Prospero Build Diary - Part Six
After a flurry of activity this weekend, I'm pretty much done. All that's left is a little detail work when I get around to it. Maybe later I'll add a few LED lights or something to really make it pop; although, as it is, it already looks like the computer Dr. Frankenstein would use.
Stuff I don't have pictures of: repainting the bezel and panels. I applied the same anodized red that I used for the organ stops to the parts that were fire engine red before. The result is shiny, maroon, and a much better look for the case.
Also - matching paint job for my mouse. Can't have a boring beige mouse for Prospero! My Logitech mouse disassembles easily; masking tape is applied to avoid a boring paint job.
Rub-on letters in an "Old English" style label the power and reset buttons:
And the switch panel is completed; the center bolt is simply hot-glued to the button. Power and reset leads are soldered to their switches.
Finally, cutting the hole in the bezel. A bit of complicated algrebra gives me the radius of the circle I'll need to cut to admit a sphere partially through the front plane of the bezel:
Marked out in chalk:
Roughly cut out with the cut-off wheel on my Dremel:
And finally, gradually opened to the proper diameter and profile with the coarse grinding stone, again on the Dremel. This part took about an hour and a half - grind a little, test fit, grind a little more. Luckily plastic is pliant.
I performed a test fit, just to see how all the parts look, but I don't want to spoil the final effect so no pictures of that. Next up - wiring the inverter. Luckily for me, the globe's inverter can take the 12VDC right off of my computer's power supply; a salvaged Molex passthrough provides the connection, once it's soldered and heatshrinked:
There's a little more to it, of course - the extra cord (in my hand) running off to a two-pin Molex provides the connection to the switch up on the panel. The wire coming up out of the top provides current to the globe. At last, it's ready to be incorporated into the case. I'm just about done.
Stuff I don't have pictures of: repainting the bezel and panels. I applied the same anodized red that I used for the organ stops to the parts that were fire engine red before. The result is shiny, maroon, and a much better look for the case.
Also - matching paint job for my mouse. Can't have a boring beige mouse for Prospero! My Logitech mouse disassembles easily; masking tape is applied to avoid a boring paint job.
Rub-on letters in an "Old English" style label the power and reset buttons:
And the switch panel is completed; the center bolt is simply hot-glued to the button. Power and reset leads are soldered to their switches.
Finally, cutting the hole in the bezel. A bit of complicated algrebra gives me the radius of the circle I'll need to cut to admit a sphere partially through the front plane of the bezel:
Marked out in chalk:
Roughly cut out with the cut-off wheel on my Dremel:
And finally, gradually opened to the proper diameter and profile with the coarse grinding stone, again on the Dremel. This part took about an hour and a half - grind a little, test fit, grind a little more. Luckily plastic is pliant.
I performed a test fit, just to see how all the parts look, but I don't want to spoil the final effect so no pictures of that. Next up - wiring the inverter. Luckily for me, the globe's inverter can take the 12VDC right off of my computer's power supply; a salvaged Molex passthrough provides the connection, once it's soldered and heatshrinked:
There's a little more to it, of course - the extra cord (in my hand) running off to a two-pin Molex provides the connection to the switch up on the panel. The wire coming up out of the top provides current to the globe. At last, it's ready to be incorporated into the case. I'm just about done.
posted by Chet @ 6:58 PM
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