Before: D-Link DI-614+ 4-port ethernet/802.11b cable/dsl router

Add: 5mm acrylic, paint (krylon fusion), black allen-head screws, super-bright LEDs (red and blue), plus dremel, jig-saw, sanding block, bondo, rubbing compound, and lots of time on my hands

After: well, the same thing... almost... the whole project took about a month, on and off - and the result looks awesome!

it doesn't know what's about to hit it

standard d-link two-tone chassis, with some useless ventilation slots and embossed logo

face - call it useless... with green LEDs... ugh.

the PCB is cool, with what looks like a PCMCIA card with two antennae leads, wired into the PCB

take it apart, and go to town with sand-paper and bondo. lots of passes... bondo smells good!

mostly done covering up the side vents, and cut out one of the windows

ok, finished with bondo - took a long time... now - paint!

finished painting - took like 7 coats of paint to get it smooth and shiny. krylon fusion works really well on plastics and bondo; i used some automotive rubbing compound and finish restorer to clean up some fingerprints and imperfections in paint

acrylic cut and semi-polished (i love the rough-ish look), and mostly fitted onto the chassis with allen-head screws. the chassis now weighs more than twice than before - very solid feel

yep, the acrylic is just bolted to the chassis, with screws cut to length

the acrylic extends to the sides of the chassis and widens the base of it for more stability; the allen-head screws can act as feet - this way i can set the router upright or flat down if i want to

ok, it all fits together - still! the PCB looks awesome!

another shot - showing some dust that will be cleaned up

ok, plugged it back in and it still works! but - more modding is required

that acrylic looks awesome, and it sits very sturdily

chop off the green 3mm LEDs - die! i've soldered blue and red LEDs instead. blue for power and status, red for activity on wireless and 4 ethernet ports

i've also added 8 red LEDs on the four corners of the PCB - two in each corner, one on each side of the PCB

looks very ominous in the dark - it illuminates the whole room with eery red glow. blinking of the activity LEDs add to the character

shot from the back - it doesn't do it justice...