Finishing a stand build. Need some advice.

[potatowned]

So I built this stand back in 2014 and it's been sitting in my garage, along with this tank. Life got busy and I never got around to setting this up.

At the time, I was planning on doing a stain and then doing poly for a nice smooth gloss finish. I used nicer 3/4" oak plywood for the skin for this purpose. My mistake in building this stand was I got a little too ambitious and I tried to minimize the lap joints as much as possible and I ended up with corners and joints that don't fit perfectly. In retrospect, I should have cut the piece that I was going to overlap larger and then used a router to take it down so it was perfectly flush. Regardless, since it didn't come out perfect, I was planning on using some molding to cover the imperfect joints.

Fast forward to today and my wife has decorated the place and everything is light and bright and I am now thinking about painting this stand white instead. It would be nice to keep the stand minimalist and avoid any moldings, but the imperfect joints really bother me. Any advice on how I can fix the joints so that they are perfectly smooth? I thought about trying to use wood filler but not sure if would work.

 

[mcgyvr]

yes I would highly suggest using wood filler to fill wood..
seriously..
I like Dap plastic wood and Elmers Carpenter Wood Filler in the tube..
Cheap and available all over..


Just slap it on..make a mess.. no need to get fancy.. let it dry.. sand.. recoat as needed..
Works exactly as its name implies..

 

[mcgyvr]

You could also pretty that up with some molding/trim.. and not need to fill anything.
crown,etc...

 

[BigT75]

Went to white myself from black (don't mind the top rebuilding a hood)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[potatowned]

yes I would highly suggest using wood filler to fill wood..
seriously..
I like Dap plastic wood and Elmers Carpenter Wood Filler in the tube..
Cheap and available all over..


Just slap it on..make a mess.. no need to get fancy.. let it dry.. sand.. recoat as needed..
Works exactly as its name implies..

I would worry about the edges chipping. I'm not really filling in gaps. In some areas, one edge is a bit short, so i would be basically creating the corner out of the wood filler.

 

[BigT75]

I'd use a V cap wood trim like this for the edges

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fifthtoe]

If you're worried about chipping, epoxy resin could work. Depending on your level of experience with it, it could get messy during application. Once cured, you can sand smooth. Doing this would also be time consuming, more expensive than filler, and more labor intensive.

 

[mcgyvr]

wood filler is strong... it isn't fragile like spackle
get the plastic wood stuff and do it..

 

[davocean]

Bondo is what we use if we want it to stick and last and it's paint grade, but I also agree the corner moulding is a good idea.

 

[Lsufan]

I agree with Dave about the bondo. It is easier to make a corner with it rather then wood filler. It also dries way faster then wood filler, so u can shape it at the corner & let it start drying. Once it starts setting up but before it is fully dry u can take a scraper & scrape the edge to make the square corner. Then once it fully dries u go over it one more time & it should be close to where when the second coat dries all u would have to do is sand it. It is kinda difficult to make a corner, especially all the way around the stand.

Personally, I would use some type of trim or a 1 by if u want more of a square look instead of something fancy. I would use a 1 by 6 & make a ledge or shelf all the way around the perimeter. Then eighther use a 1 by 2 if u want a square look or a piece of trim under ledge. If u did this u could put a piece of 3/4” plywood under the 1 by 6 to bring it up to where u have a 1.5” lip on the inside. That would cover the trim on the tank so u can’t see it

 

[davocean]

^^ Exactly, if you catch it mid dry you can usually rough shape pretty close w/ a putty knife or blade, so sanding is minimal, and it holds better for corners or outer edges than putty.

Putty I rarely use and more so just for nail holes or surface stuff.

I also agree 1x is another way to trim, and really I prefer a trimmed corner to a filled, unless you are really set on that flush look.

 

[potatowned]

I agree with Dave about the bondo. It is easier to make a corner with it rather then wood filler. It also dries way faster then wood filler, so u can shape it at the corner & let it start drying. Once it starts setting up but before it is fully dry u can take a scraper & scrape the edge to make the square corner. Then once it fully dries u go over it one more time & it should be close to where when the second coat dries all u would have to do is sand it. It is kinda difficult to make a corner, especially all the way around the stand.

Personally, I would use some type of trim or a 1 by if u want more of a square look instead of something fancy. I would use a 1 by 6 & make a ledge or shelf all the way around the perimeter. Then eighther use a 1 by 2 if u want a square look or a piece of trim under ledge. If u did this u could put a piece of 3/4" plywood under the 1 by 6 to bring it up to where u have a 1.5" lip on the inside. That would cover the trim on the tank so u can't see it

I'm following you up until the 3/4" plywood under the 1x6. Not sure what you meant by that?

 

[potatowned]

^^ Exactly, if you catch it mid dry you can usually rough shape pretty close w/ a putty knife or blade, so sanding is minimal, and it holds better for corners or outer edges than putty.

Putty I rarely use and more so just for nail holes or surface stuff.

I also agree 1x is another way to trim, and really I prefer a trimmed corner to a filled, unless you are really set on that flush look.

Yes, I was going for the really clean, flush look... but adding trim wouldn't really make a big difference.

Anyone have some examples of nice stands that have been trimmed out in the way you guys are describing?

 

[davocean]

I have years of carpentry and cabinet builds, unfortunately all on PB.

 

[Smokey Stover]

Maybe laminate It with a smooth semi gloss formica. It comes in hundreds of colors/textures. Trim with a router like you wanted in the first place. Nice clean corners.

 

[Lsufan]

I'm following you up until the 3/4" plywood under the 1x6. Not sure what you meant by that?

Yea, I could have been more clear. Basically just using the 3/4" plywood as a shim. It doesn't have to be plywood as long as it's 3:4" thick.

If u put a 1 by 6 ledge straight on top of the stand it will end up covering half of the bottom trim on the tank. If u place something 3/4" thick under the 1 by 6 ledge then it would cover the hole bottom trim on the tank so u don't see it.

The bottom trim on the tank is usually 1.5" tall. A 1 by 6 is 3/4" thick, so by placing something 3/4" thick under the 1 by 6 ledge it will give u the 1.5" to cover the trim. That is what I did to both of my stands so it covers the bottom trim. I also like having the ledge around the tank to give me a place to set things. It's just a idea. This is a pic of my 40 breeder so u can see what I mean by the ledge & what it looks like covering the bottom trim.

[/url][/IMG]