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Hardware

Hardwoodware 107

Posted by michael from the all-titles-are-funny-at-4AM-Monday-morning dept.
hamster writes: "Chris Pauli took computer case customizations to a new high: an oak cube. Looks like a lot of work!" I believe this is what happened to Flay's cutting board after he threw it away.
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Hardwoodware

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  • Better hardwoods to use... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ... Red Aromatic Cedar - Smells Oh Sooo Good
    ... Black Walnut - Very Hard, Very Nice
    ... Zebrawood - Mmmmmmm....stripes
    ... Combo (Purpleheart & Yellowheart) - for all of the LSU fans out there

    I am a woodworker and I am upset of the lack of quality that came with this case. I noted almost right away the table saw burn marks and the shoddy router work. Take some time guys and do it right for now on!

    I can think of many other ways to spruce (hehe) up this project: inlay around the entire case, /. logo in marquetry, scroll saw exhaust vents... the list goes on!

    If you are worried about cost, do the whole thing in pine and then cover it with burl veneer!
  • Cute, but he says that the temperature is higher inside it than in his old box. Otherwise, I'd want a furry pink case for my server!

    I think more case fans could solve this problem. Elevating the bottom couldn't hurt either - I don't see much of a space for air to get in the bottom, and I don't see fans (just grills) on those bottom holes.

    --

  • Apple has been making plastic cases for years. Standard metal PC cases are designed to shield EM radiation, as someone pointed out. With beige Macs, Apple lined the inside of the case with metal shielding. The original iMac also had metal shielding inside - you can see it through the plastic. With the newer iMacs (introduced in '99 I believe), Apple found a way to integrate EM shielding into the plastic - I have no idea how.

    It seems to me that a wood case would have to have the same kind of shielding as a plastic case, and borrowing some ideas from Apple's beige Macs would probably be worth looking into.

    --

  • would be a big jewel bezel indicator light like the kind they use on Fender amplifiers. Let's see, the Diallight 51 series would do. It uses a GE CJ7 bulb. That will give it the Ingersal-Rand look.

    The top ould be dressed up with a flower vase sitting on a doilly.Politenessman sez, "Always use a doilly daily."
  • The computer's guts have to be surrounded by a conductive jacket that is grounded, so that no electromagnetic radiation can escape. The FCC, or similar bodies elsewhere, would not approve of an unshielded case.

    So if you have a wooden case, it still needs a layer of shielding, either on the inside our outside. So you might as well just make the case out of sheetmetal and dispense with the wood.

    Then there is the weight, and the fact that wood is a good thermal insulator.

    I think that cost could be an issue for cases made of a quality hardwood. The whole idea here, to me, is to get an esthetic cabinet made of a finer material; making it out of plywood or MDF kind of defeats the purpose, since these materials are inferior to metal or even plastic. (Yet, people *will* buy particleboard garbage if it has veneer---this is the founding principle behind IKEA, for instance). The cost for cranking out pine, plywood or MDF cases in high volumes is probably not much greater than ordinary cases, but once you get into the better hardwoods, it gets more expensive. Never mind oak, how about a case made of bubinga, wenge and other such hardwoods? Why stop at cases? I'd like a keyboard made of zebrawood, with ebony keycaps, either without labels or labels made using mother-of-pearl inlay. ;)
  • To me, when you are trying to make the computer fit in the living room by using wood, your goal shouldn't be a small box. How often do you see furniture that is the size of what he designed? Just because the motherboard is that size doesn't mean the thing can only be that tall. I'm designing a case for a multimedia box that is the size of a standard half height bookshelf. The ugly CD-R and DVD drive doors are hidden behind a hinged wooden door and the rest of the face of the thing is used for disc storage. The larger size allows more room inside for air flow. Vents in the bottom and an auxilary fan that is powered seperately from the PC pulls air in through those vents. This will actually be better ventilated than my regular entertainment center. Those are made of wood and have receivers, VCRs, satellite receivers, amplifiers and more inside of them without curling the wood. Paint with metal in it can be used for shielding of the inside.
    I've got a few early sketches in SVG format at:
    http://www.plasticaztec.com/mediacabinet/mcab2fron t.svg [plasticaztec.com]
    http://www.plasticaztec.com/mediacabinet/mcab2fron topendoor.svg [plasticaztec.com]

    The Adobe SVG plugin is available at: www.adobe.com/svg/ [adobe.com]

  • Like this one [slashdot.org], and this one [slashdot.org] and this one [slashdot.org] and this one [slashdot.org] and...
    Ok I can't do it any more. I'm afraid I'll summon that energizer bunny.

