Antec side panel window

[hydrata]

Ok, you see a lot of those antec, chieftec, dragon cases, etc. and a lot of people put those rectangular shaped windows into them, but they have to cut around the handle, having that little indentation in the window. Well, personally, I don't like the looks of that and would like to make my window go right behind that handle, so how can I "cut around" this handle to avoid having to make an indentation into my nice rectangle? (that make sense?) Also, what is a good way to hold my plexiglass on my side panel? Double sided tape? Thanks.

[hydrata]

case and point, this case seen here i found on virtual-hideout's cool case gallery...
http://kontainment.tripod.com/kontainment/id3.html

please click the link...but see how he doesn't leave excess metal around the handle and he cut all the metal away, leaving just the handle? that is what I'd like to do...please explain to me how.

[Grump]

Hello Hydrata,

I wrote an article on cutting windows HERE (http://home.inreach.com/jmfloors/HowTo-windowcuts.html) and I use the same type of door. Lemme see if I have a picture of the completed door...

Okay, here's one -- it ain't complete and it's a trial fit, but you get the idear.

http://home.inreach.com/jmfloors/CaseMod1/cm1-368rdoor.jpg

As you can see around the edges of the handle, the metal shows a bit. I just touched it up with black paint and you cannot tell. The handle is s'posed ta look like it floats in the glass. I don't think the effect is as good when you use trim around the window. Make the edges smooth and clean and glue the glass in the backside and it looks nice.

In my article I talk mostly about general cutting and tools, but what I did is leave a very small amount of metal around the handle area so the handle would fit into its regular mounting holes. I also used real glass, which is harder to cut, but it works pretty good. You can use plexi or anything you like.

I used silicone adhesive to glue the glass in. I had to remove it once because I didn't allow for the case frame and the thickness of the glass. I cut through the silicone with a long blade Xacto knife and then cleaned it all up before re-glueing it back in place.

If I can answer any questions, let me know.

Grump

[hydrata]

thank you, that is what I was looking for...I figured I might just have to cut the metal really close to the handle. I'll be sure to read your article. In the pictures I linked to, the guy did it so neatly! I was impressed.