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Zv2 Desk Build Project Log

Zondorf

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So I built a Custom Desk for myself a couple of years ago.

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It worked somewhat well but wasn't easy to work on, change components and ran slightly higher temps than a regular gaming chassis but hey it looks cool, right?
Anyways I decided it was time to build something new and push the build further than the last one.
After a couple of hours planning and drawing on autocad 3D I came up with this design.

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Rendered.

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I'm undecided on the color scheme that I will end up running but I rendered in those colors since I liked the look of it.

I decided to build the bin (major component compartment) out of alloy as I have never really worked with it before and thought it will make for an interesting challenge.

First thing was to cut the bin on the plasma.

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Then finished the bending and test fitted the first 360 Rad to ensure everything lines up correctly.

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Then I added some more components after cutting and bending the separator plate.

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Then it was time to start the main standing structure which is to be built out of 50x1.6mm Square Tubing

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Attached the bin to the legs to check the height and ensure there will be sufficient strength in the main structure.

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I had to add some strengthening beams underside the bin as the Alloy is a LOT softer than I anticipated.

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Next was to manufacture the false floors for both sides of the bins, the purpose of which is for cable management.
I added the cut outs for the standard fan connectors as to hide all fan cables.

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No fan cable in sight.

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Next up is to weld the bin and main structure up completely and then move on to component mounting, I still need to get my hands on a old PC case which I can strip for a donor case for the IO plate and Motherboard tray.

More to follow
 
only issue I usually have with these kinds of custom builds is.....

when you see people having access to all these awesome tools to actually do the build :mad:

other than that, it could be the worst looking project on planet earth, but showing how it's done and with what is just awesome

for those of us that don't know all the in's and out's of metal, when you say alloy is it aluminium?
 
Correct, I used 2mm Aluminium for the bin.
As someone that has access to the equipment I always envy those that have better lol
 
Looking good!!!!

Nice space in the middle for leg room.

Have you thought about putting fans at the back for extraction? Im assuming those 2 fans on the side are for extraction only.

I hope the case wont short circuit anything? Shouldn't really be a problem though

If you can get your hands on elevator glass you can have a much larger glass top ( viewing area). I see in your CAD drawing the glass surface is quite small and the outer bezel is quite large. Would just be nicer to see more

Don't forget the dust filters for the fans

Goodluck, looks epic so far!
 
As much as I oppose the RGB life it would look awesome to have the fans able to be set as whatever colour suites the mood at the time instead of the static white ones but Im assuming those may be just for testing.

Would definitely agree with @Cookie on the add extra exhaust fans to the mix as 2x 360mm rads running on a loop with a cpu and im guessing your gpu will dump a massive amount of hot air into the desk unless you use server grade fans for the through draft at the back.

Otherwise it looks awesome and the frame is just awesome. Love the illusion of the balancing act holding the bin 🤘
 
only issue I usually have with these kinds of custom builds is.....

when you see people having access to all these awesome tools to actually do the build

other than that, it could be the worst looking project on planet earth, but showing how it's done and with what is just awesome

for those of us that don't know all the in's and out's of metal, when you say alloy is it aluminium?

I agree. Imagine all the stuff you and I could do if we had the tools. I'm hella curious where OP is based and if he would be willing to work on projects with other Carbies.
 
Looking good!!!!

Nice space in the middle for leg room.

Have you thought about putting fans at the back for extraction? Im assuming those 2 fans on the side are for extraction only.

I hope the case wont short circuit anything? Shouldn't really be a problem though

If you can get your hands on elevator glass you can have a much larger glass top ( viewing area). I see in your CAD drawing the glass surface is quite small and the outer bezel is quite large. Would just be nicer to see more

Don't forget the dust filters for the fans

Goodluck, looks epic so far!

I have 6 fans in and 2 out which creates positive pressure which is presumably good for preventing too much dust but if that doesn't work I will have it 4 in and 4 out.

I won't be using elevated glass, I will be sinking the glass flush into the wood top and have a small viewing area mainly because I want a lot of wood surface for the keyboard and mouse and just prefer the look as is.

I'm going to CNC cut some fan grills and looking to get my hands on some fine mesh for that.

Thanks bud

As much as I oppose the RGB life it would look awesome to have the fans able to be set as whatever colour suites the mood at the time instead of the static white ones but Im assuming those may be just for testing.

Would definitely agree with @Cookie on the add extra exhaust fans to the mix as 2x 360mm rads running on a loop with a cpu and im guessing your gpu will dump a massive amount of hot air into the desk unless you use server grade fans for the through draft at the back.

