wilkens Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I'm planning on building a stand for my new 24"x24"x24" custom made cube. The stand will be roughly 36" tall with a 24"x24" footprint. Construction will be out of 2"x2" and 5/4"x4 pine. The rear doors will be permanently attached. Does anyone see any design issues here? Thanks for all your input! Link to comment
cdr5y7 Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 well from the picture you are going to have to add supports on the legs about half way up. its going to wobble too much. and your looking at close to 60g i would use 2x4 if you can. with my 40b i used 2x4 just to be safe. id rather it be overkill than worry. Link to comment
qwiksilver711 Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 i'd definately go with 2x4 for the framing... water is what like 8.35 lbs a gallon? if so you're looking at like 500lbs in just water... not counting lr, ls, or even glass... do you really want to trust a 2x2 frame with over a quarter ton of weight? thats a ton of crap to clean up if it breaks Link to comment
wilkens Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Think this may work better, the rear two panels are 3/4 Birch ply, the all supported additionally by 2x2 pine. The front corner is a 3"x3"x5/4" "L" which should support the front nicely. I will be adding a shelf for the sump. I am going for a real seamless look, the doors will be flush to the frame and all have touch latches. Link to comment
jbannick18 Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Looks like it would be top heavy, if it were me I'd make the base a larger foot print. Link to comment
wilkens Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Scrapped the smaller footprint, worrying way to much on it tipping, not so much the weight. Here is the new 30x30 footprint. Link to comment
qwiksilver711 Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 thats looking better, u still plan on 2x2 and 3x3 for the framing? Link to comment
wilkens Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Got rid of the 2x2, still making the top and bottom frame of 5/4x4 pine. 3 sides will be made of 3/4 birch. Thanks for the help! Link to comment
qwiksilver711 Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Got rid of the 2x2, still making the top and bottom frame of 5/4x4 pine. 3 sides will be made of 3/4 birch. Thanks for the help! thats how i would do it! i was worried for you if you went with the other, just in case it all esploded. Keep us updates with pics!! Link to comment
wilkens Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 Will do, I am heading out of town for a small business trip for a couple of days, should start cutting by the end of the week. Link to comment
C-Rad Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 2x2's are definitely strong enough for the vertical pieces, but since you want the ends of the top 4 horizontal pieces to rest on top of the cut end of the vertical pieces (not screwed to the side of them) you should use 2x3's for the vertical pieces (the cut end of a 2x3 can support the ends of two horizontal pieces). The bottom horizontal pieces can be 2x2's, but the top horizontal pieces might bow too much under the load, so 2x3s' would be a better choice for the top horizontal pieces, and would definitely be strong enough. The big problem with your design is that only half of the 90 degree angles where the frame pieces meet are supported (held rigidly at 90 degrees) the 90 degree angles made by the frame pieces around the open doors are not supported, and will be able to flex, making the whole thing wobbly and unstable (dangerous). Support the eight unsupported 90 degree somehow. An easy way would be to cut triangles (6"x6"x8.5") out of plywood (or scraps of any board) and screw them to the inside of each unsupported 90 degree angle (8 triangles total). Link to comment
wilkens Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 The triangles are a great idea, I wish I could make them work, but i wanted flush doors, not full overlay. Check out the new design, I settled on this...Full birch plywood sides, 5/4x3 uprights. All joints will be PL'ed and toenailed 16ga. Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Finally got the stand framed and skinned. I cant finish the trim until I order and assemble the glass. Link to comment
spacey Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Finally got the stand framed and skinned. I cant finish the trim until I order and assemble the glass. How did you do the skinning? I am forming plans to build my own stand for a 75g 48x18x21 tank but the finishing has been scaring me... don't know how to get the sharp finished look. Veneer? Stain? I'd like to achieve as much of a Elos/contemporary look as possible - which should be simple since there aren't any squiggles and carvings to mess with. Just simple panels w/stick on stuff. But the stick on stuff as I understand is not that easy to stick on... no? I am pretty good w/DIY just never did veneers. B3st, spacey Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 All the skinning was done with 3/4 Birch, screwed together from the inside. I could send you the sketchup file if you would like. Link to comment
RK_tek Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 All the "squiggles and carvings" make it easy bc they cover up all the raw edges and mis-alignments. The clean contemporary stuff takes lots of diligence and care Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 All the "squiggles and carvings" make it easy bc they cover up all the raw edges and mis-alignments. The clean contemporary stuff takes lots of diligence and care It is a challenge hiding all the unfinished edges but with a little thought it can be done. I don't have the tank trimmed in just yet, but you can see it in the sketchup diagram. Link to comment
RK_tek Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I apologize if my last post came across negatively. I totally skipped all your pics of the stand almost complete. You obviously are capable of finishing the stand in a contemporary style(lack of fluff and tacky egg and dart molding) Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 I apologize if my last post came across negatively. I totally skipped all your pics of the stand almost complete. You obviously are capable of finishing the stand in a contemporary style(lack of fluff and tacky egg and dart molding) No offense taken, I knew where you were coming from. Link to comment
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