Introduction: Dirt Cheap SteamPunk PC
I have for you the cheapest way to modify your PC. My current mod is incomplete but it will give you enough information and ideas to start your own with no more than a can of spray paint and metal tape.
Step 1:
First get a roll of aluminum tape, it is the best thing for a budget mod. for that stainless steel look get some fine grit sand paper and take long snow strokes down the tape in the same direction and when done polish with some Brass-O.
Step 2: Hard Drive Status Gauge
Now for some heavy duty moding. Find an electrical gauge, then a place on the PC it will look good. now cut a hole to size and affix it in there with some hot glue. If you like me do not have some of the proper tools, draw out a circle to cut. then use a series of small drill holes cut as close as possible to each other.
Step 3:
Now to wire the gauge, find the wires that run to the blinky light in your PC front and cut the wires and hook them to your gauge. If the gauge goes straight to 100 or what ever is the max, get some resistors to go between the positive wire and gauge so soften the blow.
Step 4:
Now for some Brass. Brass is to the unknowing will seem expensive, but just head down to the local hardware store and pick up a brass door plate. It is perfect for this project.
Step 5:
Now with plenty of WD-40 sprayed on the hack saw, cut the brass plate to size for whatever you may want and affix it to the PC with screws or Hot glue.
Step 6:
If desired get some Brass or (in this case)Copper spray paint and go at it what ever witch way you please. if plastic or much else for that matter is to be painted cover with metal tape ten apply one coat.
Step 7:
With what you have now, you PC is now Steampunked to atleast some degree. Now add what you what: leather, brass, leather straps, bolts, ANY thing old!
32 Comments
13 years ago on Step 7
I like it, but this would look a whole lot better if you removed those awful ATi, AMD, and Windows stickers from the face of it.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Why? ATI and AMD is good stuff.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
I wasn't trying to imply that there was anything wrong with those companies, just that the stickers on something that's supposed to look steampunk looked out of place.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Use a wood burning kit on a square of leather to recreate those stickers. Not a comment on the component, just on the aesthetic of the sticker not being steam punk.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
That sounds awesome. If done correctly, that would definitely enhance, instead of taking away from the overall steampunk aesthetic of this machine.
Reply 11 years ago on Step 7
Just make sure the stickers are still there, since they are proof that you own a license for your windows OS and will save you perhaps hundreds of dollars if your computer ever really gets screwed up.
Reply 11 years ago on Step 7
And for your graphics card driver software, and for something else, I can't really see the sticker on the other side very well.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
I think the same as "wadecore". Also, the colors of the minijacks in the front aren't very "steampunk". It would look better if they were black or if they look as brass.
12 years ago on Step 3
Because of the HDD gauge in this rig, I've been inspired to start work on my own.
14 years ago on Introduction
This may be a stupid question, but here we go: I noticed that in your final product picture, the light on the front is a yellow, not green. How did you go about doing that?
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
I know this question is really old, but in the last picture, I believe the computer is turned off. You can tell because the amp meter is at zero.
13 years ago on Introduction
did you know that dirt is not really cheap like people think it is!!!
13 years ago on Step 7
Hmm...maybe you could still display the fact that those companies' products are in the system by engraving them somewhere on the case, but don't use the whole logo, just the important stuff, like the word "Windows..." ("..." meaning whatever version), "ATI...", "AMD..." and such...not sure if it would be very Steampunk, since I am new to the Steampunk genre (I think it's called Steampunk genre...I could be wrong) Though I've noticed most of the Steampunk projects are more decoration than functional, I think it would be so much more cool if all those accessories actually had a function and weren't mostly decoration, kinda like the milliamperes gauge, it's Steampunk, and it's functional.
13 years ago on Step 3
I've got a YHT-400 Home-theatre-in-a-box that I'm using as 5.1 surround receiver/amp for my computer, and it has two analogue gauges on it, one is a bit rate transfer gauge, and the other is a VU meter. Since I am always running the unit in AUX/TV mode, I have no use for the bit rate transfer gauge on the unit, (in AUX/TV mode, the gauge is constantly flicking back and forth, even when there is no input at all, but the gauge stabilizes at 00 when I switch it to DVD mode) and was thinking of rigging it up to my HDD read/write indicator LED on my computer's front panel, though removing the gauge from the unit would spoil the look, and running a cable from the computer to the unit would be, for lack of a better word, interesting, since I would pretty much have a patch cable between the two, and wouldn't look as nice. Though I do have a battery tester gauge that's super sensitive...lol.
13 years ago on Introduction
seeing this again has revived my interest in giving my computer modanother shot...Thanks!
13 years ago on Introduction
Nice customizing job, but I want the wall map behind the spray can! ;)
14 years ago on Step 3
I love the idea of the amp gauge for the processor LED.
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
**Drive write indicator**
or something to do with data being written to the drive.
14 years ago on Introduction
i had a pc like that but i threw it away because the graphics card f*cked up al i got on it was a fuzzy screen
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
You threw away the whole computer for a graphics card issue? o_O Dude, there had to have been a lot of salvageable parts there, all you probably had to do was get a new gfx card ><