Well, I got another Coolmax CV-502 Silver case just the other day and started on my second case-mod that I'm calling "Furnace". I dunno, I guess it kind of looks like one in my head. Well, when I received my case, man was I pissed. It actually arrived in another box and when I opened it there was this giant %*&$#@ hole in the original box. GAHHHHH!!!....and of course it had a freakin' dent in it. What a way to start eh? After I complained to the wife for about 5 minutes, I cut my losses(time, it's always time), took it down to the dungeon and fixed 'r up. It wasn't major, but that was time I could've spent modding. I then decided to cut some rear fan holes.......oh yeah, that was fun.


So I pull out my brand new generic hole saw set right, set up my 79mm and grin eagerly at my case as I ponder the destruction I'm about to inflict. Mwahahahaha!


#%$&)@!!!!! This cheap case defeated my holesaw; chewed the teeth right off! WTF?! Note: $12 holesaws from ebaY= JUNK! Lol, I learned my lesson.


But it was no match for my trusty snips. The factory blowholes actually come square and protrudes from the case maybe 1/16". From the side though, it doesn't look bad. It came out Ok.


While I still had the dremel out and since I was about to get into some "Everglass", I decided to put a window into the left panel and took the recessed handle out of play on the right. I'll be attaching a pull handle to each of the panels.


Opened up the can of "Everglass" again and did some building and filling. This go round on the bezel was so much easier too. There was little to fill. Where the power button was was the most time consuming only because of dry time. Round hole modder's mesh will go in the cavity there.


Two 80mm red LED fans will be placed behind that mesh. I'm going to spray gloss black around the fans, so none of that gawdy metal or plastic can be seen. Once those fans come on.........FIRE!


I sanded down my fiberglass and drilled holes for my vandal switches and the LED array; pwr & hdd's. I pulled out a ruler this time too! Also unlike my first case-mod, "001", I decided to retain the USB and jacks as well; the new owner of this case may need them. I took the mount that was inside the case, reshaped it and found a spot at the bottom of the bezel where it'll now be mounted on the exterior as you see here. It seems to be in the totally wrong place, but this baby's gonna be on wheels, so it won't be a problem at all. I then bent up some modder's mesh for the fan intakes and it came out really nice. I like it a lot, 'cause it looks tough. I'm also going to get a fan controller to handle the intakes and a pair of FN-83's I'll be installing up top. I'm hoping there's a 3.5" model that can do the job.


Took out my trusty dremel and cut the factory "wanna be" case feet off so that I'd have a flat surface with which to mount my wheels. I did have to drill out like 3 rivets, but I really think they're of no consequence. If you look at the top two holes, you can see the 3.5" rack on either side and I did remove one from the mobo tray. Shouldn't be a problem though. Also drilled 1/4" holes for the mounting screws.


I bought three sets of these wheels when I took my family to Florida about a month ago for a buck a piece at some Flea-Market we used to frequent when we lived there. I'll be drilling out the rivet so I can properly paint the caster and I'll be leaving the wheel as it is. Pimpage unnecessary.


I tested out the wheels to make sure I lined up right and wanted to know what it would look like right side up. Yeah, that looks sweet. Dang, no brakes on the wheels though. I wonder if I should include "chock-blocks" if I ever sell this?


I couldn't find any other application for these FN-83's so I figured, why not make some cooling towers? Well, this is where I'm at right now peeps and where I'm headed, who knows? It's been a fun 3 days since I got my hands on my Dremel again. Thanks for looking, come again and most of all HAPPY MODDING peeps! L8rz.

I like the cooling towers! This is shaping up to be another sweet project.

Heh looking cool. I gotta say though this picture caught me off guard. I was like wait rollers make your case able to fly???? Then oh nvm its just a flipped pictured



Tyson

Man, that cleans up nicely. Maybe once I'm done with my current projects I can play with some everglass... *sigh* there's no end of stuff I want to learn.

The flying case pic was a nice touch... I love it so far! Can't wait to see what kind of "furnace" ideas you'll come up with.

Bah, the weather's been so crappy here in Mass., this project's still sitting in the garage. It's been over a week now and it's been raining cats and dogs. My luck, I'll open the door and see water spots all over my silver paint job. When I get a chance, I'll take pics of it to show you where I'm at. Someone on another forum said that silver is one of the harder colors to work with, is that true? Take cares all.

its not so much harder to work with but it can and will show more flaws in the paint.

