Over the past couple days, i have been working on a DIY bench table made of aluminum and duct tape. I was inspired by the DimasTech bench tables, and all the different stuff our very own Nateman has made recently. I had a very old, and very big aluminum case, that ended up being perfect for this build. I used the two side panels for all the parts i needed to make this bench table functional. I also used an old mobo for sizeing things up. I had a few blockades and problems in the process, but got around them. Also, i found out the hard way that zinc-plates brass standoffs threads snap off really easily. But without further ado, here are the pics:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The standoffs are all a tad bit off, so it is kinda hard screwing the mobo in, but i plan to leave the mobo in it for a day and hope it mabe bends it a bit to get the holes better lined up. All in all, i spent about $20 for parts i didn't have, but for a bench table, $20 is a nice price tag. Overall i am very pleased with how this came out, even with a few blemishes in it.

i like it!!! TechBenches for the win! make sure you have some decent extra fan coverage blowing over the components esp toward the gpu inlet

I love it make me one....


Thanks,
Mack4033

Oh, the duct tape is covering all the sharp edges where i made cuts. I tried smoothing them with a dremel and file, but it wasn't working very well and was taking a while; so, duct tape to the rescue!

dlb134

xxrabid93

Oh, the duct tape is covering all the sharp edges where i made cuts. I tried smoothing them with a dremel and file, but it wasn't working very well and was taking a while; so, duct tape to the rescue!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=132&products_id=3590&zenid=d143a34a4471208158ed705c4bf2f1bb


http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=132&main_page=index

But that's more money. I already had the duct tape, so it was "free."

Love it would not change a thing, more pics please & PM natemandoo adout this he will love it too!!!

wow i love it except the duct tape. the $1.99 channel would have made it perfect.

but since your title was GHETTO DIY bench i understand where the duct tape comes into play.

Maybe you can make and sell these!

sand it down and hit it with some paint.
be cool if you did it in a black with a blue "ASUS" on the side.

(small tip if you paint it. spray from like a foot back from the bench so the paint looks even and smooth)

Thanks for all the compliments guys! I really appreciate it.

Also today, i just got some Google Sketchup files from Gone Cruising for many different parts of a case, for possible future plans. I am thinking about ordering some nice sheet aluminum and seeing if i can find a place that will cut and bend the metal to exact specs. I have some ideas to improve the design and to add dvd and hdd cages and a psu mount, i just need materials.

@Nate: No, i have the foam. I just have to cut it. I am gonna try and insulate the mobo(not the one you see in the pics) and get foam pieces cut tonight. About the standoffs. I could remove some, but i am afraid to. I feel my biggest mess up of this project has to do with the standoffs and nuts. I bought locknuts thinking everthing would be perfect the first time. That of course was not the case. In the pic above, i showed 2 standoffs that completely sheared when i tried to get the locknuts off. I guess i know the locknuts work now. So, i obviously don't want to try and take more standoffs off, for fear of breaking them too(especially at a buck a piece).
 
@jingiko: Ya, i agree the edge molding would make it look better. But, this was more of an experiment, so i wanted to keep it as cheap as possible.
 
@drdoomuzi4u: I guess i took the lazy way out. Duct tape is much quicker than sandpaper. lol. The way i figured out how do drill holes for the standoff was simple. I taped down that old mobo you see in the pics where i wanted it aligned, and used a punch to mark/start the holes. Be carefule though. On one of them it wandered, so i ended up having to redrill a new hole. And like i said, it wasn't perfect. All of them are a tad bit off. If i make a revised version of this, i need to figure out a more exact way to drill the holes.
 
Again, thanks so much for all the comments!