Otherwise it looks awesome and the frame is just awesome. Love the illusion of the balancing act holding the bin 🤘

I too dislike RBG's but I'm indecisive about my color scheme and thus having RGB's will allow my some flexibility towards that.

I'm attempting to run positive pressure on the fans, if it doesn't work I will run 4 in and 4 out.

And thanks man, I spent far too much time designing the legs, had a lot of other designs but this one really appealed to me.

I agree. Imagine all the stuff you and I could do if we had the tools. I'm hella curious where OP is based and if he would be willing to work on projects with other Carbies.

I'm based in the West Rand, I have been considering doing this part time or maybe even full time if there's interest. And will gladly help others in need of my subpar skills.
 
Is it possible to provide an expense list at the end of the project for those considering similar ventures?
 
Quick update, I got my hands on a IO panel from an old Server case

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Then I drilled and tapped the tray for the motherboard standoffs

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I proceeded to cut out the cable entries in the tray and cut the IO panel section out and mounted everything

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I'm not completely satisfied with the cable entry cut outs but will fix them up nicely once I get some consumables for the dremel.
 
Update, I started work on the other end of the bin where I will be locating the HDD's, so I made a simplistic plate to mount the drives to and then the plate will be attached to the management tray.

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Initial plan was to have the plate exposed as is but I decided against it as I wasn't pleased with the outcome.
So I decided to make a vented cover for the drives and added a small homage to my favorite game series.

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Bent, welded and fitted.

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Up next was to make the rear cut outs for the PSU Ventilation, and entries for power and network.

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That basically concludes the manufacturing on the metal work.

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Next up is to strip it all down for powder coating, once it's back from powdercoating work on the wood top will start.

EDIT: Had to reupload all the pics as imgur decided resizing my images was too much work.
 
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Looking good so far!

Was just about to ask what finish you were going to go with and then I read the last post.

A suggestion for the hard drive bay area. Maybe cut some holes in the side of the Assasins creed bay so that side fan can extract the heat from those hardrives. A little worried they might start cooking :D

Another suggestion for the hardrive bay, you could cut some perspex and fix it behind the cut out logo and then put a molex powered LED strip in side of the hardrive bay to illuminate the logo nicely. I suppose you will look at aesthetics later when its all done.

One more thing, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease mount the GPU Horizontally! It would be a shame not to show off your GPU
You would need a I/O mounting plate like on the right hand side of the picture below

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Looking good so far!

Was just about to ask what finish you were going to go with and then I read the last post.

A suggestion for the hard drive bay area. Maybe cut some holes in the side of the Assasins creed bay so that side fan can extract the heat from those hardrives. A little worried they might start cooking

Another suggestion for the hardrive bay, you could cut some perspex and fix it behind the cut out logo and then put a molex powered LED strip in side of the hardrive bay to illuminate the logo nicely. I suppose you will look at aesthetics later when its all done.

One more thing, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease mount the GPU Horizontally! It would be a shame not to show off your GPU
You would need a I/O mounting plate like on the right hand side of the picture below

Hah, I will take a look at the horizontal mounting but I have never been a fan of it as the risers are needlessly expensive and IMO it normally ruins the look of a case but then again this isn't a case so I will consider it.

Not displayed in the pics is that I did do a cut out in the backing panel for the ventilation of the HDD's and the positive pressure from the fans will ensure enough air moves through the drives.

On the logo side of things I plan on lighting up the inside of the drive cover and adding some fine mesh (same as what I'll use for the fan covers) to light up the logo discreetly, but I'll play around with it all with aesthetics with the assembly
 
Hah, I will take a look at the horizontal mounting but I have never been a fan of it as the risers are needlessly expensive and IMO it normally ruins the look of a case but then again this isn't a case so I will consider it.

Not displayed in the pics is that I did do a cut out in the backing panel for the ventilation of the HDD's and the positive pressure from the fans will ensure enough air moves through the drives.

On the logo side of things I plan on lighting up the inside of the drive cover and adding some fine mesh (same as what I'll use for the fan covers) to light up the logo discreetly, but I'll play around with it all with aesthetics with the assembly

Are you not thinking of going SLI? then I would just leave them in the slots. How are your rads working? You running tubes from the left to the right? And airflow, left intake, right exhaust?
 
Looks sort of like the kitchen sink.... Just being jealous. This is awesome. Will you be in a position to make more for sale?
 
Are you not thinking of going SLI? then I would just leave them in the slots. How are your rads working? You running tubes from the left to the right? And airflow, left intake, right exhaust?

