A project log using the WordPress 2.5 gallery features for a external hard drive case made out of maple, which happened to be left over trim material.
-John Havlik
The first attempt at making the wooden hard drive enclosure.
Observe the small crack, that is not supposed to be there.
Decided that using the mill may be a better idea.
The USB port hole.
Inside view of USB port hole.
Head on view of the USB port hole.
An aluminum 2.5″ laptop hard drive enclosure.
The goodies from inside the aluminum enclosure.
The backside of the control board.
A quick test fit for the hard drive in the enclosure.
A heads on view of the USB port hole.
Took the dremel to it.
A closer view of the port
A rough Overview of the final look.
Very cool! Have you used the drive yet? Does it stay cool enough?
I haven’t completed the mod yet, it’s one of the many things cluttering up my desk. I’ll be working on it tomorrow, no camera though as it’s still with my brother on a trip. I need to find the stain that was used on the trim in the house, wonder where the extra stuff went…
I was kind of waiting until we were done unpacking stuff from the workshop basement room (the basement of the addition to the kitchen) so that I could use the scroll saw that’s down there. I intend to use it for the main outline trimming that needs to be done, major rounding will be done with the dremel.
As for heat, I’m not terribly concerned about it, it is a laptop hard drive (they seem to run pretty cool). Specifically, it’s a WesternDigital Scorpio, which run very cool. Additionally, the bottom is going to be .090″ 5052 Aluminum sheet (I have it cut, and pictures, just didn’t upload them yet), that should provide some cooling capacity.
Really, this projects is a test one of sorts, I salvaged a ton of maple trim and hickory floor boards from the scraps. Along with the aluminum I plan on making a computer case as well.
-John Havlik
Have you finished this yet? I am interested in it for our clients. Please get back with me.
(407) 574-4252
Well, yes and no. I’ve made three other posts covering the rest of the work on the project (see the sidebar’s “Related Posts”) but I robbed the hard drive from in it for temporary use in a different project. Eventually, I’ll get it all put back together, or may scrap the current one and have another go at it with better working equipment (the uneven removal of wood was due to problems with our mill that were fixed after a good day of cleaning and adjusting it).
-John Havlik
Heat is not an issue?
Laptop hard drives, especially 5400RPM drives, do not generate enough heat to cause problems. The backing place for the hard drive is thick aluminum so it can dissipate some heat as well. I don’t use the drive enough to let it get warm. And, at the moment it is not even in the wood enclosure as I have it as the main drive in a media center setup to test other hardware.
-John Havlik