DIY stand

tidus10

tidus10

New member
Im thinking of making a stand for my 93 cube,
I have the plans for the stand and i want to skin the stand in 2x4s and go with a rustic neat feel

Im thinking of layering 2x4s (like 2x4 paneling) on top of each other but I want doors in it as well.. How could i possibly make that happen and have it be flush, without light coming through?
 
dabob79 said:
Following, thinking of doing a stand for my 93 cube as well...
Click to expand...

Mine is going to be a bit different since the stand is going to be 7' long and 30" deep and 40" high with a small table next to the tank as a fragging table or whatever else I want to use it for.. maybe shelves going up the wall for storage but i think the 2x4 front will look nice.. i just dont want doors that are not flush with the stand..
 
'layering 2x4s?' so the walls would be 3" thick? Not sure I'm following you. If you want a paneled or rustic look, look at tongue & groove paneling, maybe something like this. As far as the door goes, there are a couple of ways of doing it. The easiest would be to take a piece of plywood that's the size of the opening and have the boards on top of it extending over the edge ¼ or ½", making a lip that would cover the gap. You could also make a frame and panel door, which would look a bit nicer.
 
700-800 pounds is a lot of weight. I'd recommend steel. most folks dont have welders tho.
if wood, I'd go with 4x4 posts, (2) 2x6 beams and sheath at least 3 sides w/ 1/2 ply to prevent racking. I made a great wood stand out of laminated 1 3/4 " LVL's before. very stout
 
sleepydoc said:
'layering 2x4s?' so the walls would be 3" thick? Not sure I'm following you. If you want a paneled or rustic look, look at tongue & groove paneling, maybe something like this. As far as the door goes, there are a couple of ways of doing it. The easiest would be to take a piece of plywood that's the size of the opening and have the boards on top of it extending over the edge ¼ or ½", making a lip that would cover the gap. You could also make a frame and panel door, which would look a bit nicer.
Click to expand...

Ive looked into that paneling, it just doesnt have the same appeal to me. and I would like the skin to be 1.5" inch thick

sbreefer said:
700-800 pounds is a lot of weight. I'd recommend steel. most folks dont have welders tho.
if wood, I'd go with 4x4 posts, (2) 2x6 beams and sheath at least 3 sides w/ 1/2 ply to prevent racking. I made a great wood stand out of laminated 1 3/4 " LVL's before. very stout
Click to expand...

what? Why would i use 4x4s and 2x6s?

I plan on just doing something like this but a little longer on the far end
attachment.php
 
While the stand is sufficiently strong and a decent design, I think you may want it to be taller as working in the sump with that little clearance may be problematic. 36" tall seems to be the lowest most folks use for the stand height. I've seen 42" and its great for viewing the tank without having to bend over.

JMO.
 
We were thinking around 40-42" high. Tank is 26" tall so I don't want it to be too tall. But how can I skin this with 2x4s and make the doors stay flush
 
I'm not really sure what you mean by that question, but I'd put wrought iron hinges on the outside surface of the door personally. You could also put the pin side of the hinge out and the leaves in the gap between the door and the panel.
 
Totally agree w/RocketEngineer, but assuming you really do want to make a flush door out of 2x4s, you can glue them together side to side and/or add cross bracing, kind of like a barn door. A wrought iron hinge or something similar will work to have it flush.

Note that a door that style will be prone to swelling with humidity, so you have to account for that with the size.

If you don't want light showing though the gap, you can rout a rabbet around the edge of the frame and leave a lip on the door so it overlaps.

Another option would be to rip the 2x4s lengthwise and glue them on a piece of plywood. That would give the appearance of 2x4s with more stability. You could get 2 surface pieces out of each 2x4 and save money too :p With a thinner door you can use some blum hinges.
 
tidus10 said:
Ive looked into that paneling, it just doesnt have the same appeal to me. and I would like the skin to be 1.5" inch thick



what? Why would i use 4x4s and 2x6s?

I plan on just doing something like this but a little longer on the far end
attachment.php
Click to expand...

EXACTLY what I was thinking about doing!! lol Except for skinning it in 2x4s, I was just gonna go with plywood.
 
it appears you ARE using 2x6 beams. and (2) 2x4 in the corners... AKA 4x4. I'd recommend support under the midspan of the tank. You need to skin it with plywood. nothing else will give you the shear strength you need.
 
Skinning does not add any strength to this design and the corners are not 4x4s and there are no 2x6s here
 
sbreefer said:
just trying to help dude. good luck. I hope no one bumps your tank.
Click to expand...

please don't recommend 4x4's. they are no good. there is also no need for a steel stand until you get into tanks in the 300+ gallon range. that being said, you are right about the skin being important for strength and stability. skinning is absolutely essential to this design, unless there is a large number of diagonal braces.
 
ahh, someone actually understands base shear. Sheathing (plywood) is your friend. It makes everything nice and stiff. provided it is fastened to the framing adequately. I am unsure why 4x4's are 'no good'.... they have more than twice the axial competence of a 2x4 due to slenderness factor.... why post for advice in the DIY forum if you dont really want advice... Call it 1000 or even 1200 pounds after water LR , light, hood, and glass weight, plus... wait for it.... a SAFETY FACTOR.... in design of a tank stand. (1) 2x4 beam at the perimeter spanning 3 feet with a distributed load of 250- 300 pounds will deflect more than your glass or silicone will be happy about. Again no support under the center is a mistake. No plywood is a mistake. and 2x4 posts are a mistake. BTW, what is in your floor? quite the live load to put on a floor system not designed for it.
Good luck.
 
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