I Made A Computer Out Of Wood
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I’m a student with no experience in woodworking or computers. But since I prefer desktops over laptops I decided to start a project last summer.
If I were to spend this much money (for a student at least) on the computer components, I might as well spent a lot of time on building a case. This could have been done way faster but given my little experience I only had basic tools like a chisel and files at my disposal.
Nonetheless I’m happy the final result and I recommend anyone who is in doubt about starting a similar project to just commit to it. It is easier than it looks.
This is how it looks and you can make one yourself
I’m a student with no experience in woodworking or computers. But since I prefer desktops over laptops I decided to start a project and build a wooden computer
The beginning of the project. I worked for a few weeks in a local carpentry. I asked if they could make me a custom frame (420mmx420mm). A few weeks later this got dropped off at my home
I removed the edge for the side panels. I used a chisel and hammer to remove 5mm deep and 15mm high pieces of unneeded wood and smoothed the edges with a dremel
I installed the fans. These fans are held in place by friction only. I used a metalfile to file off a fraction of wood everytime until the fans fitted snugly. Same method was used for fans on the bottom
I went with 2x140mm fans on the top and 2x140mm fans on the bottom this way the hot air can follow it’s natural pathway: straight up. I used a cheap jigsaw to roughly cut out the holes for the fans and shaped some more with a wood file.
Installing the controllers wasn’t easy. The bays were too big so I cut them off with my dremel and sanded the cuts with 200 grit sandpaper. RGB LED controller and fancontroller were fitted into the body
I bought the aluminium sheets at a local metalshop. I used a metal file to file the edges until they fitted perfectly into the frame. The outer wall was also filed to shape
Next step was to install the power-supply. The PSU I used was a small form factor power-supply
So it came with a metal adapter to make it fit into cases with a normal PSU hole. I trimmed it down and drilled some extra holes so I could use this to attach the PSU to the back of the case
I ordered this 390x390x5mm black plexiglas online and again, as I did with the aluminium outerwall, I filed the edges to fit the case
Then I attached the fake wall to the case. The L irons I used were a bit too large so I used a simple metalsaw to shorten them. Then I attached the fake wall to the case using small bolts, screws and washers
I had to installing the ON/OFF switch. I bought this online from a german shop, called a “Vandal switch”. I drilled a hole in the wall and used the metalfile to make it the right size
I installed the i/o panel. The i/o panel is held in place just by fitting snugly
I initially intended to make the stands out of aluminium but decided to go with wood scarps anyways because it gives the case a better coherence
The final assembly
Illustration of the fake wall that hides all the cables from view and makes sure the pc is tidy on the inside
I have also installed LEDs but I never turn these on because I don’t like the look of it. Only use of them is to show the inside of the case
First time turning the wooden pc on
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"I made a human out of wood" - Guys
You didn't make a wooden computer, you made a wooden computer tower. ;) Nice job, though.
I wouldn't have put the fans on the top myself, dust will fall in through them so will build up a lot more inside than usual.
Why not put a panel of a material supported by screws on top and the air will go out sideways
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
at least if it burns, he could just toss it in the fireplace. Instant firewood
Can you show me the blueprints?
''Nonetheless I’m happy the final result and I recommend anyone who is in doubt about starting a similar project to just commit to it. It is easier than it looks'' and then "I worked for a few weeks in a local carpentry. I asked if they could make me a custom frame (420mmx420mm). A few weeks later this got dropped off at my home" Are you f kidding me? It's not easier than it looks, you asked a carpentry to do it!! WTF???
Hi, just for personal interest where did you get the wooden frame from and how much did it cost? Thanks!
And you wasted so much wood in every center of panel.. Anyway, good try, just add some oil/laquer to make wood stand out.
Cool, but PSU better mount on bottom.
Why don't you make a video of that?
Nice work!!!!!
Nice work!!!!
What is depth of wodden panel
This is AMAZING work bro.....(Y)
Dota player detected
Wow this is amazing, are you a major in industrial design or intending to? I feel you should totally pursue this area further.
Wish I could do that haha :D Looks amazing! True skill! Love it!