    Sleep time.

    W
    -------------------

  • Who cares? (Score:4)

    by VValdo ( 10446 ) on Monday June 04, 2001 @12:29AM (#178879)
    I mean seriously. How many times is a "crazy case" a story?

    once [slashdot.org]?

    twice? [slashdot.org]

    three times? [slashdot.org]

    four times? [slashdot.org]

    five times? [slashdot.org]

    six times? [slashdot.org]

    or do you want the palm pilot version? [slashdot.org]

    I mean, yeah. You can make cases out of cool stuff. I guess the reason I'm pissed is cuz people are submitting real important items [somethingawful.com] and they're getting rejected.

    W
    -------------------

  • That's because Flay is a putz. Would you want his dirty feet where you make your dinner? Besides, Morimoto rulz - i think that the tasting panel sided with Flay to keep him from being such a whining baby again...
    -r0
  • Wood burns.
    Wood is a thermal insulator.
    Wood can be expensive.
    Wood does not provide RF shielding.
    Wood is more fragile.

  • >Note that last goal. He's about 1 president too
    >late for that one. :)

    yeah, so are all of us who entered college in computer scinece programs before 'Dubya got elected.

    Funny thing is though, a lot of us have the same aspirations. I had nearly the same list of things to do, but the custom case I dea never entered my mind until I saw the may 2001 issue of maximum PC, where they had step-by-step instructions on how to customize a case. I thought it was actually a very worthwhile article, and I ended up using it to mod out several pieces of hardware, including my netgear ethernet switch, my cases, and my data switch.

    If you ask me the customized cases are going to be big, and i think that anybody that can do them, and do them well could end up making a killing doing so. (Alienware for example. not totally customized, but very close to it).

    just my semi-offtopic, but related comments.
  • Comes the concrete case competition. I think it just *might* become something feasable. after all, we've got collegiate engineering student with nothing better to do (well, there's CS, but then again, that can be done in lieu of classwork, IMHO) this competition could become something a lote more fun, too. If anybody wants to take this idea and run with it, feel free.

  • I build my computer into the wall :) (Score:5)

    by abelsson ( 21706 ) on Monday June 04, 2001 @03:06AM (#178884) Homepage
    See http://abelsson.com/tystdator [abelsson.com]. Comments are in swedish, but it's the pictures that are interesting in any case.

    It works extremely well. Best part is that my box is *completely* quiet. It's like having a fanless box. I've almost started to get annoyed by the noise my monitor makes. :)

    It looks pretty cool too.

    -henrik

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Perhaps you're thinking of this [theregister.co.uk].
  • Reinforced concrete would be the easiest to do.
    You'd to make a formwork for the base and sides. (I'd leave one long side open and put glass on it, or maybe perspex.)
    For something the size of a PC case, I doubt you'd require reinforcing, which is generally only required when the concrete may be subjected to tensile forces rather than compressive forces. (spot the civil engineer, huh?)
    However, to improve shielding, a chickenwire mesh would serve as adequate reinforcing and as a faraday cage.
    Mixing the amount of concrete would be easy, and doable by hand. You'd want to keep the amounts of gravel down to keep it a very smooth mix. It'll take at least seven days to dry and preferable a month before you start attaching things to it. The precise details of attaching motherboards and such to a concrete base, I'll leave to others.

    Bristol University in the UK regularly makes concrete canoes as part of their Civil Engineering training, and I think they use the chicken wire mesh to keep the flexibility in the concrete. The real problem with a concrete canone is not the weight but the lack of flexibility.
    dave
  • This brings a whole new meaning to "I've got a woody"!
  • Wood cases [luddite.com] for systems are certainly nothing new.
  • Some engravings on the sides? That would be once impressive box then.
  • Techstyle [techstyle-com.com] has used wood.
  • yeah, I've been working on a marble cube case (1ftx1ftx1ft) for about 9 months.

    Basically, I procrastinate a lot :)

    Its pretty easy to work marble with a dremmel and a cutting disk. (as long as you cool the bit down with water) Then you just have to re-polish the cut edges.

