Atomwood by Chris Cook

Written by Chris Cook

May 20, 2009 | 12:22

Tags: #atom #brass #build #cc3d #chris #cook #feature #mini-itx #plexi #plywood #scratch #sff #tiny #wood

Companies: #bit-tech #intel #mod

Working with Wood

I started with a piece of 24" x 24" oak veneer plywood. I never use plywood for my projects, so this was an experiment. I usually process my own wood from raw cut boards, but I needed a piece of oak 10 inches wide to start with and this is a short cut so they usually come at a considerable price.

The other woods include Padauk, which is a deep browny redish colour. I used Plexiglas for the motherboard tray as well as for the bottom of the case. The first thing I did was to cut the plywood into four pieces and label them so I can keep up with the grain patterns. These were then miter cut and fitted together to make the four walls of the cube as the pictures below show.

Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood
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Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood
Click to enlarge

After I made the separation cuts I discovered the payback for the plywood's benefits. It's not so evident in the pictures, but it splintered horribly: it had more tear-outs than a 16 year old in a V8 Mustang! Let me say this for the benefit of everyone: NEVER USE PLYWOOD!

What I saved in time so far in the build will be eaten up with the time it will take to correct this awful stuff. I knew better, but I did it anyway! Always use solid wood and always process your own boards!! I'd estimate that this cost me about 6 hours of patch up work to get it into a usable state.

Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood
Click to enlarge

Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood
Click to enlarge

Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood Atomwood by Chris Cook Working with Wood
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