The wallpaper is from Martin Grohs. Go check him out he's amazing
Not a good plan, better hope your power supply never shorts or that case will burn baby burn
Anybody concern about fire hazzard...? No..? Okay then, carry on..
it's not that easy to catch fire, more likely to deform first for the really bad cooling system design and low conductivity of heat...
8 months. It hasn't moved a mm since this is high quality plywood and the grain of the sheets are perpendicular to each other, being resistant to warp in more dimensions.
I like your idea a lot. How to contact to you? for Sharing
it's a bad idea
You can message me via reddit if you want. My name is LouisVW i'm pretty active on there.
This is so awesome!
Dear Gosh you are a GENIOUS
You're making me blush
Genius* ugh
elegant
elegant :)
woaaah, this is amazing! Sick job guy!
This is beautiful
Cool design but computers generate a lot of heat. I suspect some intense warping before too long.
The wood actually feels very cool when the computer is running. Also the grain in the sheets of wood are in different directions so it's pretty resistant to warp. It has been running for 8 months and nothing moved a bit :] Thanks for the compliment though.
It's a really cool shape but I agree that the LED is best off. Guessing you invested in some pretty intensive cooling then? Did you treat the wood in any way? Just curious.
very cool
Thats pretty neeto
great job!! looks very nice! you should put some wooden cover for monitor too :)
Thanks Gabriel
Very nice job!! Now, there is a reason why tower PCs come in metal cabinets: to shield the user from electromagnetic radiation. I would prefer a metal plate between me and the internals.. but of course many cabinets come like that with lights to show the components.
Yeah i know. I'm planning on buying some paint or some sheets to put on the inside to protect from EMF.
Steve Job's first apple computer was wooden.
Steve Jobs?
Really nice! looks unique and one of a kind! If it was for sale, I'd consider purchasing it :)
Well done! You have a towering talent! Now, have you solved the Rubik's cube? :D
One piece broke off and i tried glueing but it didn't work :p haven't played with it since and i forgot some algorithms :[
wooooooow
That's amazing, good job!
Sorry to say this, This is a really bad decision, unreasonable idea from an completely outsider in my opinion. Because he/she might thought the case is just a container, but actually why most cases are made of metal board is for isolate the radiation, even better cases' coating provide extra protection from radiation. Wood? HAHAHA. Besides this, the fan cooler is not ok just exsiting there without any airflow path designed. Hot air raises, cool air descends. If the fans blow downward, they just pump out the only cooler air in the case. If they blow the air in the case, the hot air is kind of compressed in it and will be pushed out from all other small gaps. additionally, most most wood and plastic is not good conductor of heat...and many more wrong things. Hope he/she don't have high performance parts in it, and hope he/she won't paint it some day, cause the heat inside will made harmful gas vaporized...that's a smell...
The link does not work for me
The case also from a carpentry. These guys make furniture on a daily basis and i'm pretty sure there are strict laws concerning health endangering products in furniture.
there are some pics in the comments
https://www.facebook.com/shervin.younessi/posts/10153430509855811?comment_id=10153432720455811&reply_comment_id=10153433099320811¬if_t=share_reply¬if_id=1459868749156501
You're giving me a mouse study, but already know EMF can cause health issues. I also stated that the magnetic fields created by a computer are only a fraction of what we get to deal with everyday. You say people work in front of computers for longer. The difference is the pc is a meter away while cellphones are in direct contact with our head. Not really a comparison since the magnetic field decreases exponentially with distance. You don't see any manufacturer make these out of wood because guess what. It is not lucrative enough for them... This cases are 20kg how are you going to pay for shipping. Get 1mm aluminium paint it and it looks good, you can bend it anyway you want to make your case. If you want a nice looking wood you need to pay way more and it not that forgiving. This type is case is not ideal for everybody = does not get mass produced since the profit won't be optimal. Formaldehyde has a very strong smell, i'm pretty sure i would notice it if it were to evaporate.