    I had been toying with the idea of using a local precision water jet cutting company to cut the form, but I think I'll do the first one by hand.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • When you build a house, do you hand-forge the nails from iron that you mined yourself? Do you cut down your own forests for building material? Do you insulate your own electric wires with petrochemicals you refined and drilled for on your own?
  • Hey, I didn't bring it up

  • Look at Apple hacks (Score:3)

    by mr100percent ( 57156 ) on Monday June 04, 2001 @03:15AM (#178896) Homepage Journal
    I like the creative ideas Mac users [applefritter.com] come up with, they're far more interesting.

    *Yawn* A wood case sounds like filler, I've seen far better wood cases on /. before

  • Since EMI radiation and the FCC seem to be zero concern, why not just take the analog of a removable motherboard backplate cut out of the metal case cannibalized, and leave it sitting motherboard-down on a table or desk?

    Don't cut away the card slot part and you have support for at least one end of the cards, hell who has many full-length cards? The rest hang loose on the other end anyway.

    If the cpu fan whine irritates just replace it with a bigger, slower fan that moves as much air - no other fans should be needed, the open box would let convection keep things pretty near room temperature.

    Just the thing to show off your new Voodoo XIV or whatever, but be sure to watch out for the Pepsi syndrome.

  • Velveeta.
  • I suspeect it's hard to pass FCC (and thus sell legally) without sheilding
  • You know, you're right. And when you're right, you're right. And you? You're always right.

    (Forgive me, it's 3 am)
    ---
  • I had the parts for an ATT 6300 back in the days when 8086 was super duper. But i could never find the case for the odd-ball components (the mobo plugged into the video and the bus plugged into the video making sort of a C shape with the backs of the mobo and bus facing eachother) so I used some ceramic standoffs to keep 'em seperate and encased it all in wood - mostly particle board.

    The most interesting thing of that case venture wasn't so much the wood (although with air holes in the front in a geometric pattern it was pleasing) it was that I used a 20 meg hard card to boot from - and sometimes the platter wouldn't start to spin so I'd slide the case open just enough to reach in and manually start that platter spinning!!!
  • Does anyone know what ever happened to all the left over cases when the panda project finally abandoned both hard rock computers and artiscrat servers. the cases were amongst the first to be true art forms. the hard rock was an aluminimum cube which sat in a stand on one corner and had a sweet look. MS even used one of there when Alec St. John introduced the chrome project, the chromed a hard rock and used it as a display model. I want one of these, the chrome one if possible.
  • Might be good for a server with just power and a network cable coming out of it, but would be a problem for a normal case. Too many cables, going every which way. Sure, you can extend the keyboard, mouse, power, network, modem, but I've never had luck with the video. Too much noise.

    I tried painting all of my stuff with that rock paint once. Maybe I should have sealed it, because it didn't do so well. It did look nice for a day or so, but when paint chips start falling into the CD-ROM drive, it is time to cut the losses.

  • well i think it comes down to the fact that wood is very expensive. all the slashdot geeks would just say "bah, why would i pay for wood when i can just get a big ol' metal case?" :)

    but i digress. i heard a while back (while i was living in the Bay Area) of a guy that paid a professional woodworker to exactly replicate the plastic covers of a PowerMac G3 case (the same case they use for the current G4s [apple.com]) out of oak. i guess it cost him hundreds of dollars, but damn that would be a nice looking case. does anybody know this guy? i'd love to see a picture of that case!

    - j

  • Cool, but I would prefer this case [pcrivals.com] to keep my beer cold (although I should fiddle with the temp, -17 would hardly make it drinkable).
    Mhh, beer !...
  • Been there... done that...

    Dropped a small metal screwdriver into it... Ooops.

    My computer is now in a a full tower case, with the side off.

  • Haven't seen a stone case yet either. Discreet [discreet.com] make a fibre-channel disk array that is called Stone [discreet.com], but it's case is made of steel. Ho-hum.

    ----------------------------
  • But then i figured wooden cases are for accountants and lawyers
  • Its EMI, and it would not make it that far.

    cheers.
  • Note that a board foot of red (or white) oak is damn heavy for its size. I would suspect that his little cube, when empty, is heavier than a full tower case with power supply.
  • A friend showed me a Japanese computer magazine with an article on a computer case built with LEGO® bricks.

