My newest mod... BOSS : FX-57

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
It's all about the details....
I felt it necessary to pull out some of the little things left undone on BOSS, and here are two of the things I have picked up on to complete this weekend.

mustang_acrylic.jpg


This was one of those little things that I did not do in the end... the chrome will be smoked with the MetalCast smoke that I used on the middle stripe, and the red color will be painted over with the OSHA orange. There is a little fan inside the unit, as well as a blue LED that I need to replace with a white one to keep it inline with the rest of the mod. Guess I could go orange on the LED too... might esperiment a bit on that route:
mouse.jpg


While I work on the case build out on DST, since I am out there... figured I'd quit slacking off and get these little ones worked out too!
;)

Pulling that mouse apart was a PITA!!!!

The top over the IC is the blue LED that lights through the vents and the fan. That will be what I replace with a white or orange one.
mouse_internals.jpg


6 screws holding the internals together.... cripes...
mouse_palm.jpg


Finally... broken down:
mouse_palm_components.jpg


These parts will be OSHA orange:
orange_mouse_prime.jpg


and these are with the first layer of smoke paint:
smoke_chrome1.jpg


I plan on 2-3 more layers of paint on these parts.
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
after 2 more coats of "Smoke" and the 2-3 coats of clear:
smoke_chrome2.jpg


the top pieces:
orange_mouse.jpg


Pulled the blue LED out of this beastie, and replaced it with a white 5000mcd light. I then sprayed it with a glass frosting so that the light would disperse and not just spotlight. These pics were prior to me spraying the frost.

mouse_led.jpg

mouse_led2.jpg

mouse_led3.jpg
 

leecho7

Partition Master
Very impressive Mod, first time I saw it I knew it looked like a car. Not much of a Mustang fan but impressive either way.
Which reminds me, at work, we finished repainting this dude's 87 Mustang. It's a car he used for car shows and light racing. The car was a beautiful sunfire Yellow, and he wanted us to repaint the entire car. So we stripped it down and put on a fresh coat of primer, paint, and clear coat. Cost him 3000 bucks.
Two weeks later, he gets clipped by an 18 wheeler and his insurance wants to total the car even though the car has a racing engine and transmission that costs about 20k alone.
OK I'm getting sidetracked.
Awesome mod.
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
Test fit...
assemble1.jpg

assemble2.jpg


couple of take aways on the pics....

Mice have pretty tight clearance tollerances on the buttons, and a thicker paint causes these to stick due to the gaps being tighter.

*SO*

I am forced to file down the gaps to allow for more space, then repaint the buttons and such to fit properly together... but this should let you know where this baby is going...
;)
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
You like that?

Here ya go, finished! The mouse is done!

final_mouse1.jpg


final_mouse2.jpg


final_mouse3.jpg


final_mouse4.jpg



Here is a little trick I pulled tonight. The Rubber surround on the wheel was a clear rubber, and I wanted the opaqueness of a "tire"... so I took the rubber piece off of the plastic center. I then boiled some water in a glass dish, then poured in 1/2 a package of RIT black dye. Mixed it up good, then dropped the rubber piece into the dye. Let it sit there for about 30 minutes, essentially letting the water cool with the rubber in it. I let the boiling water cool for about 2 minutes prior to adding in the rubber piece for fear that I was going to melt it and mis-shape it.

But the piece came out PERFECT! Opaque black, and still fits the original dimensions!

I need to buy some mouse skates for the oval patches that I took off the bottom, but otherwise it is done!
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Man, that is seriously impressive, I love it! Because you dyed the scroll wheel, is there a chance that it could wear off on someones finger after a lot of use?
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
Rob Williams said:
Man, that is seriously impressive, I love it! Because you dyed the scroll wheel, is there a chance that it could wear off on someones finger after a lot of use?

Dunno... I doubt it though. Ther color should be bonded into the rubber if I understand what I just did properly).

My vinyl dye and my marker, both of those approaches flaked or rubbed off badly.
 

Jakal

Tech Monkey
That's quite ingenious! I would have never thought to try to dye the rubber. lol It really does look great man! Nice effect and addition to the mod ;) :D
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
Just a quick update, I took the Saitek keyboard down to Austin for the AustinModder meeting this last weekend!

I got PoMan, the rework master over there, to generously donate his skills to replacing the surface mount LED's in the keyboard. No blue for BOSS... the keys all illuminate white now! Looks super cool!

But before I go and put up pics, I took the board apart one more time, and I am now painting the external frame OSHA orange (same color as BOSS). I'll be leaving hte keys the silver that they are.

After I get the paint completed, I'm going to work on getting the BOSS logo on the keyboard, possibly some striping.... dunno yet. Still experimenting with the layout.

;)
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
Updates on the keyboard as of last night:

Patient is on the table:
keyboard1.jpg


Intestines removed. These are the light bars on the Saitek that have the surface mount LED's on them. This is the part that PoMan rocked like a concert! ;)
keyboard1a.jpg


Putting the boards back in place (notice around the edge
keyboard1b.jpg


At home on my workbench:
keyboard1c.jpg


14 TINY little screws holding the keyboard onto the front plastics:
keyboard1d.jpg


*BAM!* magically they are apart and I have lightly sanded the plastic to give the primer something to grab onto:
keyboard1e.jpg


"hellp me... pleeeeease!" ;)
keyboard1f.jpg


White primer, to help brighten the orange when applied:
keyboard1g.jpg
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
First coat of orange:
keyboard1h.jpg


"BAAAANNZAIIIIIIII!!!!!" Frikken bug... Why the **** can't they get the hint that wet paint is NOT for resting on??!?!?! Look right next to the flash in the middle, and up to the right a bit... see that little booger with wings... lil punk....
keyboard1i.jpg


*lightly* sanded the bug out and then reshot another orange on the top to even out the paint.
keyboard1j.jpg


1st clearcoat:
keyboard1k.jpg


2nd clearcoat:
keyboard1l.jpg


More later!
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
getting closer!!!

keyboard2a.jpg


keyboard2b.jpg


I will have the graphics to figure out... but Mmmmm....MMMM!!!!

I like the look of that! ;)
 

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
Well, I botched my CD ROM front panel trying to make it "thinner":

bay_mistake.jpg


bay_mistake2.jpg


It got sucked into the lower belt cover and smacked around and sanded where it should have been.... ;)

... well, I fixed it last night!

I found my spare 5.25 panel, lopped the legs off of it, plopped it on my belt sander (after adjusting the work stop to be lower so that the front plate would not slip under the stop) , and made it nice and thin!

Then I used some adhesion promoter and colored the front panel to the same color depth as the others!

I now have the front panel attached to the computer, and it was the right thickness, as I hot glued a little piece of acrylic on the inside of the bay cover so that it is positioned right over the eject button. Now, because I sanded down the bay cover, there is a little play in the front, and by pushing the lower right corner of the panel, it depresses the eject button.

Works like a champ now! It does not look ant different than the last panel, only that it now functions to allow for the eject button to be hit!

YAY!!!

The family is about done! I just need to get some decal paper for the BOSS logos on the keyboard, but I may be able to take a family picture of everything by this evening!
;)
 

Jakal

Tech Monkey
That's just hot. I don't care what anyone says. You've put a lot of time and effort into this thing and it does look really great. :D
 
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