Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
I honestly don't mean for this to come off as rude or anything, but your questions raise a big red flag and it makes me concerned so I have to ask: is this the first tank you've built?
The reason I ask is that your questions about the 4 seams and the assembly order are kinda basic, and the tank you are building is relatively large if this is a first project. Before you get started it's very important to understand why things are done in the order they are done. Because messing up means literally a thousand dollars in material down the drain.
After all your pieces are prepped, you should:
Bond both ends to the front (or back) panel, with back panel horizontal and ends vertical with 90 degree braces
Wait minimum of 8 hours before touching anything, longer with thicker material. I would wait 24 hrs personally.
Now prep the other panel, the back (or front) by getting it in position, and flip the whole front/sides assembly onto it. Front panel will bow so you need to support it so that the back/end joints are in full contact. Bond the other 2 joints. Don't touch for 24 hours.
Prep the 4 joints you just bonded to make sure that there are no lips between each panel. Use a razor to scrape, scrape, scrape until you have smooth transitions from piece to piece at the top/bottom bonding surfaces.
You don't have to do any flush trimming at this point - I usually wait until all bonding is done.
Now bond the top on. The reason you bond the top on first is that if you bond the bottom on first, then flip the tank to bond on the top, you have less air circulation in the tank and this can affect the joint curing (usually not). The more important reason is that if you flip and bond the euro on last, the bottom panel weighs a lot and can bow in the middle, resulting in a non-flush euro joint, which makes bonding less consistent, and it's nearly impossible to get inside the tank and add a brace to fix that. Another important reason is that if you bottom is on first, what happens if, when you set the joint, you need to run some solvent on the other side (inside)?
When bonding the euro first, when you flip to bond the bottom you a) don't have the weight displacing the joint, because of the cutouts b) you have air circulation c) you can get in the tank to add solvent from the other side of the joint d) you can add support.
For a tank this size, you definitely need to use the pins method and foam-covered MDF strips to even out the joint, shims if needed to make sure the joint is in full contact all the way around before adding pins (and adjusting after), a flat, level, and continuous working surface (i.e. not 2 or 3 tables pushed together), etc.
This is the question that threw up a big red flag for me. There is no other way to do it, you can't bond one half of a seam and wait to do the other, it just doesn't work that way. You have to run solvent into the whole seam, fix any bubbles if you are unlucky enough to get them, then start pulling pins and making sure the whole assembly doesn't start floating off, all in about 60 seconds.
If you have never used a #16 needle before, now is the time to practice. It looks super scary because the solvent comes out so fast, but it's not actually that bad once you get used to it, and it's about the only way you can run a 16 foot joint in less than 30 seconds. Using a standard #22 needle or the #20 flex needle will take you easily 4x as long, even when having a helper or two, you're going to be over 60 seconds before you start pulling pins and that's borderline too long.
Your tank is a pretty big undertaking and there are a couple steps that you really cannot afford to get wrong (well, I couldn't afford to at least!!!) so I'm just trying make sure you have your bases covered.
The other critical things are that the end pieces need to be perfectly square, or if they are "off" a little, both of them need to be identical and oriented the same with respect to each other (and not be that far off square). Then, the vertical dimension of the front/back needs to match the ends so that you minimize the lip you have to shave off with a razor. Make sure you leave a lip for a fillet on all final exterior joints & flush trim off after bonding is done.
General joint setting order: Blow off material with compressed air, wipe with denatured alcohol, blow again, position joint, add pins/shims, blow out with canned air, run solvent, pull pins, check joint alignment, wait for it to cure, flush trim, round, polish.
HTH
Bud
The reason I ask is that your questions about the 4 seams and the assembly order are kinda basic, and the tank you are building is relatively large if this is a first project. Before you get started it's very important to understand why things are done in the order they are done. Because messing up means literally a thousand dollars in material down the drain.
After all your pieces are prepped, you should:
Bond both ends to the front (or back) panel, with back panel horizontal and ends vertical with 90 degree braces
Wait minimum of 8 hours before touching anything, longer with thicker material. I would wait 24 hrs personally.
Now prep the other panel, the back (or front) by getting it in position, and flip the whole front/sides assembly onto it. Front panel will bow so you need to support it so that the back/end joints are in full contact. Bond the other 2 joints. Don't touch for 24 hours.
Prep the 4 joints you just bonded to make sure that there are no lips between each panel. Use a razor to scrape, scrape, scrape until you have smooth transitions from piece to piece at the top/bottom bonding surfaces.
You don't have to do any flush trimming at this point - I usually wait until all bonding is done.
Now bond the top on. The reason you bond the top on first is that if you bond the bottom on first, then flip the tank to bond on the top, you have less air circulation in the tank and this can affect the joint curing (usually not). The more important reason is that if you flip and bond the euro on last, the bottom panel weighs a lot and can bow in the middle, resulting in a non-flush euro joint, which makes bonding less consistent, and it's nearly impossible to get inside the tank and add a brace to fix that. Another important reason is that if you bottom is on first, what happens if, when you set the joint, you need to run some solvent on the other side (inside)?
When bonding the euro first, when you flip to bond the bottom you a) don't have the weight displacing the joint, because of the cutouts b) you have air circulation c) you can get in the tank to add solvent from the other side of the joint d) you can add support.
For a tank this size, you definitely need to use the pins method and foam-covered MDF strips to even out the joint, shims if needed to make sure the joint is in full contact all the way around before adding pins (and adjusting after), a flat, level, and continuous working surface (i.e. not 2 or 3 tables pushed together), etc.
This is the question that threw up a big red flag for me. There is no other way to do it, you can't bond one half of a seam and wait to do the other, it just doesn't work that way. You have to run solvent into the whole seam, fix any bubbles if you are unlucky enough to get them, then start pulling pins and making sure the whole assembly doesn't start floating off, all in about 60 seconds.
If you have never used a #16 needle before, now is the time to practice. It looks super scary because the solvent comes out so fast, but it's not actually that bad once you get used to it, and it's about the only way you can run a 16 foot joint in less than 30 seconds. Using a standard #22 needle or the #20 flex needle will take you easily 4x as long, even when having a helper or two, you're going to be over 60 seconds before you start pulling pins and that's borderline too long.
Your tank is a pretty big undertaking and there are a couple steps that you really cannot afford to get wrong (well, I couldn't afford to at least!!!) so I'm just trying make sure you have your bases covered.
The other critical things are that the end pieces need to be perfectly square, or if they are "off" a little, both of them need to be identical and oriented the same with respect to each other (and not be that far off square). Then, the vertical dimension of the front/back needs to match the ends so that you minimize the lip you have to shave off with a razor. Make sure you leave a lip for a fillet on all final exterior joints & flush trim off after bonding is done.
General joint setting order: Blow off material with compressed air, wipe with denatured alcohol, blow again, position joint, add pins/shims, blow out with canned air, run solvent, pull pins, check joint alignment, wait for it to cure, flush trim, round, polish.
HTH
Bud
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