    It was a little bit expensive but it did solve a couple of interesting problems:

    • Do you want two, three fans, no problem, how about another one on the side?
    • Would you like fine tuning of the space between drives?
    • You have problems finding a box for your many-cheap-ide-disks-array?
    • Did you change your mind and now you need a bigger/smaller case?
    Plastic can be 'cooler' than wood :)

    worldcitizen

  • Nice IC reference.
  • Something Fred Flinstone would own?
  • I was going to say that maybe they could've sprinkled metal filings throughout the plastic, but then I realised that in order to shield from any magnetic fields there'd need to be some sort of circuit.

    Are there any plastics that conduct? Any plastic/metal compounds?

    I'm actually interested now... Oh well, there goes my homework.


  • This *is* true, but...

    I think the author's point should be taken to heart. I have several computers at home right now. I would never do a thing to any of the Mac cases (except for the decommissioned Classic that I'm currently thinking about fishtanking); with the exception of the 4400 and the Q850/9500-style cases I don't think Apple has ever created a really ugly piece of hardware. But I have a boring HP Vectra and a hideous Compaq Prolinea pizzabox that just scream for some kind of flashiness.

    Why not a nice wooden case, though? Yes, it would be quite the luxury item (I'd probably expect $300-$400 per case for a plain old ATX minitower enclosure), but it isn't all that bad an idea at all. You might have to rethink some furniture construction norms, though -- it would be significantly bigger than a normal case to enhance airflow, for example, and jointing techniques would probably be vastly different from normal furniture (I'd think some variation on the post-cam construction in some cheap shelves I bought a couple of months ago), but it would definitely sell, if only in smallish numbers.

    The big question is who would build it, though. If you're going to do something like this, do it right, right? That means no sawdustboard prefabs, and no cheezy stick-a-case-in-a-cabinet copouts.

    /Brian
  • Um, actually, PST is GMT-8.
  • Does noone remember Quickies?

    This is perfect for Quickies, but we haven't had any in several months! What the heck is up?

  • That fellow case looks really sharp, something that would belong nicely in a den or even a corner of a living room. But like most designer cases (and even some mainstream cases) the drive bezels just don't match. Some may disagree, its just one of those 'taste' things. Some custom wood bezels would be kinda neat (I'm not a fan of doors on a personal computer) or maybe paint all of the bezels a shade of brown. In its current state it sorta strikes me as a beautiful new Jaguar with some performance/stereo/clothing stickers slapped all over the rear.
  • Why is this newsworthy? I mean, I've personally seen over a hundred wood cases on sites like www.virtualhideout.net, and I don't see those submitted - besides which, this case is boring. anybody with a saw and some oak can make one. Why not post something interesting, like cases made from suitcases or filing cabinets? Hell, why not post the setup at http://egyptian.net/~scarab/system.html ? at least that took more than basic carpentry skills.
  • "I made a case from my own poop." I imagine it smells wonderful. But then I always imagine how poop smells. Actually that might not be a bad idea - it might end up looking like an adobe hut. And you could tell people what it was made out after they had spent 3 hours in front of it playing The Sims.
  • So put metal inside the wood. But why no wood exterior?
  • Curiously - why haven't I seen any commercial hardwood cases? Does wood have evil electrical properties or something? Why not have my computer look like furniture? (Rather why not somebody else have their computer look like furniture, because let's face it that thing is ugly as sin.)
  • wow someone ripped their case off and put the guts into a tupperware container. You are right, mac users really ARE better then the rest of us!

    Thank you for enlightening me!

  • You're the one who brought up the ultralame "machacks" page as proof that mac users are somehow more creative than pc users, I merely rebutted your groundless assertions using your own proof.

    BTW next time reply with your normal user account, you aren't fooling anyone.

  • it has been done... check out luddite.com [luddite.com].
  • bah, fsck you. Like I said, it's 1 am pst.

    The slashdot 2 minute between postings limit:
    Pissing off hyper caffeineated /.'ers since Spring 2001.

  • Interesting, (Score:4)

    by loraksus ( 171574 ) on Monday June 04, 2001 @12:17AM (#178927) Homepage
    It's 1 am pst, 3 am est, so I can't really bitch about the quality of this story.