Wood is also way harder to ignite than most people think. There was a study it and the easiest to ignite solid wood only started catching fire after 14 minutes of direct contact with a 180 degrees celcius item. This computer has been running smooth as a babies butt for 8 months straight now. And i reckon it wil keep running. I understand where you're concern comes from but it is unfounded in my opinion. Have a nice day.
not good at English. ignore my typos please
my mother have already been ill for the formaldehyde from some wood furniture. can't be cured. make sure you wood works at the right temp range. also consider the right paint if you want to paint it.
Loooong, nice geek!! me too. 1. if well sealed matter less. if metal matter much. and in this case you add a foil layer may do most work, true. there was a experiment in 1998 published rat lost 30% protein in its brain after 3 hrs daily cellphone call for a month. and people works in front of computers longer in every day for longer. Laws' existence is for it is widely or officially accepted. 2.Heat, I didn't see the top fans on FB. even there are fans both on top and bottom, it is not a good designed path, like pumping in the dust and springing it out after heating, bad for breath. And I didn't saw any famous case manufacturer had designed so. Think more. 3. I know it's not hot, but i believe you know what happened a warm airflow do to the wood, dry it and it gradually may crack. or you hardware is really very economical. 4. and the most I concerned is the wood looks are made of many slices of thin wood with glue. some glue may vaporize harmful matter when even a slightly heating.
Hello Xiangye . I know the standard metal case serves as a faraday cage, to block only some of the EMF. Since the blocking of the radiation is relative to the thickness of the case, i think there are alot of cheap cases that do a similar bad job at shielding from radiation with their paper thin walls, full of mesh and plexi pannels. If you are considered about my health, thanks but an electric shaver which is in direct contact with our skin produces 15 – 1500µT while a computer that is sitting more than 30 centimeters away produces < 0.01µT so you could say it is all pretty relative... We are in contact with EMF every single day. Or don't you use a phone? Are you not in areas with WiFi? You never come near to cables running electricity? On the other hand if you are saying this because some countries have laws where you have to shield EMF that is "accidentialy" made by electricity using machines, to prevent it from interfering with radiowaves and what not, you are right.
But there are easy solutions for that problem like foil or pain to put on the inside on the case and i'm planning on doing that in the near future. You also complain about my fans. Even though it is not optimal it is also far form terrible. The fans don't blow downward like you say, the 4 noctua fans all blow upwards. The lowest fans get blocked a bit by the GPU but the upperfans also blow air out, creating negative pressure inside the case sucking in air. The Psu at the top also blows sucks in air and blows it out at the back, again, creating more negative pressure to pull in air. My temps never go over 50 degrees celcius, the fans on my GPU hardly ever even have to spin, and the wood is always very cold when touched on the outside. Indicating some very good airflow since wood does not heat or cool as efficiently as metal, like you said. About this topic. The case of a computer only provides about 1% of the heat dissipation of a case. The rest is done by airflow.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
too much work.. plus you have to have all the materials to make this: drills, saw, the "custom made" (emphasis since when you have something custom made, it will cost you money) wood.. AND you have to buy all the components online or elsewhere. So basically, you put in too much work and money, which you could probably save if you just bought the regular desktop. They are after all not as expensive as in the early 2000's since laptops, noteboooks and tabs are slowly replacing desktops. BTW. you didn't make a WOODEN COMPUTER, you just made a WOODEN CPU CASING. We would be more amazed if your motherboard, keyboard, screen etc. were made out of wood. BUT NO you just made a case.. Nice try being creative-ish though, but next time you want to save money by making DIYs, try to use your common sense. XD
"I made a human out of wood" - Guys
You didn't make a wooden computer, you made a wooden computer tower. ;) Nice job, though.
I wouldn't have put the fans on the top myself, dust will fall in through them so will build up a lot more inside than usual.
Why not put a panel of a material supported by screws on top and the air will go out sideways
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
at least if it burns, he could just toss it in the fireplace. Instant firewood
Can you show me the blueprints?
''Nonetheless I’m happy the final result and I recommend anyone who is in doubt about starting a similar project to just commit to it. It is easier than it looks'' and then "I worked for a few weeks in a local carpentry. I asked if they could make me a custom frame (420mmx420mm). A few weeks later this got dropped off at my home" Are you f kidding me? It's not easier than it looks, you asked a carpentry to do it!! WTF???
