Thread: Some advice on timber and heat needed.

Originally Posted by demonic

I have a source that can get me nearly any type of timber, from anywhere.

You may be asked to share that aquaintance.

Not sure about Wales but down under we find that when you apply enough heat to timber it starts to burn. Might smoke a bit first to let you know something will happen soon.

I am guessing that you are asking about movement(swelling/contracting) of the timber when it changes temperature? I think that any movement would be related to moisture content of the timber rather than it's temperature. If the computer was out in the study and then one day you moved it to a new location in a poorly ventilated basement, then you could find that the moisture content of the timber would increase and the timber would swell.

Having said that, I would guess that the only risk of this occurring would be if it was left switched off for a prolonged period...weeks, months? The timber would remain pretty dry with the computer in regular use and so the timber probably will remain stable. Perhaps it would be a good idea to acclimatise the timber for a few days at a warm room temperature before you finish size your panels.

As a precaution maybe a large top fan vent like in an Antec case, would assist in maintaining a more even temperature if you are concerned.

Sounds interesting. Post photos.

BTW, welcome to the forums.

Originally Posted by prozac

Not sure about Wales but down under we find that when you apply enough heat to timber it starts to burn. Might smoke a bit first to let you know something will happen soon.

I've had a few PCs smoke on me without wood being around.

But you got it right, I was after knowing what type of wood will be less likely to be affected by the PC heat.
I should have added, that the top and one side panel will have perspex windows in them, the top one having a fan in it, which will come into action, should the heat level rise above a certain limit.
The PC never moves from where it is and is on every day from dawn till dusk.

Being fairly new to playing with wood, I could do with some advice on what type of wood to use, something deep red and with an interesting grain. I spent a while on the old Google, but without knowing which woods I could use, it becomes pointless.
Also would some coatings help protect against heat, whilst not hiding the woodgrain? If so, what would people recommend? I'll be after a high gloss finish.

And I'll post some pics as soon as I get started, however it will have to wait, until I have cured the small leak in my workshop roof, which has ended up with there being no roof on at all now. As soon as I finished stripping the roof, it rained non-stop.

Demonic........to heat damage most hardwoods you'd have to get some parts of your 'puter up to ridiculous temperatures (basically on fire) before you'd do any significant damage. And those parts would have to be touching the timber. Alternatively, the air temp within the box would have to get to Sahara like temperatures (>60 degrees C)........at which point you'd not be worried about the case. More it's contents....

If you are really worried then thermal paint protection is available (typically used on house roofs and motorhomes) which you could apply on the inward face. This would also prevent the timber from drying out due the warmth and constant airflow. On the external face, any clear oil finsh would be the go....

Otherwise there's this list of resources http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/62/1/