Case construction method...

[XFactor]

I've been reading around the forums here and my method is kind of...not used I guess. I need to know how feasible this method is.

I plan to make my case using wooden dowl rods and styrene plastic. for the sake of having a visual referance, this would be my theoretical case:

Code: Select all

                        Side View
             _______________________________
             _______________________________  < Styrene faceplate
             ++++++++++++++++++++++++
             ++++++++++++++++++++++++  < Bent styrene midsection
             ++++++++++++++++++++++++
             -------------------------------------------
             -------------------------------------------   < Styrene backplate

                            Top View

               /----------------------------\
             /                                   \
            |                                     |
            |             Faceplate           |
            |                                     |
             \                                   /
               ------------------------------

I would take dowl rods (probably 2 or 3 depending on the curvature of the plastic I want) and drill holes in a peice of plywood to house them. They would then be superglued into place so they would not move. A plastic guide would be curved around the rods; the rods themselves acting as support for the guide. I would then cut out a peice of styrene (less than 1 ich thick, if I can get my case that small ) for the midsection.

What I would do is I would place the strip of styrene next to the secured dowl rods and hold them in place with a plastic vice. I would then heat up the section of plastic adjacent to the dowl rods (which will act to form my curve). Here's a visual referance to see what I mean:

Code: Select all

                                 
            the arrows indicate what would be pulled 
            up so it would form
            around the rods
                        |0<dowl rod      
                         \0 <lines indicate plastic curvature guide
                   ^^^^^^^\0
           -------------------------------------------------
           -------------------------------------------------
                   |^^^^^^|<points indicate section heated by a heat gun.

The heated section of styrene would then be pulled over the plastic curvature guide, hopefully in such a manner that it would create a smooth surface without any ridges or distortions.

If anyone has done this before and had success, I would love to be reassured. Again, this is only a planned idea, so if it is bound for failure, i'd like to know about it beforehand...

[superdeformed]

Sounds like it should work pretty well. The only thing you'll want to be careful of is the top and bottom corners around bends. If you dont have equal tension all the way along the bend, the corners may flare out a little. Of course, you'll have to be careful not to put too much tension on it or you'll stretch the plastic.

I did something pretty much like this for my first N64 case, albeit with a lot less planning. I didn't have a rig to gaurantee the right shape (I just did it by hand, with a copper tube as a guide) but it still turned out decent.