I'm considering creating my own custom server computer cases. Note that I am not a company, I am only one person (and possibly a friend who may help). My main concern is the material I want to create the case in. It does not have to be anything shiny and especially elaborate, but I want it to be stable, and well designed. I've thought about what a wooden case would be like, if maybe I put polyurethane (black, silver; a darker color) on it. I've also considered the idea of using sheet metal. However sheet metal would of course too damageable. It would dent way too easily. Plastic would be a great idea, but then again I don't have the resources to complete such a task. Does anyone else have other suggestions for what to use when making this case? Or would something I suggested be good enough? Maybe a very thick sheet metal or another type of metal that will not easily become dented? Any help is appreciated.

Wood would (haha, rhymes) overheat, and if you get enough uptime, just might catch on fire. Of course, not many people can say "Dude when I press this button my computer actually lights on fire", but theres a reason for that. =p

Sheet metal, doubled up on the outsides, would be what I would do. Its pretty malable stuff, so shaping it for drive bays and stuff would be easy++ with a soft plastic mallet.

Sounds good so far. Lol, I wasn't thinking about the wood catching on fire at all. You're right, and that would not be safe at all. So far sheet metal it is, I'll see if I can even gather the necessary amount I would need. For now, I'll wait on even more suggestions.

Edit: If I were to create the case with wood, and the interior design with sheet metal, would theere be any chance of a fire or heavy overheating?

Yes, unless you had some massive vent holes in the wood. I'd say maybe four 1x1inch holes on each side and an open back ought to do the trick easily.

EDIT -
My box is a Dell Dimension 2300 (I think?), and the case has the side panel that comes off. Right now, the side panel is laying on the floor in my office. Not all that attractive, but I have absolutely no worrys about overheating. =p

I don't want holes on my case. I guess for now sheet metal is the way to go. Any idea how much sheet metal costs, or in what way it is sold (ie. Apples are sold by pound.)?

I think its sold in square inches (feet, meters?).

Acrylic.

Aluminium cans.

Acually i  used wood and sheet metal on one of my computers...


i did 2.6 cm thick pieces of would on both sides with about 12 "tiny" holes on each side for ventilation..

then a 1.3 inch thick  piece of wood  with a 23 degree angle on the sides that will connect to the side panels  and sanded it down to give it a smooth shape...


Kept it on  24/7 and it never caught on fire and got an A+ in constrution for it...lol.
The sheet metal part was touch tho... cuz i could never use the bender....


so i made two top peices ..... one to use on the comp, and one to shape the metal in.

Two weeks later... i Wood Burned a Design of a Dragon into it

[quote author=Shout link=topic=12988.msg130379#msg130379 date=1128830960]
Aluminium cans.
[/quote]

What name do you go by on IRC? And quit stealing my ideas. =(

how would you do it with aluminum cans? I wanna do that  ;D

[quote author=Tazo link=topic=12988.msg130409#msg130409 date=1128878176]
how would you do it with aluminum cans? I wanna do that ;D
[/quote]

lol, and if you ever get frustrated, you can crush and recycle it. :)

Can + Knife + Hammer.

Come over to my place and I'll demonstrate.

Just make an instructional video, and sell it for millions.

slice off the top and bottom, then flatten it with a hammer?

[quote author=Joe link=topic=12988.msg130391#msg130391 date=1128842561]
[quote author=Shout link=topic=12988.msg130379#msg130379 date=1128830960]
Aluminium cans.
[/quote]

What name do you go by on IRC? And quit stealing my ideas. =(
[/quote]

I don't go on IRC.

You should start.

Yes @ Tazo.

You should make a car while you're at it.

Aluminum car? Sounds fun!

Accidents would be very brutal though.

Just recycle it.

I meant for the person driving, ;)

Wow at how this went WAY off-topic....

I think Yegg has decided upon using wood anyway. But yes, I apologize for going off-topic. The idea of an aluminum ____ is amusing though!

Catch fire? Come off it. Your computer would burn itself out long before it raised the temperature of the air inside the case enough to ignite wood. Obviously have good ventilation, or your computer won't work, but I wouldn't worry about fire.

I've often considered making my own case. I'd make a metal frame and use acrylic for the sides. It's reasonably cheap, very easy to work with, and comes in as many colours as you can think of. If you use reasonably thick material (say 5mm) it should be pretty robust, but if it breaks, it's not really that bad - just buy some more and replace the broken part. Also, you can get transparent acrylic, if that's your thing. You can get acrylic dowelling (rods) as well as sheet, so there's probably something cool you could do with that too.

Why don't you make your own case then? It'd be fun!

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm now considering acrylic along with some other materials that may become necessary. I wouldn't want transparent acrylic, but so far acrylic seems like a pretty good idea.

Do you have a certain color scheme in mind?

[quote author=Joe link=topic=12988.msg130363#msg130363 date=1128821849]
Wood would (haha, rhymes) overheat, and if you get enough uptime, just might catch on fire. Of course, not many people can say "Dude when I press this button my computer actually lights on fire", but theres a reason for that. =p

[/quote]

Haha, I can.. For some reason one of my computers decided to die one day, and now everytime I press the power button it does indeed catch fire.

[quote author=Trance link=topic=12988.msg130679#msg130679 date=1129024001]
[quote author=Joe link=topic=12988.msg130363#msg130363 date=1128821849]
Wood would (haha, rhymes) overheat, and if you get enough uptime, just might catch on fire. Of course, not many people can say "Dude when I press this button my computer actually lights on fire", but theres a reason for that. =p

[/quote]

Haha, I can.. For some reason one of my computers decided to die one day, and now everytime I press the power button it does indeed catch fire.
[/quote]

Hmm... it must have lots of magic smoke in it.

Magic smoke?