower bezel, a chrome grille from the lower
bezel, two vertical plates and four horizontal "scales"
from the bottom. The side panel was easy to disassemble as
well, once you remove the locking plate and the lock itself
the bezel just pops off. The only thing that had to be taped
off for painting was the latch for the side panel.
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Latch
pretty. Must tape latch. |
Once zee taping was done we put a layer of primer on everything
that was getting painted and let it dry overnight.
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Things
in life aren't always black and white.. but this case
is. |
And then we put on the first coat of paint... Hmmmm.. Spray
paint good. I was thinking of using a metallic paint but I
wasn't sure how it would look against the flat back of the
case so we went with straight red gloss.
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Soon
my pretty you will be complete! |
It took a week of putting on coats of paint, then screwing the
job up, sanding and repainting, but in the end I think it was
worth it. It was very very hard to not just assemble the case
to see how it looked but I forced myself to be patient. We did
four coats of paint and waited a day between coats. After letting
the paint cure for three days I put on the clear coat and left
it to dry on the racks at work.
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Everyone's
favorite time: Power tools time! |
While the paint was drying I measured out and drilled the notches
for the side panel. Since the side bezel locks on it needed
some square notches. Not having a square drill I just marked
out the holes and drilled around them with a small drill bit
then knocked out the blanks and used my handy dandy metal file
to smooth the notches into what I wanted. When we assembled
the door and put the locking mechanism back on we needed to
do a few more cuts and some smoothing out to get room for everything
to work properly, but we were really close. As a note I used
a drill bit that was too big to start and shattered some plexi
I didn't want shattered. I then switched to a very small bit
and drilled many more holes. Luckily it worked out fine even
with a little extra material removed and the little cracks that
are still in the window are hidden behind the bezel.
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It
fits! Bwhahahah! |
After we got the side panel all cut and the clear coat finished
it's drying we were ready for assembly. Everything was very
shiny and I couldn't wait to put it all together and see how
it looked.
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Assemble
us! Assemble us! |
Before we assembled the parts I spliced into the wiring for
the existing light on the front of the case and wired in the
laser LEDs that were to light the front panel up a little
more. After the LEDs failed to light I checked the voltage.
It's three volts. We need twelve. Damn it. Oh well no big
deal. I soldered the cut wires back together and got some
cat5 cable, soldered it into the laser LED wire then into
the original 4 pin power plug as an extension. I ran the cable
along the existing LED power cable, into the case and plugged
it into the power supply. I also loosened up the screw that
retained the original LED at an angle and aimed it straight
up. Then.... It was time to put everything together and see
how it looked.
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Rj-45
cable as a power extension for the lights? Sure why
not? |
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New
front LEDs, now with 100% more electrical tape and solder! |
The side panel assembly and mounting of the panel went quite
well with no screw ups or scratches on the paint. It was a
little tough to get the bezel back on and it required some
prying and gentle shoving but it eventually clipped in. I
used brass machine screws and washers to hold the plexiglass
on as: A) They''ll hold a heck of a lot better than double
sided tape, which was my first thought and B) They look really
good. I'm sort of like a crow in that I like bright shiny
gold colored things. As mentioned above I had to make a few
more small cuts into the plexi to allow the side locking bar
to work properly. Once assembled the side door looked great.
Time for the front assembly.
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Du'oh.
Had to cut more material out to allow the locking bar
on the left free motion. |
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Note
use of soft paper to prevent scuffing of nice paint. |
Flawless
victory. After assembling the front bezels and plates and
getting the LEDs into position (and hot gluing them in) I
was messing with an extra piece of plexi and thought it might
look good in the front of the case between the upper and lower
plates. The original plan was to put in a small lego space
man and curve some plexi to fit the hole nicely, but there
just isn't enough room in there for the lego guy, and I couldn't
get the plexi to curve right. So in the name of laziness I
just dropped the plexi down into the front of the case and
cut it to the right height and it actually looks pretty darned
good, especially when it's all lit. I'll let the below photo
gallery speak for itself. Sorry for the sometimes slightly
blurry photos, my hands aren't the steadiest with a camera.
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I'm somewhat suprised that the case turned out as well as
it did, but I'm quite pleased that is did. And it wasn't really
that hard, just a bit time consuming. I'm glad I forced myself
to be patient and just take my time and wait for things to
get done and be careful. I've now got myself a really unique
looking Thermal Take Shark case for that next LAN. And as
for the fan noise, the case is now noticeably quieter than
it was with the side grille open. Quiet is good.
Total
cost for the mod: (retail pricing, Canadian dollars) $106.00
Sunbeam
cold cathode light (Blue): $18
Sunbeam laser LED: $10
Walmart hot glue gun: $10
Painters tape: $5
Paint brushes: $7
Sandpaper: $9
Primer: $12
Red paint: $6
Brass bolts/washers/nuts: $2
Plexi: $15
Plexi knife: $12
Other tools: Already had.
Tim Horton's Double Double Coffee: $2/ea
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