    It's cool, but I wonder about "heat" issues. Warm air blowing through something tends to dry it out pretty well.
    Nevertheless, a very cool mod.

    Equally cool mod done to the virgin webplayer. Go forth and slashdot him. Someone please post a mirror.

    He wants to solar power this too.

    http://www.unternet.org/~frank/projects/webplaye r/ ruggedized/

    Some specs:

    - sheet metal case (used to be part of an army 2-stroke fuel pack)
    - 6 mm polycarbonate ('lexan') 'screen'
    - aluminium chassis, doubling as processor cooler
    - 2 * IBM Travelstar 20GB drives
    - internal 12V->5V converter based on Max724
    - external interfaces: USB, power, audio, modem
    - IR keyboard
    - DOC as 'emergency backup OS', it contains a small GNU/Linux installation.

    I might choose to leave out the DOC and the modem, and go for an external USB modem instead. Anyone know a good place in Vancouver to buy stuff like that? I only need the modem when I find myself in the vicinity of a telephone, so I can put some imagery on the website I'll make for the trip.

    It will be hosting a webcam which will snap a picture every X seconds and record 'interesting' sound events (hence the two drives, the trip will take about 2.5 months so I need quite a lot of disk space). It runs a slightly modified Debian GNU/Linux 'testing' distribution (currently using the 2.4.4 kernel with some USB patches). Agressive use of APM keeps power consumption down (eg. screen blank after 2 minute, I won't need the screen anyway most of the time. The camera will be mounted on a headband, or just attached to the canoe somewhere, and merrily document the whole trip.

    The slashdot 2 minute between postings limit:
    Pissing off hyper caffeineated /.'ers since Spring 2001.

  • I thought the idea was kind of interesting.
    Since he had such nice wood, it might have been better to conceal the drives within, and use one of the solid pieces of oak on a hinge for the front piece. Think of how a small fridge or, in this case, a cabinet opens.
    One other thought is more vents. He could have easily made a few slats to allow more cooling, and probably thrown in a couple more fans while he was at it. All in all nice. After all, I don't have an oak PC case.
  • Overclockers has this article:

    http://www.overclockers.com/articles154/ [overclockers.com]

    about wood computer cases by TechStyle Computers [overclockers.com]

    There was this Ask Slashdot [slashdot.org] story on the EMF questions as well.

    And Tech Style was featured in a slash story here [slashdot.org]

    Check out the Vinny the Vampire [eplugz.com] comic strip

  • He states that he could not get the assembly of the cube perfect: "I got it pretty close but not perfect. I used 1.25" wood screws to hold the cube together." If anyone else is considering such a project, might I suggest This to That [thistothat.com] Tells you what kind of glue to use for various surfaces.

    For the goatse paranoid: http://thistothat.com

    --
    Check out crippl3.net [crippl3.net].
    Booyah
  • There are no links to that in any of my posts.

    --
    Check out crippl3.net [crippl3.net].
    Booyah
  • Whoa, stone would be a *real* bitch to drag around to LAN parties.

    --
    Check out crippl3.net [crippl3.net].
    Booyah
  • What I would really like is a monitor with an oiled Victorian style wooden case, an ornate, Victorian style wooden box, and a keyboard made out of wood with metal keys from a really really early typewriter (those round button style keys) used in place of the plastic cubey keys... with very thick braided old telephone switchboard cable housing for the cables. Victorian lettering on the front, and big ass brass switches throughout.
  • The net is full of hardware/overclocking sites. I think their readers are more interested about strange cases.

    "With a rubber duck, one's never alone."
  • "I mean, yeah. You can make cases out of cool stuff. I guess the reason I'm pissed is cuz people are submitting real important items and they're getting rejected."

    Start your own page..."Dotslash; all the news that's not fit to print." ;)

    ~sabine

    ps - I'm serious; we need more geeknews pages. There can never be too many.
  • I wonder if the noise is greatly reduced on this case? There must be far less panel vibration and wood will have a better sound deadening propertie (for reducing hard disk noise etc...) Kzip.
  • Does this mean he's thinking outside the box?

  • Wood... ho hum. What about stone? (Score:5)

    by aussersterne ( 212916 ) on Monday June 04, 2001 @12:21AM (#178938) Homepage
    I've seen about a hundred each wood and clear acrylic cases on various sites. Nothing new, and nothing that great, IMHO.

