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A while back, I decided I’d had enough of the 3+ USB-attached hard drives I had connected to my primary desktop at home and that it was time I consolidated my digital storage capabilities into one, easily accessible location. It was time for a dedicated network attached storage (NAS) box. Naturally, I figured I’d use mostly parts I already had available and throw one together myself. I’m pretty utilitarian, so this ended up being the epitome of “beige box”. The only things I ended up purchasing for this project are the drives, drive cage, handles, clasps, and some #6-32×3/4″ screws to hold the drive cage and power supply in place. Everything else was something I already had, a donation from someone who wasn’t using an item and never planned to, or scrap material.

Here’s a shot of the NAS as ready to be used:

NAS-closed-thumb

Here’s another shot of it opened up and ready for swapping things around:

NAS-open-thumb

As you can see above, one side of it is still completely empty. In the unused side, there is space for at least two more four-drive cages just like the one I already have installed. Filling out those two spots would give me space for 12 drives total which would require a SATA or RAID card since the board itself can only handle five internal drives.

This ended up taking far longer than it really should have and I swear I will never attempt to make 45 degree edge cuts on MDF ever again without the proper tools being setup the correct way and only when absolutely necessary.

Case Materials:

  • Scrap 1/2″ MDF
  • 4 brass door hinges
  • 10 angle brackets
  • 2 handles
  • Plenty of Titebond wood glue
  • 2 chest latches
  • 6 #6-32×3/4″ screws (drive cage/power supply)
  • 8 #8 bolts/nuts/washers (handles)
  • 16 M6 bolts/nuts/washers (hinge mounting)
  • 20 M5 bolts/nuts/washers (panel-panel attachment)
  • 12 zip ties (motherboard)

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I got a dockstar about a year ago because it seemed like an interesting device. It was designed to be a simple NAS for personal use, backups, media files, etc. It was mainly interesting because it ran a stripped down version of Linux as it’s stock OS and with a few commands, you could change out that version of Linux with one of your own. A few months back I learned about the Piratebox Project. I looked around and noticed that I had most of the parts to make one of my own already. I found a 3×5 card box at Walmart for the first design, but when I found a book box featuring a pirate ship on the cover, I knew I had to finish this project. I ordered a battery off Amazon along with the tiniest switch you’ve ever seen and I had all of the parts. A few minutes, some Velcro and double stick tape at the shop and I had assembled a battery completely wireless filesharing device. If you happen to have a cat5 cable, it could serve everything over that too. Details after the break.

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