I’m not really an ace computer junkie, I love my machine, love to game, but I also find enjoyment in building and destroying things. Now, see if you can follow me. Loads of useless computer junk lying around…love of destruction and fabrication. Yes! You have it, why not build something useful from these relics of technocracy and destroy something in the process?
So, after some well-crafted blackmail involving some incriminating photos and a garden hose, Brian and Kurtis have decided to allow me to present my finely honed skills of breakery and construction-ism in a series of “semi-how to” articles. I say “semi-how to” as I intend to offer ideas for various uses of old equipment. At no point will I claim to be an expert at crafting anything useful or otherwise. With luck I will at the very least spark a fire of creative invention while managing to keep some old computer trash from ending up in the landfill.
Motherboards. Really quite beautiful if you examine the intricate copper spaghetti etchings sprawling like a London tube map, the capacitors rising like miniature rock formations, chips and sockets…quite breath-taking in a nerdly fashion. In my twisted electro-artistic mind, I saw an image. An image framed neatly by the detailings of a far out-dated and, as luck would have it, broken motherboard. A quick conversation with a fellow tech-hoarder and I was the proud owner of a dead Cyrix MII mobo. Yes, they still exist. However, this dinosaur of electron consumption was destined for reincarnation as a picture frame.
The trick to constructing a picture frame from this mobo was finding a way to 1) make the thing look in some way remotely similar to a picture frame and 2) remove all the ugly plastic junk that obscured the artistic vision inherit to picture frame building. To solve the first riddle, I carefully inspected the board to determine which sections would be both easy to use as frame rails and had areas that looked somewhat interesting as individual pieces. Mapping out the sections of the board that seemed appropriate, I measured then marked usable areas with a Sharpie. I decided to use both sides of the board in my attempt as the bottoms of most motherboards are quite stunningly detailed with minute curvy golden rivulets and green stuff. Cutting would undoubtedly be involved. I decided that I would employ the help of every modders sidekick, the ubiquitous Dremel, to aid me in my quest. Sadly, before I could advance to the heedless destruction and eardrum splitting cutting disc action, I had to get at those unsightly plastic parts.
This second problem I solved quite easily through the use of needle-nose pliers. I not-so-carefully removed the offensive PCI and AGP slots as well as the capacitors and other unsightly protruding objects. My intent was to make the motherboard as flat as possible while retaining all of the nifty looking circuitry and chipsets. Originally I had planned to remove the solder on the backside of the board by heating it up with my soldering iron and then simply lifting off the offending pieces. However, after several tries at the melting/yanking process, I relegated myself to just ripping the pieces off with my pliers. (Interesting side note, PCI and AGP slots really make a cool noise when you snap them smartly right off the board, as the wiring inside nearly mimics the sound of piano wire as it is strummed to the point of snapping.) Once all the ugly stuff was stripped off, I began the Dremeling.
Essentially, all that I really had planned was to cut four strips of motherboard out, then mount them frame-wise to a smaller, light-weight wooden frame. Dremel in hand, I set to it. I’m not entirely sure what most boards are constructed from, but foul humors were released when I tore into that mother. A dust mask is advisable and eye protection is a must. The Dremel cutting wheel not only tosses sparks, but little pieces of wire and circuitry to ensure an eye-sight-ruinin’ good time. Once the cutting was finished, I laid out my frame pieces to get an idea of the size. Of course my Dremeling skills are far from 1337, so some of the sides and corners required smoothing with the small grinding wheel attachment.
Next I built a small wooden under-frame from a piece of ½” square dowel I purchased from Lowe’s for about a buck and change. Typically when I build wood frames for canvas stretching (I oil paint in my other spare time), I employ the 45 degree angle method for the corners. For this project the neat complimentary angles weren’t a necessity. However, if you are the type that loves angles (and who doesn’t?), I think that it would be no big chore to accomplish, provided you have a decent miter saw.