    On the other hand, I'd kill (or pay $$$) for a STONE case. Any kind. Black marble or onyx or maybe granite or even just reinforced concrete. Something very heavy, very primitive and very ageless-looking. No LEDs showing, hidable drive bays... So that most of the time, it's just a stone cube, sitting in the corner, being heavy.

    Oh, the romance...
  • There are several plastic formulations (reinforced resins) which will effectively shield EMI/RFI. It's been long enough since I read about them that I've forgotten the names. I believe a search of the old NASA TechBriefs (monthly mag) would turn up the material. I don't remember them being transparent/translucent, though.
  • I like the case, don't get me wrong. I have had this idea before. Never followed up on it tho.
    However I think the woodworking skills here are to be desired. I would have used dowels to seal the box. Less visible and much more artistic. Also the choice of wood allthough done on a budget could have been better. Another idea I was beaten too. oh well at least I still have a shot at making those millions. McK
  • is building a custom case not a nerdish thing to do, then?
    i don't think it's mainstream.

  • "Branding" his case (Score:3)

    by Afreet1 ( 224290 ) on Monday June 04, 2001 @12:21AM (#178943)
    I think that he should have had "This case was slashdotted" burned into the side of the case. It would make a nice finishing touch.

    On an unrelated note, Flay still managed to annoy Morimoto even after he removed the cutting board.
  • One factor might be that it can be highly expensive to do so. Think about it. A "standard" case runs between $30-$60 (okay, I know I shop at strange places, but that's what I can buy one for around here...). And if I wanted to buy the wood to make my own similar case like this guy did, I could probably get the oak for maybe the same price, if I wait for a sale at Lowe's.

    However, making these commercially available (and that's the magic words, kids) would at the very least double or triple the price. You're talking manufacturing costs, shipping costs, all kinds of silly-ass regulations, etc, etc. Also, how many different models of cases are out there? And it's much easier to make modular metal and plastic cases then modular wood ones. Wood tends to break easier, requires more care, etc.

    Just my take on it...

    Kierthos
  • Perhaps they have a metal wire cage inside the plastic? If it's thin enough wire, you'd never even see it in the plastic. Of course, taking a bandsaw to the case would offer some insight...

    Honestly, I have no idea how they did the shielding in the new iMacs, but the imbedded wire cage does seem to be one option. Are there any plastics with EM shielding properties?

    Kierthos
  • I hear there was someone who did something close with a Novel server a few years back - though they did not leave a CD slot open...
  • I like this from the top of his page: Things do do:

    Own my own computer (checked off early 1996)
    Build my own computer (checked off late 1996)
    Custom build my own computer case (checked off May 28, 2001)
    Make millions in computer industry (unchecked)

    Note that last goal. He's about 1 president too late for that one. :)
  • it would be easy to have a place that makes custom counter tops to do the cutting and drilling for you, then you assemble it yourself. they my even be able to use the cut outs where the sinks go in, which i think end up as scrap, and save some money.

    cheers

  • Of course the case itself is not going to have problems since spontaneous combustion point for most hardwoods is around 370 deg F, if I remember correctly. HOWEVER... He's using a 'Satin Finish' polyurethane varnish. I beleive this stuff is pretty flamabile. Combined with any sawdust or woodchips that manages to make its way to hot surfaces of his video card or processor heastring, could cause some flamability problems. Also, the polyurethane is much more likely to build up a static chage than an aluminum case. I could be looking at the pictures wrong, but it doesn't look like he has his mobo grounded to the powersupply either, something that happens automatically in metal cases. I could be mistaken. When you consider safety, cost and effort, I don't think there's much reason to build a wood case, unless you're going for the look of the thing.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Some little physics... (Score:4)

    by Alpha Zulu ( 253293 ) on Monday June 04, 2001 @12:37AM (#178951)
    He does state that "Temperatures are a bit higher then they were in my [other case]".

    So I thought I'd go into it. Since its 1:30am, and heck, its not like I really need the sleep. =)

    (1) I noticed that on this Oak case, I didn't see and vents of the sort. Just an extra fan. Vents are good.
    (2)There is a reason that cases are metal. Besides the obvious fact that its easy to produce and its cheaper. This being that the Thermal conductivity of Aluminum is 240 W/(m*Celcius), but for Oak, this is sooo much less, ranking in at just 0.15 W/(m*Celsius).