Hi, just for personal interest where did you get the wooden frame from and how much did it cost? Thanks!
And you wasted so much wood in every center of panel.. Anyway, good try, just add some oil/laquer to make wood stand out.
Cool, but PSU better mount on bottom.
Why don't you make a video of that?
Nice work!!!!!
Nice work!!!!
What is depth of wodden panel
This is AMAZING work bro.....(Y)
Dota player detected
Wow this is amazing, are you a major in industrial design or intending to? I feel you should totally pursue this area further.
Wish I could do that haha :D Looks amazing! True skill! Love it!
The wallpaper is from Martin Grohs. Go check him out he's amazing
Not a good plan, better hope your power supply never shorts or that case will burn baby burn
Anybody concern about fire hazzard...? No..? Okay then, carry on..
it's not that easy to catch fire, more likely to deform first for the really bad cooling system design and low conductivity of heat...
8 months. It hasn't moved a mm since this is high quality plywood and the grain of the sheets are perpendicular to each other, being resistant to warp in more dimensions.
I like your idea a lot. How to contact to you? for Sharing
it's a bad idea
You can message me via reddit if you want. My name is LouisVW i'm pretty active on there.
This is so awesome!
Dear Gosh you are a GENIOUS
You're making me blush
Genius* ugh
elegant
elegant :)
woaaah, this is amazing! Sick job guy!
This is beautiful
Cool design but computers generate a lot of heat. I suspect some intense warping before too long.
The wood actually feels very cool when the computer is running. Also the grain in the sheets of wood are in different directions so it's pretty resistant to warp. It has been running for 8 months and nothing moved a bit :] Thanks for the compliment though.
It's a really cool shape but I agree that the LED is best off. Guessing you invested in some pretty intensive cooling then? Did you treat the wood in any way? Just curious.
very cool
Thats pretty neeto
great job!! looks very nice! you should put some wooden cover for monitor too :)
Thanks Gabriel
Very nice job!! Now, there is a reason why tower PCs come in metal cabinets: to shield the user from electromagnetic radiation. I would prefer a metal plate between me and the internals.. but of course many cabinets come like that with lights to show the components.
Yeah i know. I'm planning on buying some paint or some sheets to put on the inside to protect from EMF.
Steve Job's first apple computer was wooden.
Steve Jobs?
Really nice! looks unique and one of a kind! If it was for sale, I'd consider purchasing it :)
Well done! You have a towering talent! Now, have you solved the Rubik's cube? :D
One piece broke off and i tried glueing but it didn't work :p haven't played with it since and i forgot some algorithms :[
wooooooow
That's amazing, good job!
Sorry to say this, This is a really bad decision, unreasonable idea from an completely outsider in my opinion. Because he/she might thought the case is just a container, but actually why most cases are made of metal board is for isolate the radiation, even better cases' coating provide extra protection from radiation. Wood? HAHAHA. Besides this, the fan cooler is not ok just exsiting there without any airflow path designed. Hot air raises, cool air descends. If the fans blow downward, they just pump out the only cooler air in the case. If they blow the air in the case, the hot air is kind of compressed in it and will be pushed out from all other small gaps. additionally, most most wood and plastic is not good conductor of heat...and many more wrong things. Hope he/she don't have high performance parts in it, and hope he/she won't paint it some day, cause the heat inside will made harmful gas vaporized...that's a smell...
The link does not work for me
The case also from a carpentry. These guys make furniture on a daily basis and i'm pretty sure there are strict laws concerning health endangering products in furniture.
there are some pics in the comments
https://www.facebook.com/shervin.younessi/posts/10153430509855811?comment_id=10153432720455811&reply_comment_id=10153433099320811¬if_t=share_reply¬if_id=1459868749156501
You're giving me a mouse study, but already know EMF can cause health issues. I also stated that the magnetic fields created by a computer are only a fraction of what we get to deal with everyday. You say people work in front of computers for longer. The difference is the pc is a meter away while cellphones are in direct contact with our head. Not really a comparison since the magnetic field decreases exponentially with distance. You don't see any manufacturer make these out of wood because guess what. It is not lucrative enough for them... This cases are 20kg how are you going to pay for shipping. Get 1mm aluminium paint it and it looks good, you can bend it anyway you want to make your case. If you want a nice looking wood you need to pay way more and it not that forgiving. This type is case is not ideal for everybody = does not get mass produced since the profit won't be optimal. Formaldehyde has a very strong smell, i'm pretty sure i would notice it if it were to evaporate.
