I stuck on the frame for the left side panel. It looks GOOOOD. I’m really pleased with how well this part is turning out. I need to fill the edges, as it’s not 100% perfect. Does anyone know how well paint will stick to hot glue? I’m thinking not well at all. If it comes down to it, I might try and use a syringe filled with epoxy to get that edge perfect, but the hot glue gun would be easiest. Assuming, of course, that it would actually work. Anyone who knows this: it would be useful for me to find out.

I also finished off half of the hinges for the doors. You can probably see where these are going by now. The parts on the right are perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better finish. The parts on the left will need to be done again.

My friend Euan came over today and helped out with preparing the case for painting. He did a pretty good job fixing up the case.

Then I finally got the front cover cut! This took nearly 5 hours of constant cutting.¹ At least I’m getting very good at using the jigsaw. It needs a lot of tidying up, and I thought I might have to throw out the whole piece. This was how it looked with the masking tape on it…

But when I removed the tape, I realised the damage wasn’t as bad as I first thought. Most of it can probably be fixed up with a bit of time under the file, which is what I’ll do tomorrow.

I really want to get this case finished to the point where I’m installing hardware and using it. I need to get a lot of practice with the soldering iron at any rate, cos the electronics part is calling up soon.

Also, I managed to kill the Zalman fanmate. I had a wire soldered to the potentiometer, but something went wrong and I burned it out. Still not sure how, but I’ll figure it out.

As for cutting aluminium with a jigsaw… it’s much, much easier than cutting through steel!

Top tips? I’d say always keep the part you want cut on a flat surface. If you put pressure on it, it will always bend and possibly snap or warp. With steel, you can hammer it back into shape, but probably not with aluminium. When using the jigsaw, always wear eye protection. Use oil on the blade every few inches. It makes the blades last longer and gives a cleaner cut.

As a final tip: If you have long hair, be careful when washing afterwards. I didn’t realise I had a sharp piece of metal in my hair and it went into my eye in the shower last night.