I would keep the 486DX2 also, but the empty cache socket would annoy me and I'd pick up the chip and install it--should take about 30 sec (just make sure it faces the right direction!) The good thing is that those chips are cheap and aren't going anywhere soon, so you can come back later whenever you get bored with the system and add it.

Well, I completely dismantled the sacrificial cheapo case. Drilled out all the rivets, and dremeled out the expansion card bracket and drive cage, such as it is.

I got the CD-ROM and GOTEK mounted, and I think I'll find a way to mount the Kinter amp up top. I think when I get this put into the case, I may just sandwich it between some scrap pieces as stop blocks kitty corner to each other. I think I'll also get the dremel out again and fashion a faceplate out of one of the black aluminum side panels. Just do some cuts, and then fold back where I want the drives to poke out. Might take a few tries to get it right, but I have enough side panel to work with.

I did finally get the PC Speaker connected without it complaining that the keyboard was locked. I think it might have been as simple as every time I leaned over the motherboard to get that little beeper plugged in, I was jiggling the keyboard loose. All 6 times I tried. Go figure.

Lastly I picked out the red oak stock I plan on using for the sides top and bottom. Maybe tomorrow I'll find time to start the milling process. It's kind of a royal pain since I don't have a jointer, only a thickness planer. So I have to hot glue everything with shims to a planing sled. Looks rough now, because it is. But oh boy is it fun to watch it clean up during the milling process.

Oh, and I've done all sorts of wacky things with WarCraft II's crackling issues to no avail. I tried installing Command & Conquer, but it's installer keeps crashing at different points. Wondered if it might be memory instability so I backed off all my settings, to no benefit. Not sure what that's about. I have this weird gut instinct that the CD-ROM was too fast? I've tried using CDBQ to slow it down, but it doesn't seem supported.

The Quest for Glory VGA remake installed and ran just fine though. Audio sounds great as always.

I am starting to wonder if games like WarCraft II would benefit from upgrading to 16 MB of ram from 8 MB.

Got probably the most important part of the build done today. The single, immutable dimension of the entire build everything else revolves around. Also probably the most detailed, second to what I have planned for the speaker grills. The wooden bezel/mount for the LCD monitor.

It's a good thing I did it first, because it wound up being 15-3/4" wide instead of 15-1/2" I had initially measured. Made a judgement call to cut the rabbet the monitor fits inside 1/8" shallower so that there was less risk of the whole thing splitting. Put about a 25 degree chamfer on it too. It doesn't quite cover the plastic bezel as much as I wanted it to, due to the aforementioned judgement call. But it's not bad. And then of course I had to notch out room for the buttons. There was a little bit of chip out in the bottom left miter joint, but I've since repaired it.

I may still put some splines in the corners because it doesn't feel super sturdy. But it's going to get glued and screwed/brad nailed to the rest of the case, so it doesn't need to hold together perfectly all by it's lonesome. I'm still debating how I want to finish it. I may leave it natural with just shellac, to have some contract with the rest of the stain the sides, top, bottom, and random trim will get. I'm also torn between using walnut for the speaker grills, or just red oak stained walnut. I'm leaning towards just using stain, since I kind of want to keep a more consistent grain pattern going. But I'm very inspired color wise by the old RCA Victor set I posted up above, with the lighter screen bezel and the dark grill.

Next time I get out to the shop, I should be able to get the sides, top and bottom built. Whatever I decide, I expect the rest to go a lot quicker. Just going to be pocket holing most of the rest together.

Well, I took the scrap side panel and attempted to dremel/bend this faceplate for my drives/amp. I think I kind of hate it.

I knew it wouldn't be perfect. I've never done any metal work ever. It may even be not that bad for a first time. But I really, truly hate it. It's lumpy, dented and scratched. My idea was to cut out a smaller area for each drive, and then bend the excess back to avoid sharp edges. But that bending process was so inexact I think it's actually worse. I have enough metal to try again. I may just dremel out each drive area in it's entirety, no bending needed. And if that also looks like shit, I may just take a piece of 1/4" plywood, jigsaw out the drive bays, and paint it black or something.

Well, I'm much happier with the results from today's labors.

The routing went mostly smoothly. Put a 1/16" rabbet around the edge, and then put a 1/8" grill across the front as a design element, and then went even deeper to reach the speaker area I routed out on the back. That all went mostly well, with one single spot where the router jumped on me and took a chuck out of one of the grill fins. Cutting out the drive bays went super fucky though. I tried plunge cutting with my oscilating multitool, but I guess that attachment is getting old because it just started burning the walnut and gumming up. Then I tried using my jigsaw after I drilled a starting hole in the center, and that went ok, but the blade deflected on me here and there causing some squirrelly cuts. I straightened out most of them with a chisel and liberal sanding. May do some more another day.

