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I am to be making for the girlfriend a new computer.
Woah, how screwed up was that sentence?
I have a very shiny chrome-looking toaster that I haven't used in years. Mostly when I'm sick and need something to scratch that itch in the back of my mouth. I will be turning that into a computer.
I picture a toaster with the CD/DVD drive loading through a slot in the top, a laptop hard drive, a mini-itx motherboard, external power supply, and red lights that make the slots glow red when the computer is on.
One of the things I rarely see discussed among those who make computers are things like what the motherboard is attached to. Seriously. I wanna know.
In my case I plan to make fasteners so I can attach the motherboard to the metal tabs that will be vacated when the regular hardware is removed. These tabs have to be custom made. I'm thinking that I can saturate a quantity of acetone (a.k.a. nail polish remover, paint thinner) with Styrofoam. Styrofoam dissolves in acetone. Once the acetone is saturated, that is no more Styrofoam will dissolve, I should be able to pour the liquid into a mold and leave it to set up.
I spent an hour and change forming the clay.
I had considered picking up some proper clay forming tools while in the craft shop. I didn't and I regret that. I accepted some crudeness in the forms since this is just a test case and the final product is only of minimal importance. Part of my problem was that I needed to work with pieces that were already stuck to the bottom of the casserole dish. I used an 8"x8" casserole dish because I'm going to be burying these pieces in plaster and needed a confined area. I needed to form the clay in place so there wouldn't be lips for the plaster to get under the piece.
My non-stick spray appears to have been tossed recently. Possibly by me. I know it was rather old. I'll want to get some more to spray the pan and the clay with before adding the plaster.
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