tosh 2026-03-08 15:47 UTC link

I remember these Macbooks did tend to break apart at the corners of the palmrests.

But I like the idea of re-visiting Macbook plastic chassis w/ new inside.

I would love to know what the weight is in the end.

Can the old Macbook chassis lead to a lighter weight computer than the current 1.23kg Macbook neo and Macbook air?

seized 2026-03-08 15:54 UTC link

An ebook reader from Framework would be awesome....

serf 2026-03-08 15:54 UTC link

very cool project. id like to do something similar with my favorite thinkpad models.

that said, practice soldering, the insulation on those wires[0] and the sheer distance that they wicked solder upwards makes me really wonder how much heat got dumped into those tiny pads!

[0]: https://fb.edoo.gg/assets/images/image06.jpg?v=86ae0ddf

dlcarrier 2026-03-08 15:56 UTC link

Wow, 64 GB of RAM.

I'm really tempted to build a modern computer into an HP Jornada case. I really miss that form factor. It's pocketable yet has a usable keyboard.

sourcecodeplz 2026-03-08 16:08 UTC link

So it's a Hackintosh?

asimovDev 2026-03-08 16:11 UTC link

I’d love the same thing but with the titanium powerbooks / intels. What a beautiful design it was.

zeagle 2026-03-08 17:50 UTC link

This is pretty impressive! I'm always impressed with what one can 3D print to fit commercial products into a previous case! Modifying to fit the larger webcam module, battery in that way was neat too. Does the display connect via framework's cable without modification? I have an old motherboard running headless I was thinking of resurrecting but if I need to hook up a USC-C display.

metabagel 2026-03-08 18:08 UTC link

They never actually say what the project is, LOL. I figured out that it’s to put the guts of a framework laptop into an old MacBook case.

myself248 2026-03-08 18:33 UTC link

This is brilliant! The techniques remind me of a lot of my Toughbook modding, back in the day, which I did not document nearly enough.

I still have the shell of a CF-17 that's just begging for new guts... but I'd have to aim for something quite a bit lower-power as it's a sealed chassis with no provision for air cooling. Perhaps a CM4-based build...

Aaah! Why must other people be so productive! It gives me too many projects!

olelele 2026-03-08 18:57 UTC link

I had a black and white MacBook that was a Frankensteins Monster made out of at least 3 of these. It was around 2011-12 and I couldn’t afford anything else. I think I still remember how to disassemble them by heart… <3

eikenberry 2026-03-08 19:35 UTC link

I want a laptop form factor that is basically a briefcase with the display, computer and battery with space for a keyboard and mouse of some kind. I basically hate laptop keyboards/trackpads but want a portable computer. Plan on building my own at some point using frame.work components as the base but I haven't started on it yet. One day.

Lerc 2026-03-08 19:52 UTC link

I have an old aluminium 17" MacBook. It got retired fairly early because it suffered from a design flaw but was outside the free replacement window.

Its screen is nice, and there looks to be plenty of room inside. I have been keeping an eye on options for putting something else inside. Its mostly the power delivery for the display that I think is beyond my skill that's holding me back.

mikae1 2026-03-08 20:59 UTC link

The palm rest plastic and screen frame cracked on almost all of these. Not a model I romanticize.

https://www.cultofmac.com/how-to/exchange-your-cracked-macbo...

roughly 2026-03-08 21:36 UTC link

Can I just say again that I absolutely love what Framework's built/enabled? Between projects like this and things like the RISC dev board, they've immediately become the hacker supplier of choice. When they first debuted, I was skeptical they'd survive, but they've really shown you can build a successful company for a niche audience, and they've had a huge impact for the maker community.

wolvoleo 2026-03-08 21:52 UTC link

Now you should go and reinforce the two lines on top of the screen, make them wider. Or replace them with something softer. Otherwise they will crush your topcase to a pulp. Like they did on every genuine macbook out there for many years because Apple never bothered to fix it.

Personally I thought the later plastic macbook with the rounded edges was a much nicer design. Or the earliest white iBooks, which had a transparent case with white paint inside so they had this really cool glow. Unfortunately that caused shadows on the tiniest scratch which acted like a magnifying glass, so you really had to keep it pristine. But in those days a macbook was super expensive so I always kept mine in sleeves.

By the way I love what you've done with the EL film powering the back apple light. That looks amazing. It should always have been implemented like this, so you can drive it separately.

soulofmischief 2026-03-09 02:46 UTC link

The first-gen macbook shared a lot of internals with certain Dell laptops of the era. In 2010 I was homeless and attending high school at a boarding school and didn't have nice macbooks like my classmates, but I cobbled together my first laptop that summer from a few different old salvaged Dell models.

Dual-booting into a hackintosh was a breeze. I eventually salvaged an old T60 and it was a similar case, enough crossover in components that it wasn't any trouble running macOS.

This was in an era where you wanted Apple software even on non-Apple hardware. Today, it's the opposite.

montymintypie 2026-03-09 05:20 UTC link

Love the energy with "i decided to just go for it.". The soldering to the touchpad is absolutely frightful, but you know what? First time soldering (to small testpoints no less), it works, it can always be fixed later if the joints fail. I've been getting too caught up in perfection with my recent projects, it's a good reminder that with a userbase of 1, it really doesn't matter.

pantulis 2026-03-09 09:16 UTC link

> . i learned alot from this project, from how to solder,

This part is simply amazing, the "nothing is impossible" drive!

jajuuka 2026-03-09 16:33 UTC link

I definitely have a soft spot for these first MacBook designs. The plastic wasn't very good, but they looked so cool compared to most of the competition. Plus the introduction of x86 was really exciting.

accrual 2026-03-09 17:29 UTC link

This is super cool! These are the Macbooks that the new Neo model reminds me of. Except now the author's machine is much more powerful and in a classic chassis :D

I liked the glowing Apple logo touch. Perhaps if author wants to enhance this part they could mask off the Apple shape so there's less light bleed. But looks cool as-is.

linguae 2026-03-08 15:53 UTC link

That’s what happened to my 2006 Core Duo MacBook after about three or four years of use. It was an excellent laptop that was quite user-serviceable (I upgraded the RAM and hard drive), but I did have problems with the palmrests, and the Ethernet port stopped working after four years.