Sli isn't consideration right now but a possibility in the future. It'll be a single loop system with the rads on intake and the 2 side fans on exhaust creating positive pressure, but if the positive pressure doesn't pan out I will switch to left intake and right exhaust.

Looks sort of like the kitchen sink.... Just being jealous. This is awesome. Will you be in a position to make more for sale?

I am yes and will be able to if there's interest.
 
Update, Powdercoating is back and I can't be happier with the finish. Took some explaining as to what I wanted in terms of colour and finish but it was definitely worth it.
Just have to point out that the grey looks very white on the photos but still a fair indication of what it looks like as it's similar to "Audi grey".

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Up next is to do the wood but I'm likely shelving the project for now as funds are tight and I'm having a hard time deciding on whether I'm going painted MDF, Pine (which is an issue since there aren't any sizes that I require) or Saligna (Unsure about this too since the wood is very pink and I know little about staining and whether or not I can bring the pink to a much darker brown colour).

But that's it for now.
 
Update time!
So I managed to get my hands on the required sized pine sheet.

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Marked out and ready for cutting.

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Quick test fit to ensure all dimensions are correct.

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Then came notching of the front corners.

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Another test fit.

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Lots of sanding.

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Holes for the Power and Reset buttons.

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Ordered the 6mm Glass top and routed the notch but didn't take any pics but snapped some pics with the glass in.

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I plan on getting the glass slightly tinted (like 10% which will add a nice effect and some strength).

After adding the glass I decided to add hinges to the desk top and possibly add air shocks (purchased but unsure if I will use them).

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Sorry for the shoddy pics, by no means any good at photography.

Up next is further sanding and staining the wood, then I need to add protective coating to add a hardened layer onto the soft pine to make it more durable.
 
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lol

"shelving the project for now"

usually for many of us, that doesn't mean it gets continued still in same month :p

looking good so far though... vandal switches?
 
lol I honestly didn't plan on continuing the project for at least another 2 months but my impatience got the better of me.
Indeed installing vandal switches, communica has some nice ones for R80 each
 
So I will not finishing this project as I now have a conflict of interest as Sim Racing has taken over my life and I will be doing a rig build and don't have space for both projects. If anyone is interested in this project then hit me up and make me an offer as I need to replace this desk with regular desk and PC case.
 
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So I will not finishing this project as I now have a conflict of interest as Sim Racing has taken over my life and I will be doing a rig build and don't have space for both projects. If anyone is interested in this project then hit me up and make me an offer as I need to replace this desk with regular desk and PC case.

that is sad to hear

can you give us a run down on material cost so that we can a ballpark figure in our heads?

I don't want to come offer you R5 for a project that cost you R10 :p
 
Well for the most part;
Aluminium - R1k ish
Steel - R150 ish
Powdercoating - R600
Glass - R100 - 300 Can't remember exactly
Wood Top - R1100 Got it on a special
Labour - R250000 I have high self value lol

Kidding aside, the desk needs a new top as the pine is simply put not strong enough to handle daily abuse so it'll have to be made from Thickened MDF but preferably from strong wood like Saligna as the pine top has bent quite a bit. The pine can probably be braced and strengthened by someone with sufficient woodworking skills.

Realistically this desk has value of R3500 but value will vary heavily as this is extremely niche.

Desk will have to be collected from Krugersdorp, shipping will probably be a bad idea.
 
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Update on this. I've decided to finish the desk but undecided whether I'm selling it or not as I have turned my attention to Sim Racing and starting a new business so I might still sell this. If I do decide to sell it I will throw it up on Carbonite Classifieds when it's ready.

Here's a teaser update pic


 
Would it be possible to make this desk without the pc part? Those legs and that aggressive angle are too tempting! Just the legs and a table top. Possible?
 
Absolutely possible. Send me what you have in mind

EDIT: To everyone interested in me building these legs for them please note I will likely NOT be able to do it this year as there is a massive steel shortage at the moment so please keep it in mind.
 
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Update time, I designed and 3d printed fan grills for the grill plates I made from the start.

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In terms of completion it's nearly there.
I still have plans to redo the wood in MDF but unsure when I'll get to that part.
I'm still contemplating whether to watercool or not but if I decide to watercool that'll be done soon and I'm planning on upgrading away from 4790k as it's served me well for 6 years so I can then control all the RGB's through the motherboard rather than the stock fan controller.

Here's some pics of the mostly completed build.

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And one for the RGB Guys

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Bonus pic with my Sim Rig

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