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oh, all the stickers come off. trust me.

Hospitals can't afford a Dremel (or similar) with a diamond-covered cutter wheel? I think that's the tool that jewelers use to etch into titanium... Sure, it might get the metal hot and burn the finger, or you might cut too far and cut the finger, but either way it seems better than losing a finger!

You would have to get some walnut scraps from a cabinet maker company, and see what you can come up with. Walnut sands good, so you will have a good time getting everything smooth, at least on the outside where you will apply a finish of some sort. Here, a power sander might be useful. The only problem with wood is that it is thick, so that's why they use plastic or metal in PC cases to begin with. You might be able to plane the wood down to a certain thickness, but here again, walnut will be hard on the saw blades. I can imagine using the dremel tool to sculpt the areas for the power buttons, and other access areas required for a PC. It surely will be unique when you get finished with it. You'll want to run linux on the PC. (See Screenshots, below) Then, you'll have a nice comfortable OS to match your custom-made case.

I made a grandfather clock with walnut, for about $6.50 in wood cost, using scraps from a cabinet maker. It's thirty years old now, and still looks new. The area inside where the clock mechanism screws down is all walnut, custom made to fit. Here, walnut is superior to pine, which you would not want to use.

-- Rapidweather

Possible. But with SqlServer and ASP you get goatse on the frontpage instead...

Kinda apropos, dremel has a Case Modding Project on their website. They cut the word DREMEL into a case. Looks nifty.

umm... am I the only one being goatsecxd by a pumpkin at dremel.com?

seeing it at both: http://dremel.com/html/home_fr.html (click on the Pumpkin Carving Kit) and http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/tool_template 2.asp?SKU=764-01.

Don't see it? Some friends didn't either... screenshots: here and here.

umm... am I the only one being goatsecxd by a pumpkin at dremel.com?

seeing it at both: http://dremel.com/html/home_fr.html (click on the Pumpkin Carving Kit) and http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/tool_template 2.asp?SKU=764-01.

Don't see it? Some friends didn't either... screenshots: here and here.

http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/tool_family_t emplate.asp?SKU=1003009005&Color=99CCFF

That same GoatSe pumpkin pic linked from the Official Dremel Pumpkin Kit vs The Google Cache

Haha, you wacky slashdotters.

The Giver won't be pleased!

Haha, you wacky slashdotters.

The Giver won't be pleased!

It doesn't appear that the Dremel page is quite yet Slashdotted, but it is very sloooow loading.

Since I'm in a mood of helping Taco, CowboyNeal, Tim et al with Slashcode...

How about a little notation appended to the end of Front Page articles indicating that a site has been 'dotted. Maybe a quick ping and a response time -- although depending upon your location that may or may not be reflective your ability to reach it -- but it would give a feel.

One, we readers who should know better -- but sometimes don't -- wouldn't waste time trying to hit the main link. Two, this might reduce the "dottedness" of the poor site by stemming the tide a bit. If it's a big machine on a big pipe, the blast away, gentle readers.

curved corners are all well and good until you try to push your desk, bookshelf, bed or other boxy piece of furniture into the corner of your room...


That's what your dremel is for.

First off, everyone should have one of these. The dazzling array of bits should help you brainstorm halfway out of any problem.

More likely you need a drill with a bit extractor kit.

Not really sure what specifics you're dealing with, but just go into a real hardware store (not a harware shopping mall like home depot) and ask the guy (or girl!) with the most nicks and scars on his hands. They could probably do it with a swiss army knife.

~a

I will be heavily casemodding a Thinkpad one of these days. Certinaly, the first version attempt will be with my old 750, but a future attempt may be my work machine (reversable for job security and manager happiness). My plan is thus: Get damn good with a Dremel tool. Visit my local Home Depot or Lowe's and look for some good, thick, cherry wood. Use the aforementioned Dremel on the aforementioned hunk of wood (probably a saw to trim the wood to reasonable dimensions first) and hollow out the wood that gets in the way of the electronics parts. Sand and lightly stain to taste. The downside to such a project is that wood is thermally insulative, so any part of the laptop that gets warm sure won't get cool. Fan holes must be preserved, and the wood would be thicker than the (now missing) plastic shell in most places to make sure that it's as structurally sound as possible. If I ever get TOO bored, a project involving LEDs, plexiglass and my favorite logo of the day will be used like the glow in the dark Apple logos on the Powerbooks. Having a real wood (no veneer here!) laptop would be killer!

Will I be able to build a killer DIY system in 10 years? Maybe, maybe not. But If not, so what? The prefab stuff will be so cheap it won't matter. Sure I get a kick out of messing with my hardware. But I hope to develop new hobbies as I pass into my 30's and beyond. Like fixing up old cars. Or getting elected to Congress so I can screw around with hot interns.

I think a lot of readers are missing the point. This is all about having fun. I love compiling a kernel, or a new piece of software as much as the next guy; and I get a kick when one of my programs finally does whart it's supposed to. But there is really somehting great about having a Dremel in your hands, cutting a hole for a new fan. All of these sites, PCMODS, Virtual Hideout, and even [H]ard|OCP originally started out as places to exchange idea and tools for overclocking, and coooling. Once people get started it can be a lot of fun! Adding a couple of fans to my machine is great.. I can flip one switch on my machine and watch my Motherboard temperatures drop; and know that it's not because I went out and bought a lot of expensive stuff, but because I took the time to do something myself. It is a little about showing off, but a lot of it is about pride. The fact that you can admire your own handiwork, and just the fun of the experience!

A "gadget" is defined by The Merriam Webster WWW Dictionary as...

an often small mechanical or electronic device with a practical use but often thought of as a novelty

You want a device that is super useful, almost too useful to be called a "gadget"? Try a Dremel! Is it a screwdriver? Is it a drill? Is it a saw? Heck no! Its all of the above! For small jobs, the only thing you can't do with a Dremel is hammer!

The only other modern tool that could be considered as useful would be the duct tape! Where would mankind be without duct tape?! :-)

If you don't already have a dremel, get one :)
Dremel.com
--
Eric Windisch