It was my first Apple laptop and I have fond memories of using it during my college years.

hedora 2026-03-08 16:00 UTC link

This is probably close enough:

https://pine64.org/devices/pinenote/

zikduruqe 2026-03-08 16:13 UTC link

Or a printer...

Or a phone ...

Or a router ...

masklinn 2026-03-08 16:13 UTC link

> I remember these Macbooks did tend to break apart at the corners of the palmrests.

Not the corners for me, but the "feet" of the topcase digging into the palmrest, which would splinter the plastic, then you'd have holes in the case and jagged plastic splinters digging into your wrist as you typed, not enjoyable.

This: https://ismh.s3.amazonaws.com/2014-02-24-macbook-topcase.jpg is exactly what mine had, on both sides.

Shame because it was the last macbook that was really easy to upgrade: the battery was removable (with a simple lock), and behind it were the RAM and 2.5" drive slots.

The next generation was not that hard but you had to unscrew the entire bottom shell, and the battery was glued.

dmoy 2026-03-08 16:19 UTC link

Idk what the word for it is

Hackintosh typically refers to running not-MacOS on apple hardware? Imo this project of removing almost all of the inner guts and using effectively a Frankenstein'd collection of things to reconstitute it into laptop needs a different word.

If it were me I would choose

Franekntosh

varispeed 2026-03-08 16:30 UTC link

Is it easy these days to get a mortgage for 64 GB of RAM?

Kwantuum 2026-03-08 16:33 UTC link

Hackintosh refers to doing things the other way around: running MacOS on non-apple hardware. So no, this is not a hackintosh.

hamdingers 2026-03-08 16:45 UTC link

Looks like Windows with a very MacOS-esque theme rather than a proper hackintosh, the screenshot says Windows 11 IoT Enterprise.

Chris2048 2026-03-08 16:51 UTC link

You mean one of the wider ones? Look a little like cyberdecks.

sspiff 2026-03-08 17:40 UTC link

I used to run Linux (JLime Linux) and NetBSD on those. I did prefer the bigger NEC MobilePro competitors though, but I spent so much time on those Jornadas in college.

zeagle 2026-03-08 17:53 UTC link

I would imagine battery life would be poor vs an eReader. In case you seek the same: I used a boox onyx (12"?) and OK overall. Issues IMO were the display is very fragile & did it in in the end despite a case and pocket in the bag, color was a bit of gimmick, most importantly the resolution was not good enough read journals/PDFs/stuff like the guardian weekly via libby crisply without zooming in... but the rest was decent. I switched to a kindle scribe I got for 1/3 the price after but it can't read the guardian or anything like that unfortunately like an android tablet. So just a bulky eReader with meeting notes there. If it even just showed my daily calendar I’d be happy.

s0rce 2026-03-08 18:48 UTC link

I liked my old magnesium Thinkpad T41p but it was a different aesthetic.

scsh 2026-03-08 19:02 UTC link

Agreed, this got me thinking maybe I should try something similar with my own old macbook pro. They did mention that this was the first time they had soldered anything, so it's great that they went for it and it worked! So now it's just a matter of improving technique.

Long term, that may need to be redone. Really want less exposed wire in the final product, tin the tips of the wire first so they don't suck up the solder and trim to the appropriate length(only a bit bigger than the size of the pads at most). This is a good example on tinning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPF4wpXX9Q And if you need to expose a lot of wire then just use some heatshrink so it's not exposed once you're done.

In a perfect world, you'd want to remove all the existing solder and then re-solder everything. But de-soldering can be its own skill and isn't always strictly necessary. Just something more to work toward.

xattt 2026-03-08 19:14 UTC link

I can only imagine a giant using the domestically-produced hardware of Lilliput.

_diyar 2026-03-08 19:47 UTC link

could this not be solved by just getting a laptop and also carrying external kb and mouse?

amelius 2026-03-08 19:54 UTC link

I want something like the huawei matebook fold but with a stand to raise the screen to an ergonomic height.

adammarples 2026-03-08 20:06 UTC link

Well done for figuring it out

cosmic_cheese 2026-03-08 20:14 UTC link

You may be interested in this Framework build that converted a 17" MBP.

https://community.frame.work/t/i-converted-a-macbook-into-a-...

znpy 2026-03-08 20:31 UTC link

In a way, it’s the exact opposite

funkychicken 2026-03-08 20:48 UTC link

The plastic by the trackpad would turn pink as well from my sweaty hands. Good times.

scumblr 2026-03-08 20:57 UTC link

Melted GPU? I’m still sore about that one.

nekiwo 2026-03-09 05:53 UTC link

for cool framework thinkpad project, see https://github.com/Maglev-Rabbit/702_Project_Public.

aa-jv 2026-03-09 13:27 UTC link

I want a lunchbox formfactor laptop that can be integrated into a Eurorack or used stand-alone.

nrp 2026-03-09 13:39 UTC link

DIYers are a core audience for us (along with Linux users), but actually we’ve had a lot of success with other audiences too!

ZeWaka 2026-03-10 02:36 UTC link

DDR4 so not that bad

Editorial Channel

What the content says

Structural Channel

What the site does