Slots would make sense, but I’m not sure I can cut them. Might be worth considering, though.
Maybe if I do my clamp idea so I can use a clamp or a piece of wood as a guide-rail?
That’ll probably be done after the main cutting: The backside is going to be kind of a mess anyway due to cabling and such, but people might be able to see the side what with my expected desk layout (which is to give this baby some room to breath. I’m amazed my old Classic II survived so much use in tight desks and such).
Luckily I was testing on the old ‘Mk 1’ case, so it’s not a huge deal. I’m regrouping, right now, but I think I’m going to have to ‘perf’ with the drill (which works well) then use the dremel to grind down bit. This’ll work for everything but the ‘slots’ which I’m considering. I can either go back to drilling, make a big huge hole and install a guard, or something else I think of.
I’ve got a Mac Classic II in the basement that I haven’t used in years. If you botch the case you have, I’d being willing to give up mine for the greater good.
Computer disassembly is not on my skill list. I could probably ship the whole thing to @balance and you could ask him to forward any bits that interest you. But it’s a Mac Classic II. Unless you want it to play Pax Imperia, what possible use could it be?
I’m really hoping to not kill this case. I’m using the original one as a test for techniques and such. The newer case is a bit thinner and doesn’t have the metal inner layer, but I just can’t get a smooth cut on it. I feel like the Mk II case would be even worse.
I think when time permits I’m going to just very carefully start drilling holes where I need holes, and use the dremel to smooth edges as needed. It’s as least as half-assed as my previous idea, perhaps even fully assed!
For the venting, what I’ll think I’ll do is make a template for holes, then drill the center of each hole with a small bit. Then drill with a larger bit to finish. Probably 1/4" holes?
I can make a template in OmniGraffle or similar, print it and attach it. Using the small bit means mroe control plus I can drill right through the template.
Shipping the whole thing to Australia would run about $140 minimum. That’s a bit excessive for my discretionary budget. Shipping just the interesting parts could be done for about $23 or so. Which I could just barely live with. But I glanced through the Australian import rules and I’m not sure if I could legally send it without jumping through more legal hoops than it could possibly be worth.
Well, there’s probably a bit of difference between what you can import and what you can mail. But the categories of things you can’t mail to Australia are so broad and vague that I’m not really willing to risk it. The cost of using a proper import/export firm for shipping and customs clearance would exceed my discretionary budget.
I took the plunge and did some serious cutting this weekend.It’s not perfect, but will have to do. I cut a small rounded-rectangle hole for the power switch and plug, and a large ‘L’ shaped hole for the motherboard and graphics card. I also glued in the rail the SSD holders will attach to and a couple other bits.
I’m waffling a bit on finishing the hole. Right now I’m just going to sand the edges a bit more to smooth and shape them.
One minus is the hole was, inevitable, a bit too large in places. I picked up some acrylic and will be fabricating a ‘plate’ for the motherboard to fill this. The goal is to get it cut then paint it an appropriate shade of grey to match. I’d probably have needed this no matter what: the motherboard goes right through the ‘vertical’ oles on the back of the case (for the old power connection, switch, and battery access) but, of course, not completely.
Also one stupid revelation is that while I conceptually thinking of the back of the case as ‘flat’ it’s far from flat. The case has a lot of small subtle bumps and shifts, making the surface a bit less neat than it first appears.
I’ve sketched out my vent hole pattern. I discussed it with $Wife and decided on the spiral I made in Illustrator. My reasoning? The spiral is already a bit chaotic: I figure that if I’m inevitably a little bit off it’ll be less immediately visible in this case. Still thinking about how I want to do the drilling: It makes some sense to rig up an assembly so there’s a firm piece of scrap wood behind the case-surface. I have a small Dremel Drill press I can use, but I don’t think it’s deep enough. to get to where I need to work, so it may be free drilling. Definitely doing pilot holes first!
My current goal is to get the back done, then start working on the front bezel piece. Keeping focused is good for me and once I get the back done I can start on the Hackintosh portion of the process, which I’ve mostly neglected.
Front Bezel will require:
Rebuilding the mount for the LCD. This includes making it a bit sturdier (I had glue pop a couple pieces on the first attempt already, which I’ll fab with screws this time) and a bit neater.
Wiring the new switches I want to use.
I may end up putting the LCD controls in the floppy slot, unless a better idea comes to me. It’s looking like the most elegant solution, although I don’t know if I can also get the USB to go there like I wanted.
Have to fill the ‘wheel’ space (where the old Plus had a brightness knob). This could be a USB, but they’d be at a slightly ugly angle.
When I’m wrapping things up I also want to do an overlay sticker for the back-panel sticker that identifies the model. Mimic the fonts and layout, but change it to something unique.
An ugly but accessible angle. Look at the current iMac, with all it’s ports hidden in such a way as you have to either tilt the machine all the way back, or turn it round, in order to plug something in.
You could also use that front USB to connect the Keyboard and Mouse, harking back to the days when the keyboard plugged into the front of the compact Macs with a boingy cable.
I’ll have to play with this. I might be able to build an angled mount with my scrap acrylic pieces and Sugru, which helps with the angle issue a bit. It’s just about the right size, though!
Hoping to spend tomorrow morning getting the back plate cut. Then painted, if time permits. I’d really like to get this to the bootable point, even if the front bezel isn’t rebuilt yet.
Got an acceptable piece cut for the “shield” as I’ma calling it. This is a piece like an upside down L that fills space between the case molding and the actual motherboard.
Got it roughed up before I left for work. I’m trying to decide how to paint it. I might hit it with some black textured spraypaint I’ve got in the closet tomorrow AM, then coat with a light grey to match the case better. Coating black sucks, but such is life. Not sure if I feel like picking up another spray can for this job.
I think I will be able to get one “front panel” ethernet in the old dial for brightness control. Too tight for 2 unless I find a double cheap on amazon I can hack up. I’ve also got a reasonable good idea how I’ll do the monitor controls.
Basically, there’s a thin slot for the floppy drive on the Old Mac. I thought about using this for USB (and still might) but a better option might be to place the controls for the built-in LCD there. To make it look pretty here’s what I’m going to do:
“Outside” filling the slot is a thin strip of acrylic. It’ll get scored so each button has a different button, but remain one piece.
Under that I may put a layer of something bodged together to stiffen the assembly. Basically, a thin crossbar at each separation. You know what might be ideal for this? If I can find some of that ‘granny grating’ craft-grid stuff. May have to raid the wife’s craft stuff. Needs to be thin and probably non-conductive.
Next is the actual circuit board, which has a few buttons and a light or two. The top piece will need to be painted, but ideally I should keep the light areas free or just a thin translucent layer.
If I’m really motivated I’ll look at printing an inner sticker (to go on the acrylic piece before painting) or trying to do neat lettering (not my strong suite).
I painted the “shield” this morning. May drill this weekend. Drilling vent-holes is the last invasive scary part, I think.
I keep telling myself that if it gets messed up I can always cut the hole to full-size and add a protective aesthetic grating. Still, mass drilling makes me nervous.
