Help with tank stand

[Webmanny]

Hi guys,

I recently finished building the core of the stand I need for my two tanks, but I am now at the portion of skinning or covering the stand with something that looks nice, so I can then stain it.

I bought a 1/4" oak panel to cover the stand, but I am not sure how to go about it.

My question is, should I glue it or nail it to the stand?

I also need help with the doors. I have seen many videos of how to make doors, but they all require routers and advanced woodworking skills and I have neither.

Any easy to follow instructions on how I could make some simple, functional and not too bad looking doors, will be appreciated.

This is the panel I got, well I got several.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Project-Panels-Red-Oak-Plywood-Price-Varies-by-Size-2830/204771223

This is the stand.

 

[sparky5785]

Following along. I'm in the same boat.

 

[woodnaquanut]

The side toward the top of the pic doesn't have support for the long part of the top. Adding another 2x like the other long side would take care of that.

Nails, glue or screws. Anything to get it attached well will work. Trim is usually applied over the edges to hide the fasteners and raw ply.

What look are you shooting for on the doors? There are slab style, basically just plywood rounded over. Most framed doors require some ww tools and skills. There are places that will make the doors for you. You can even get them thru the usual big box stores.

 

[billdogg]

I would both glue it and use finish nails on the edges. Those can easily be covered with corner molding from HD/Lowes so they are not visible. The nails will serve to hold it in place until the glue dries (Use Titebond III or similar water resistant glue)

I have made doors in several ways over the years. The simplest is pieces of 3/4 plywood with edgebanding to hide the plys. You can attach them using a cleat that rest on the bottom edge of the door opening and a couple rare-earth magnets countersunk into the frame at the top. They are easily removable for access to the sump.

Another way - if you would prefer hinged doors, is to take pieces of 1/4" plywood and trim them with cove or other decorative moldings to make them appear to be raised panel doors. That's how I did my first two stands and they worked, and looked, very nice.

 

[davocean]

I agree it looks like one side, front or back, the long rim joist does not have vertical support at each end, and I actually think you should have a vertical support in center of that span as well.
Personally I would have skinned w/ at least 1/2" ply, the 1/4" is going to flex a little over deviations or open areas some, won't look as flat.
You could either return/exchange the quarter for half, or maybe use the quarter for door panels and just trim out the edges, look up shaker style doors, not too hard to do.

 

[Webmanny]

I agree it looks like one side, front or back, the long rim joist does not have vertical support at each end, and I actually think you should have a vertical support in center of that span as well.
Personally I would have skinned w/ at least 1/2" ply, the 1/4" is going to flex a little over deviations or open areas some, won't look as flat.
You could either return/exchange the quarter for half, or maybe use the quarter for door panels and just trim out the edges, look up shaker style doors, not too hard to do.

I think I know where the confusion comes from. This is a picture I took while I was building to show progress and the other corners might not have been finished at this time yet. Sorry, this is my fault.

As far as the vertical support in the center, I will not be placing too much weight on it as it will have a 36 gallon and a 29 biocube. However, I may place one vertical on the back of the stand just to be safe.

This is the stand I made and it does have plenty of support in the corners.

There are three 2x4 on each corner. One is inside where the green arrow is and the other two are below the horizontal piece where the two white arrows are on the picture below. Please note that this picture does not show the completed stand, but this is how all the corners are.

 

[pelphrey]

If this helps I skinned my stand then went back and cut the enter skin off the front except the skin that was in front of any 2x4's. After that I framed the piece I cut out and put magnets on it to have complete access inside my stand. I also put trim on the bottom of the stand and along each corner. The top trim I placed to cover the lower plastic frame on my tank.

I didn't glue my skin on just used small nails and used a punch to push the nail in further and wood filler.

Glue expanded but this is on the inside of the stand

 

[CuzzA]

Webmanny,

It comes down to how you want this stand to look. If you're wanting a simple no thrills box then I would just wrap the stand in 1/4" ply and trim out the corners and edges.

If you want it to look like a furniture grade stand. Then I would still use the 1/4" ply, but only on the sides and doors. Then I would box out the front and sides with 1x's. This will give the correct presentation of the direction of the grain. If you look at your kitchen cabinets (depending on how they were built) you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. Here's a pic of my stand done this way.

As far as the doors. A Kreg jig will be a must have tool. A router or table saw isn't necessary but will help to finish the back of the door. Without either tool you can just attach 1/4" ply to the back of the door frame. Or with either tool you can cut a grove on the inside rear of the door frame so the 1/4" ply sits flush within it.

 

[CuzzA]

Also I'll add to sand everything. When you think you've sanded enough, sand a little more. And as far as stain, I've found General Finishes Gel Stain is fantastic. Much easier to control and work with. They also have a clear gel to protect the finish. I used a clear satin.

You can buy this at WoodCraft in Clearwater.

 

[Webmanny]

pelphrey,

Great idea with the magnets. I plan on doing this with my doors to stay in place, but I may install hinges to give me more flexibility. Great stand and tank by the way. Thank you for your pictures and ideas. I'm very visual and seeing the progress pictures helped me a lot.

Cuzza,

Awesome work with that stand. I love the details on the sides and corners. Another pro looking build. I appreciate the suggestion of the stain gel. I was going to go with the regular one, but having never done this before, I can use something that gives me a bit more control.

I will stop by WoodCraft this weekend to get some of that gel stain. Thank you again for your help and suggestions.

 

[CuzzA]

Magnets work well. I like these hinges too, for removable doors.

http://www.atgstores.com/cabinet-hi...html?searchTerm=sugatsune-hinge&ProductSlot=2

 

[Webmanny]

Those are cool. Thank you again. Ordering them online now.

 

[pelphrey]

If you get magnets look up rare earth magnets. They aren't expensive and are strong!

 

[Webmanny]

If you get magnets look up rare earth magnets. They aren't expensive and are strong!

Understood. I am a bit familiar with these magnets as I make many acrylic covered holders for my tank. I think it will be best to go with an N52 magnet for this application. They are the strongest kind there is.

Thanks again.

 

[Sn8kbyt]

Understood. I am a bit familiar with these magnets as I make many acrylic covered holders for my tank. I think it will be best to go with an N52 magnet for this application. They are the strongest kind there is.

Thanks again.

If you don't want to use magnets I purchased snap fittings like are used on speaker grills for the doors on my stand. They work great and i am happy with them.