Great start Mod Zoo!!
You are kinda reminding me of Defyant, another Great modder!
He almost always used a hp pavilion case as a base for his projects, maybe you're going down the same path with the Coolmax CV502?!
Keep up the great work dude ....

"?" Update Oct. 18 Changing colors

Well, after about two weeks of sitting out in the cold and the rain, the one formerly known as "Furnace" saw me once again. Waterspots?, one. Paintjob?, disappointed! That silver paintjob exposed every flaw there was and the slightest touch would leave a mar. I even washed it down with warm water and soap to remove any oils or particles and after drying, I lightly touched it with my finger and you could see it from every angle. About the ONLY thing that looked decent was the rear of the machine. Pffft...I'll never work with silver again, not out of an aerosol. C'mon airbrush!!! Anyways, I wanted to see what this metalflake I had looked like. Man, it's funky, but I like it. It looks like hot pink in the pics here, but as it dries it does get much darker. As far as the name "Furnace" goes, I think I can scratch that now. The color change has motivated my brain cells to collaborate again, lol. Seriously though, the name was based on the paintjob I was going to do. Eh, whatever. Not much going on as the weather in my part of the world still sucks, but look on.


Unlike my first mod, where I just attached some flat pieces of modders mesh to the interior of the rear vent, I decided to bend it instead to mimic the grill on the bezel.


Bezel intake and rear vent grills.


"HI-HO SILVERRR!!!"


Take a good look at it. Rather boring base color I thought. You never know until you try right?


Then I tried this Plasti-Kote metal flake I bought a couple months ago. I don't know the exact color as it's missing the sticker and all, but I like it.


Just a few thin coats, but it's got a lot more pizzaz now then when it was just *blah* silver.


When I first gave this color a go, I was like, "What, PINK?!!!!!" I may not two-tone this one, I'll have to see when this color is completed and to be honest, I'm really considering stowing this one away until next spring. The weather's been going to crap the last few weeks and I wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing right around the beginning of November.

That's it for now peeps. I'll continue my crawl I don't know when. L8RZ.

Mod Zoo,

Too bad the weather is closing in on ya man, cos I was getting my appetite for modding whetted by your sweet work on this case.

I for one actually really like the colour, but there is a huge difference between the colour of a panel and the small parts you painted first. Different metals?

Anyway, I hope the impending Winter doesn't mess you up too much, I have had a hiatus from modding down here due to Southern Hemisphere seasons, so I hope to spit out a wicked Canary Yellow ThermalTake soon. Just need it to get up a couple more degrees

It would be wicked to be able to follow the summer round the globe, like surfers, and mod easily all year round!!

Heyas Adsman, thanks for the kewl comment. As always, I'm having fun with this one. My wife tells me that someday soon the weather should hit like 80 and if that's so, I'm going to try to bust out more pieces before the real cold sets in. I do have to take the bezel back to the work table however. Like I mentioned, the silver paint really drew out and exaggerated flaws. It's not forgiving at all and of all the pieces, the bezel is the worst. The smaller pieces you mentioned are plastic and will be used as handles to remove the side panels and then of course the rear vent grill. I brought it in tonight to stow it away 'til next year, but weather permitting I will get some pieces done, otherwise I'll be getting the little things done that weather can't $%#@ up. Take cares.

Hello all. For those that care, yes, I am still very much alive. As cold as ice, but still breathing, heh. I haven't done crap, since the last posting, but will be doing some stuff in the next few days or so. Hopefully on either this or another mod that I have taken up and will post sometime soon. Well, I hope all of you are having a great holiday season and get all that you hope for. Me? I'm just content with waking up every day. =) pEaCe!!!!

I like the back vent,, ppl don't do much work to the back of there case because it's to the wall,, but nice touch.

This looks really good, man. Very nice cuts. Oh, and on the holes saws, if they don't say bi-metal, then stay far, far away. I made that mistake getting my first set from eBay for about the same price...worthless crap. Good ones will be about $10-$12 for a 3", $13-$15 for a 3.5", and ~$25 for a good 4.5" one. But I've used them over and over on projects (even plate steel) and they last, so they're more than worth it.

The top "furnace" like blow holes are killer...it gives this a nice, bulky, industrial look.

like the pink man, dont see many pink cases, so it gives it a unique look to it

like the two top fans as well, they look awesome.

sorry to hear bout the weather, ill mail you some heat from here in Texas lol.

Welcome back, man!

Hope you get some nice progress in the next few days!