Monolith - Window Mod

What modded case would be complete without a window to show off the goods? Its kinda odd to see the modding stuff in the local computer shops nowadays, but thats where I ended up picking up a large window kit. The local CompUSA had a complete window kit for 19.99, not too bad. I have not done a window mod before, so I thought I'd be better off getting the kit than trying to piece my own together. The documentation is pretty straight forward and easy to follow. The first step is to lay the window down and using a washer (came with the kit) and a pencil, outline the window onto the door panel. The other pencil marks on the door are where the drive bays meet the door.


Now that I have a good trace of the window, its time to cut. I started with a dremel cutting disc to make the initial pilot hole. Since the doors (and case as a whole) are a pretty thick gauge of steel, cutting the entire window out was out of the question. I ended up using a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade to cut the majority of the trace out. There was a small portion that was unaccessible to the jigsaw, so I finished the cut up with the dremel.


Now that the cutting is done, I use the dremel and de-burr the rough parts out to a nice smooth finish.


Before we fit the window acrylic in, we will finish the door using the same process as the rest of the case. You can see the detail of the process at the beginning of the article in the section Case prep and paint.

Now that the door is painted, I can finish with the window. The directions for the window kit say to apply the molding to the cut panel and then slide the acrylic in. This proved to be next to impossible. I toyed with window molding for a couple of days before coming up with the easiest solution. I ended up applying the molding to the acrylic window and holding on with packing tape. The picture below shows an earlier attempt using plain scotch tape (didnt hold the molding to well, but you get the idea).


Now that the molding is temporarily secured to the window, I just put the windows on top of the door and work the molding into place. Make a note that I also cut the tape on the side the molding fits to the metal.


Now that the window is in place, I put in the locking strip, removing the taped sections as I go.


Put the locking strip all the way around and once the window is secure, I remove the tape on the front side of the door. Once all of the tape is removed, I give a quick clean with some glass cleaner, and its a done deal



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