    Conduction of heat through a material is = (Thermal Conductivity)*(Cross sectional Area)*(Change in temp between the outside and the inside of the box)*(time) / (width of the wood)

    So one can see that having a larger value of Thermal Conductivity allows alot more heat to transfer through. And visa versa for a smaller.

    Case in point, a metal case will allow alot more heat to flow through it than a wooden case.

    Hey!!! We should build houses from Wood!!! Ummm, oh ya...nevermind. =)

  • That's rediculous. Most computers do sit in a wood enclosure. A desk. Not all of them are completely enclosed because of cooling requirements. I know I had a nice wooden desk with a door in the front for the computer compartment but BOY would it get hot in there! What people could be building are desks with cooled / ventilated enclosures that you can just put your case in directly. Of course there's still the necessity to run all the cables, etc. which makes it a slightly more challenging cooling puzzle. Then there's the pesky access to removable media, etc. What we need is wireless everything, so that the noisy / bulky stuff can all be somewhere else. Hmmm...but how do we make a wireless powercable...

    -wyck

  • Get out the sticky backed plastic (Score:3)

    by Zeinfeld ( 263942 ) on Monday June 04, 2001 @08:50AM (#178953) Homepage
    Brits will understand the reference. The case looks awful, if the guy was going to use wood screws he could have at least counter sunk them and stuck some infill plugs over them - it could have looked pretty good if he choose something like ebony for the plugs, but oak would have served.

    Much better would be to do the job properly and use a dovetail joint.

    I know the guy is living off welfare and had to save up for the case by collecting empty bottles and selling a kidney but I don't see why the result should be held up as an example to the rest of us. If we are going to have designer cases they should look better than standard ones. That case looks worse than the average homebrew of the 70s.

    If we are going to do non-standard case stories lets at least see pretty ones.

  • take a look at luddite.com
  • Yeah - and we get a new president every 4 years or so. Should we just stop talking about that? I mean, it's been done, right? Guys become president.

    When a new twist is brought to the table or a new twist on a new twist, then why not highlight it. Plus, not everyone started reading Slashdot when they were 3 months old and not everyone spends 3 hours a day reading it, either.
  • Cool article. And the page isn't slashdoted yet. But I have a feeling we're going to bring this guy's server to it's knees. Or cost him a few $100 in bandwidth. Slashdot should cache the page and link to the cached page, if the whole point of the article is to look at pretty pictures. Yeah, I know this is off topic, but this guy is going to regret showing off his groovy wooden box in.. oh, about 5 more mins? :(
  • Youngsters. Bah.

    This isn't a new notion by a long stretch. The first time I recall seeing an article on wood enclosures was in Interface Age magazine in about 1977. If you ever find an archive of old old computer magazines (Interface Age, Creative Computing etc) you'll find several articles on this topic (Build A Classy Enclosure For Your Super-Hot 6502 System!) between the 70's and 80's.
  • He definitely stands a better chance at making millions in the computer industry than in the furniture industry. I could knock together a crate like that with my eyes closed and both hands tied behind my back. (Well, almost.)

    -Lasse
  • Themeable Hardware casings just think about it.
  • A case made out of a carved out tree stump would be much cooler - If just a *iddy bit* heavy (and you could sit on it too.)
  • Cute, but he says that the temperature is higher inside it than in his old box. Otherwise, I'd want a furry pink case for my server!
  • Heat generated by the computer affects the moisture of the wood and causing slight curling.

    Also the ugly plastic door of the CDrom and floppy hardly mix with the fine Hardwood. Just why bother to put them together.

  • Once upon a time there were three little programmers. Each set about to make a case for their computer to live in, so that all their important open source software (or was that free software? I forget, never mind) would have a safe home. The first little programmer made his computer case from straw.

    But when Mr. Badday.mpg threw a temper tantrum in the next cube, he huffed and he puffed and came over and kicked the little programmer's computer, and the straw case crumbled and the little programmer's work was all lost - oh, no! And Mr. Badday.mpg was moved to another cube by a sweet little HR princess. And this cube was farther away from the boss who didn't like to hear temper tantrums, but right next to the second little programmer.

