Building my own stand

[stevenp]

I started on this last week and it seems to be coming along pretty good. It's for a 110 gallon tank. The frame is made from 2x4's and the skin is birch paneling. I'm going to order premade cabinet doors. I'm also building a matching canopy and plan to paint them both white, maybe even with 'cracked' paint so it looks old.

The best part of this project is all the cool tools I've bought

Steve

 

[johnny]

Looks Good

 

[stevenp]

Picked up the tank today...

Steve

 

[reefphreak]

I think the stand looks very good... I almost made mine out of the bead board but I happened to come across a sheet of dunnage oak ply and went with what was free.... Looks good!

 

[stevenp]

Thanks!
At first I was concerned about being able to build something that would support the tank but once I finished framing it I realized how easy it is to overbuild these things... The stand could probably support my car but I'd rather err on the side of caution

It's also pretty cool using the Shop Smith my Dad handed down to me. He bought it new in 1979.

Steve

 

[reefphreak]

I have seen a couple of those and they are pretty nice....

 

[Pat H.]

Very nice Steve! I really like the birch bead board. Is that the same as wanescoting(sp??). I'm considering that to wrap my stand, if I ever get around to it
I'm going to put a "U" channel around the bottom and have the panels slip in then large velcro pieces for the top. Easy access all around. But I want to do it in a way that you can't tell it's not permanent.
Keep us posted with the progress!

 

[Pat H.]

Oh, and your scaring the crap out of me with that level on top of the tank. I keep imagining it falling in the tank and...

Take it off..Take it off...

 

[stevenp]

Pat,
I'm not sure if it's "wanescoting". You're over my head I did however remove the level after you posted about it falling. Good eyes...

I decided I needed an engineering change. Instead of having the strips of ply along the top I went with two solid pieces. I secured it with a bunch of screws and Gorilla Glue. The glue foams and expands so it should fill any small deviations. After a days worth of prep getting the top joists level and perfectly straight by planing etc the ply screwed down nice and flat. In the picture you see a .010" shim against the straight edge. The shim will not slide underneath the straight edge anywhere along the top of the stand which means it's pretty damn flat which makes me pretty damn happy

Steve

 

[stevenp]

Leo,
The Shop Smith is pretty cool especially because I remember my Dad using it back when I was a toddler. My parents didn't have a lot of money back then and I think he saved up for a long time so he could buy it. I'm sure it brought a tear to the old man's eye handing it down to me

Steve

 

[reefphreak]

Looks good Steve.....

 

[Clam Man]

looks nice how tall is it.

 

[stevenp]

32" tall.

Steve

 

[aweeks95]

wow steve...looking good man...i haven't been on in a while and i was just trying to go through really quick to catch up on things....keep us posted on this bad boy....and the rest of the project.

ANDY

 

[stevenp]

It's ready for paint now. I'll post another pic when it's painted and in place. Or I may just start another thread posting pics of the upgrade in progress. Thing should start coming together quickly from here on out.

Steve

 

[Michael Mota]

Oh cool can't wait to see it.

 

[stevenp]

Painted.

I'm trying to figure out what type of cabinet doors to use. Anyone have some comments on any of these:

http://www.qualitydoors.com/catalog/wood_1.html

I kind of like the Hilltop Roman

Steve

 

[PeterCip]

Don't forget to leave a way to get your sump under that beast.. it stinks when you realize that you ahve to move the stand, after 1500lbs of water is in it

 

[stevenp]

I'll be running a basement sump.

I still need to cut holes in the top for viewing from underneath and plumbing.

Steve

 

[NateHanson]

Check out www.cabinetdoorsandhardware.com for doors. Wicked cheap doors.