After fashioning the wood frame by tacking the corners with my staple gun, I laid out my cut mobo frame pieces atop the wooden under-frame. Now this is where I have to stress the Bob Villa “measure twice, cut once” mantra. After building my under frame, I noticed that it was far too large to accommodate my mobo pieces and still resemble a usable picture frame. Luckily I erred such that I could re-use the wooden frame pieces. This time I measured correctly.
Next I painted the wooden frame with some left-over matte black spray paint. Since the inside of the wooden frame would be visible after the project was completed, I thought that a little paint might give it that “this wasn’t constructed in an afternoon look”, even though it was.
Feeling all tingly from the knowledge that I would soon be finished, and from inhaling a fair amount of hallucinogenic mobo dust, I reached for my trusty $3 hot melt glue gun. I once again laid out my cut frame strips on top of my newly painted under-frame. Lining the mobo pieces around the under-frame, I tacked them in place with spots of hot glue. The hot glue is a fantastic tool for this job as it securely holds the frame pieces in place, but can be removed with relative ease if you screw up the placement…several times…which I did. I managed to secure three of the motherboard frame edges before I noticed that the fourth and final segment was too short to form a proper square. Oh yeah, remember to measure TWICE, cut ONCE. Luckily I kept the leftover pieces and managed to cut a new section that fit properly. And, as an added bonus, the newly fashioned piece was formed from the area of the board that housed the USB, PS/2 and COMM ports. And fortunately they looked pretty freakin’ cool. How serendipitous. With the final segment tacked in placed, I strengthened the bond by applying still more hot glue to the back where the motherboard bits meet the wood sub-frame.
Almost finished. The edges of the motherboard frame required a little additional sanding with the grinding wheel to create perfectly square edges. I also thought it would look cool if I ground the area above one of the chipsets so that it offset it a bit, you know to give it that “artistic unbalanced look”. Anyway, I was finished. But what to put in my new cooler-than-lunchmeat picture frame? Holding true to the general theme of the project and as an homage to those pieces of techno-junk that gave their lives so that a picture frame could be born of their ashes, I opted to frame the Cyrix MII CPU, the pried-off capacitors and little leftover bits of junk. I seriously doubt that this frame will find its way to my wall in this configuration. But, I thoughtfully left a small lip of wood frame peeking out from either inside edge of the frame so that a thin piece of Lexan Plexiglas could be inserted later, thus rendering the frame useful for pictures of loved ones or non-Cyrix CPUs.
I am pleased with the results of my rampant Dremeling and hot gluing. Hopefully this project will inspire you to create bigger and better motherboard picture frames to be sent to your favorite auntie or inmate. Additionally, the only injuries I sustained were some burnt fingers from the glue and some dusty pants from the Dremeling. I managed to build this fine work in an afternoon. The final cost of materials was quite low. The mobo was donated and I had most of the materials lying around my house, stupid lazy materials! The only actual expenditure was the $1.49 piece of wood. Eventually I will slip in that piece of Lexan and nail on a wall hanger to complete the proper look of a picture frame. However, I have found cut leftover Lexan at Lowe’s or Home Depot for a buck or two, and to make a good wall hanger all you really need are 2 small nails and a piece of twine. Grand total I would say this project would cost between $4-5, a little less than the price of an ugly picture frame from a craft store.
I hope you have enjoyed reading and watching me build trash from other trash. Please mail me your ideas for future construction. Feel free to forward me pics of your motherboard picture frames and then I’ll write you back and say “hey, nice picture frame.” I must go now, I am having motherboard dust flashbacks and there is a lizard trying to steal my Popsicle.
I would like to thank Brian and Kurtis for letting me use up some of their precious web space. I hope it hasn’t been ill spent. I would also like to thank my good friend Y_Pestis for donating the dead Cyrix mobo and my buddy Adam for letting me borrow his Dremel until my Dad gives me his.
http://www.thetechlounge.com/article/59/Motherboard+Picture+Frame/
