Minimalist Wood PC

Hi!

For my first Instructables, I want to share with you my process behind the creation of a wooden PC. This was my first attempt at woodworking and PC building, so I wasn't expecting much for my first project. At the end, it turned out quite amazing!

My motivation for this project came from my desire to combine together new technologies with natural material. I loved this duality of the new with the old, thus creating a PC case entirely made out of wood was a creative approach for this idea. I also had in mind a minimalist design for the case for quite a while. That's why the case look so different from what we normally see as a PC case, as I wanted to explore with new form, material and colour.

This PC is entirely made out of wood. Insides parts are fixed on the wood directly, apart for the motherboard who sit on a metal sheet. There's a metal grill on the top and the bottom, which give the case a comfortable Air-flow. The top layer

At first glance, It could be normal to say that it's not a good idea to combine wood, which is inflammable, with heating PC components. And you are right. For my build, and took lots of precautions to assure a good air-flow in the enclosure. As a result, The bottom is completely open, bringing cold air in the case by adding fans. The top is also completely open, with fans pushing the warmer air outside the case. That way, I'm sure the inside always stay cold enough to be safe.

I wish my project inspires some of you by creating their own Wooden PC!

-Wood (Oak in my build)

-Wood Clamp

-Wood Glue

-Power Saw

-Metal Buffer

-saw

-Wood Polish

-your dream PC parts

Before starting cutting wood and buying PC parts, I took some time drawing in 3D some sketch of what I had in mind.

At this point, it's really important to have a sense of space, as you will have to think of the placement for every parts inside the enclosure.

This was built 2 years ago, which explains the choice for the PC components, like the CPU and GPU. For the motherboard, I choose a Mini-Itx format, so I shouldn't worry about space constraint. For the graphic card, I had the flexibility to put a full size card, as I designed the case as a big cube.

In the first picture, you will see my original thought for my project. It changed a bit, as you will see in the other drawing. I took a simpler design that have 3 identical faces.

I choose a 2-tone design which offer the possibility to integrate the top lid fluently in the case. The illusion is phenomenal, as you cannot see the top is removable.

This is the biggest step. The one where you are really starting to make you idea into reality. I found it the hardest one, as I never had any significant woodworking experiences. I was really motivated by my expectation of the end result, so I kept working hard to accomplish my project.

I choose a remaining oak step from our house renovation. I took time to measure each part and cut them nicely. The case dimension are roughly 32 x 32 x 32 cm. A perfect cube!

You will notice that one side is different; I will be the back of the PC, covered later by a metal sheet. This is where the GPU, CPU and power supply I/O will be located.

I sanded each piece to obtain a soft finish.

I added the first layer of wood stain. I used a lighter colour for the big parts, and a darker one for pieces that are narrower.

Now, I had to assemble the 3 identical faces, as well as the back plate. I glued them together and let them dry with a wood clamp. I made sure to remove any excess glue, as I needed to make sure every side look pristine.

As the title say, I'm now assembling each side together. To do that, I needed to cut precisely at 45° 2 sides for every faces. I could after glue them together. The picture doesn't show it, but I used clamps an wood molds to maintain together the case when the glue needed to dry. I also screwed L-shape metal bracket inside the enclosure to ensure the case stay rigid and sturdy.

Cutting with a precise power saw was essential to obtain a perfect 45°. If it's not near this angle, as I had, you will have imperfect corners with spaces in between. If it's your case too, I used wood filler to fill failed corners. After sanding and varnishing it, it should looks seamless.

I also assembled and sanded the top lid, but I didn't had any pictures of it for this step. The process remained the same as the last steps.

The wood job is done. Every wood part is now assembled and ready to host the PC part.

The picture also shows the top lid that I didn't show in last steps. You see that, as I imagined it in my drawing, the top lead need to seemingly integrate with the rest of the build. The top of the case have rounded trim so the lid could be mount more easily on the case.

I also added a metal mesh sheet on the lid and at the bottom. Before inserting those pieces in it, I painted the mesh sheet with a matte black spray paint. The mesh was later fixed in the case with little black screw for wood.

This step needed to be performed with extra cares, as electronics parts are fragile and sensible to manipulation and electrostatic discharges.

I first started placing the motherboard, who will also determine the position of the graphics card. I tried to arrange the inside so the graphic card is at the top of the case, highly visible. They are probably the prettiest part of a PC, so why not use their beauty to cover the cables mess at the bottom of the case. The motherboard was fixed to a metal plate, which was screwed to the side. I also put a picture of that motherboard, just to show how small a Mini-ITX board really is. I later realized that I could likely fit a mid sized motherboard.

After the motherboard fixed, I needed to place the power supply, which generate much of a PC heat as well as taking quite a bit of space. I positioned it in a corner and with its fan pushing air under the PC. The first picture show well where the power supply was positioned.

Next, I screwed the hard drive (HDD) and the SSD at the opposite side of the motherboard with L-shaped metal brackets.

Then, I added two fans; one simple fan at the bottom and one at the top. I later moved the top one on the other side, as I discover the air path was more efficient this way. Hot air from the CPU and from the power supply should circulate more fluidly that way.

Finally, I added a matte black button under the case, located on a hole I made in the metal mesh. I liked this position, as the PC would look better button-less in my opinion.

One more important thing I forgot to consider: the importance of cutting a nice back plate!

As there was lot of spaces remaining to be filled for back side, I needed to craft a simple plate that would nicely fit around the inputs and outputs of the PC components. With a buffer, I removed the necessary from a metal sheet to fit the back plate of the motherboard, the power supply air intake and to support the graphic card.

I then spray painted the plate matte black.

We're about to succeed, the inside is completely done, the PC could theoretically be working!

One final thing was to add those little legs I wanted to add from my first drawing.

My first idea was to bend, by my own, feet for the case, but I overestimated my skills... I decided to find something similar online, and I found it! I ordered 4 raw steel legs of 4'' made from Hairpin
Leg Shop. They came out perfect for my project !

They were screwed to the wood chassis.

Your hard work have finally paid of; this PC is now ready for everyday use!

No, seriously, it simply look stunning on a desk in my opinion. What I had in mind truly was achieved with this build. Just a plain hard wood PC, no RGB LED and aggressively looking PC adding superficial ambience to the scene.

Also, as you can see, the space beneath the PC can be used as a storage space.

OK... I later discover that my motherboard integrate RGB LEDs, so I gived it a try... It surprisingly looked quite good with the light going through the metal mesh, thus creating complex light patterns on my desk and on the ceiling. Plus, it added a nice but subtle ambience light when the PC wasn't in use.

Thanks for your attention ! that project meant a lot to me as it was one one my first ever wood work, as well as my first ever PC that I build myself.

Peace and stay creative!