Wood is also way harder to ignite than most people think. There was a study it and the easiest to ignite solid wood only started catching fire after 14 minutes of direct contact with a 180 degrees celcius item. This computer has been running smooth as a babies butt for 8 months straight now. And i reckon it wil keep running. I understand where you're concern comes from but it is unfounded in my opinion. Have a nice day.
not good at English. ignore my typos please
my mother have already been ill for the formaldehyde from some wood furniture. can't be cured. make sure you wood works at the right temp range. also consider the right paint if you want to paint it.
Loooong, nice geek!! me too. 1. if well sealed matter less. if metal matter much. and in this case you add a foil layer may do most work, true. there was a experiment in 1998 published rat lost 30% protein in its brain after 3 hrs daily cellphone call for a month. and people works in front of computers longer in every day for longer. Laws' existence is for it is widely or officially accepted. 2.Heat, I didn't see the top fans on FB. even there are fans both on top and bottom, it is not a good designed path, like pumping in the dust and springing it out after heating, bad for breath. And I didn't saw any famous case manufacturer had designed so. Think more. 3. I know it's not hot, but i believe you know what happened a warm airflow do to the wood, dry it and it gradually may crack. or you hardware is really very economical. 4. and the most I concerned is the wood looks are made of many slices of thin wood with glue. some glue may vaporize harmful matter when even a slightly heating.
Hello Xiangye . I know the standard metal case serves as a faraday cage, to block only some of the EMF. Since the blocking of the radiation is relative to the thickness of the case, i think there are alot of cheap cases that do a similar bad job at shielding from radiation with their paper thin walls, full of mesh and plexi pannels. If you are considered about my health, thanks but an electric shaver which is in direct contact with our skin produces 15 – 1500µT while a computer that is sitting more than 30 centimeters away produces < 0.01µT so you could say it is all pretty relative... We are in contact with EMF every single day. Or don't you use a phone? Are you not in areas with WiFi? You never come near to cables running electricity? On the other hand if you are saying this because some countries have laws where you have to shield EMF that is "accidentialy" made by electricity using machines, to prevent it from interfering with radiowaves and what not, you are right.
But there are easy solutions for that problem like foil or pain to put on the inside on the case and i'm planning on doing that in the near future. You also complain about my fans. Even though it is not optimal it is also far form terrible. The fans don't blow downward like you say, the 4 noctua fans all blow upwards. The lowest fans get blocked a bit by the GPU but the upperfans also blow air out, creating negative pressure inside the case sucking in air. The Psu at the top also blows sucks in air and blows it out at the back, again, creating more negative pressure to pull in air. My temps never go over 50 degrees celcius, the fans on my GPU hardly ever even have to spin, and the wood is always very cold when touched on the outside. Indicating some very good airflow since wood does not heat or cool as efficiently as metal, like you said. About this topic. The case of a computer only provides about 1% of the heat dissipation of a case. The rest is done by airflow.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
too much work.. plus you have to have all the materials to make this: drills, saw, the "custom made" (emphasis since when you have something custom made, it will cost you money) wood.. AND you have to buy all the components online or elsewhere. So basically, you put in too much work and money, which you could probably save if you just bought the regular desktop. They are after all not as expensive as in the early 2000's since laptops, noteboooks and tabs are slowly replacing desktops. BTW. you didn't make a WOODEN COMPUTER, you just made a WOODEN CPU CASING. We would be more amazed if your motherboard, keyboard, screen etc. were made out of wood. BUT NO you just made a case.. Nice try being creative-ish though, but next time you want to save money by making DIYs, try to use your common sense. XD