And with that, the two most labor intensive elements are finished. The rest should be relatively smooth sailing, until I get to mounting the motherboard.

Still following the trials and tribulations of this project! I'm really liking the look of your latest post. The grill with the speakers is looking awesome! The drive bays look good as well. Can't wait to see how it progresses and it all comes together!

Best wishes,

Tony.

Been a hot minute.

I put WIndows 3.11 on the computer because why not. Installed the ES1868 and Cirrus Logic GD5428 drivers super easily. Even got Sim City Classic installed already. I have a smattering of games that are really best suited for Windows 3.11. Civilization 2, Lost Mind of Dr Brain, Wizardry Gold, maybe a few others. Mostly because, going off memory at least, they play best at Windows 3.11's default desktop resolution and color depth.

Most of my free time I've spent in the shop though. Got the red oak for the sides, top and front milled down. Then I put an edge profile on them I'm pretty happy with. 45 degree chamfer for the sides and bottom, but a 25 degree chamfer for the slightly thicker top. I even made it through most of my sanding progression tonight.

Made the front panel IO tonight too. Just a power button, turbo button, and LEDs for the power, turbo and HDD. Splurged on the drill press you see here so I could get them lined up way more perfectly than I've ever been able to do by hand. I had a fancy bit that actually cut out he buttons, so the face grain will be preserved across them. This was after I used a forstner bit to mill the buttons down about 1/4" to fit the dimensions of the mechanical switch they'll be attached to. Father in law actually passed those down to me. I believe they were his father's, but he never used them.

I put a very slight chamfer on the inside edge of the button holes, and on the buttons as well. Routing the edge of the buttons was actually a bit of a logistical challenge, since I'm not dumb enough to put my fingers that close to the router bit on such a small part. However, using some double sided tape to attach it to a piece of scrap wood as a handle worked wonderfully.

With luck, this weekend I'll finish my sanding progression, stain them, shellac them, and maybe even get them all assembled. But probably not.

Well, major update this weekend. Well, not just for this weekend, but I figured the process of sanding, sanding and more sanding, staining, shellac, sanding, and waxing isn't the most exciting.

The front is fully assembled!!

As you can see, the back is still wide open.

My original plan had the PSU in the bottom, with the motherboard and expansion cards behind the monitor. Probably a hinge in the middle where the motherboard "tray" swings out. Maybe a fan up top, but it's just a 486 so it doesn't need some sort of engineered wind tunnel. Then again, heat rises, so maybe try to get the PSU up top old style with a fan in the bottom?

I'll probably start milling the material for the back tomorrow.

That is beautiful! I love it.

Looking awesome my friend¡ Beautiful job so far¡

Best wishes,

Tony.

My labors are at an end!

The last few weeks were mostly taken up blowing leaves. But then I finally got around to gluing up the back panel, then cutting it into the two sections. I did my best to route out a section for the power supply, but it's a little jank. But it's the back of the case so who cares, right?

Things got tight after I pocket screwed the bottom part in. The PSU and drive cage barely fit back in past the monitor being in the way. The monitor does come out though, if it has to. This time I managed.

Getting everything wired up was quit the task in such tight confines. I had to unscrew the two switches to attach the turbo and power leads to them, then screw them back in, very carefully. Had to make a few jumper wires too.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with the final result.

Seriously awesome job!! That is a absolutely beautiful system.

Wow! What a cool build! I love, love, love it! Beautiful job!

Best wishes,

Tony.

Very nice wooden build case.... i like it... just like the old TV-Sets back in the 50s.
A little tip for the dent in the grill... perhaps you can use some coloured wax to fill it? I used some of this for repairing my wooden floor and normaly you can find it in the right color... some around the edge and into the dent and i guess you won't see the dent afterwards.

Sandmaennchen wrote on 2023-12-09, 23:07:

Very nice wooden build case.... i like it... just like the old TV-Sets back in the 50s.
A little tip for the dent in the grill... perhaps you can use some coloured wax to fill it? I used some of this for repairing my wooden floor and normaly you can find it in the right color... some around the edge and into the dent and i guess you won't see the dent afterwards.

That's a really good idea. I'll look into it.

So, sadly, after finishing the build it sat on my floor this whole time. But, I finally now also built a table in my office, and it's the perfect place for it.

The other thing that's been nice is I went through my spare CD drives until I found one that plays well with CD Be Quiet, so now that isn't audible at all at a nice quiet 2-4x.

Another victim of Master of Orion...