    The next little programmer was a little smarter. In addition to not using goto's every ten lines in his code, he built his computer case out of wood. But when the Mr Badday.mpg threw another, bigger temper tantrum in his new cube, he huffed and he puffed and he came next door and picked up the little programmer's wood-case computer and smashed it against the wall. Oh no, oh no! There was a hole in the drywall and the computer was ruined! And the little programmer had to download all his Britney Spears mp3's again! And Mr Badday.mpg was moved to another floor, so that his rage could be ignored by management. Of course, he wound up next to our third programmer.

    Now, this little programmer was smarter than all the rest. He built his computer case out of bricks (he was a big fan of the song "Brick House" by the Commodores; also "Word Up" by Cameo, but I digress). Oh, his computer case was a strong one! And when Mr. Badday.mpg blew not one, not two, but three full gaskets one Monday morning (sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays!), he came over to the third little programmer's cube because he had destroyed his own PC but had lots of nasty old rage left in him. He kicked and kicked the brick PC, but it didn't budge. He took his keyboard and smashed it on the brick PC, all the while the little programmer's work was safe. So Mr. Badday.mpg bent over and grasped the brick PC, but when he tried to lift it, he threw out his back and had to go on workman's comp.

    Epilogue:
    The brick PC was safe after its beating, and the third little programmer finished his open-source Linux DVD player, but then Big Bad Mr. Jack Valenti had the Army Corps of Engineers dynamite the brick PC. Sorry, that's how these things end up. In real life, the wolf always wins.
    -----------------------
  • Well, there have been a ton of hacks to put computers in other cases.

    here is a sample: http://applefritter.com/hacks/index.html [applefritter.com]

    I Rather like the machine in the Zenith radio case (wood), the popsicle stick case (also wood) the ShopMac, and the 33.6 in the antique toaster.

    go up one level and look at the computers built out of building blocks.

    ______

  • first, MABRUK for a very nice looking case
    what about heat conductance ? wood is a good insualtor, I would guess this case is actually a very BAD engineering solution.
    not to say that hardware can't be aesthetic.
  • Metal cases have some electrical properties to their advantage, mainly by being faraday cages. Wood and plastic computer cases need to have metal insulation in order to achieve this.

    Back when computers had clock rates of 90Mhz-100Mhz, their clock rates landed squarely in the middle of the FM band spectrum. Thus, if you had the case off, it didn't act as a faraday cage and caused interference with nearby FM equipment at those frequencies. The interference was weak, but still audible. Putting the case back on took away the interference, since the faraday cage didn't let radio frequencies through.

    Besides, metal cases are very durable and very cheap to manufacture, not to mention that they are a proven concept.

  • I find the idea of a wood computer to case to be rather intriguing as it is something completly against the grain. (No Pun Intended) As I have never seen a commercially available computer case.

    I am interested in knowing how many people would like to have such cases in classic designs. They would not be cheap as the costs of the wood alone would be rather expensive. Then there would be the cost of the metal components and the weight for shipment. All in all I could see cases as simple as the cube selling for nearly 200 US Dollars and more advanced designs selling for closer to 300 US Dollars.
  • Now I guess I'm going to have to make that case out of chicken wire, coat hangers, and packing foam.

  • If these things ever take off in terms of popularity, every time someone's fan dies there will be a smoldering box of wood ash, molten plastic, and copper lying in an office building, den or bedroom somewhere.

    Insurance companies will HATE these things.

    "Before we can insure you Mr. Goldstein, I have a few questions. Do you use tobacco? No. Good. Do you have any of those silly flamable wooden computers? Ok, then you monthly premium is...DAMN, I pay this much per year, um,,,"

  • I had a thought: Instead of going to all trouble of building a complete custom case with mounting brackets etc., why not just do this:
    1. Build your computer in a regular, ugly case. 2. Build a wood (or stone or plastic or lead crystal, whatever :-)) "case" big enough for the real case to fit it. The front should have gaps for the drives and buttons, and the rear should be mostly open, for cooling. Just put smaller (say 3-inch) wood flaps attached to locking hinges on the back so that you can put the real case inside and its secure, but you can remove it if you wish.
    3. The end result is a wood "case" that covers everything but most of the back of the real computer case, where most of the cooling happens, as well as all the ports. Quicker, more efficient than a real pc case made of wood, and much easier. Thoughts?

  • ...but how much space would a Beowulf cluster of these things take up??? And would it be a fire hazard?

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