Idea help with doors and covering 'RocketEngineers' stand design.

[MidwesternTexan]

Ok, I've got it.

I'm going to finish it similar to the pic in post # 17- that was a build pic I got off a thread from 2008.

Thanks to all who showed my how they did the doors on their stand.- Some great work there!

I"m going to do removeable panels- 4 of them across the front. As I'm plumbing to my basement for the sump anyways, I won't have to get in there all that much- uh oh, here comes Murphy's law again.

It's going to be 3/4 ply, Maple, but possibly Red Oak.
The only real trim will me 'shoe molding' which will only be on the edge above and below the front and side glass.
The canopy will only be 11inch tall also.

I am trying to get a nice look, yet not yet not too cumbersome'. NOt that there's anything wrong with that. I just want a real simple look, which will keep the attention on the DT, not the ornate trim of the stand.

That's next weeks project, as I have several long days scheduled at work- which is nice b/c I have alternate 3 and 4 days off every other week.
So I can mow the lawn, maintain my current 125, and continue to work on the 180.

 

[sleepydoc]

I haven't build a rocketengineer stand, but just eyeballing it would recommend a plywood skin to keep it from racking. It doesn't have to be thick at all, just something.

 

[sandyland]

What if you put the ply on the back of the stand.
Then you could finsh out the front any way you like.
You could even nail the ply on about 1/3 of the way in from both sides and leave the center open.

 

[MidwesternTexan]

I haven't build a rocketengineer stand, but just eyeballing it would recommend a plywood skin to keep it from racking. It doesn't have to be thick at all, just something.

What if you put the ply on the back of the stand.
Then you could finsh out the front any way you like.
You could even nail the ply on about 1/3 of the way in from both sides and leave the center open.

Right, thanks ya'll.

I plan to add corner braces on the inside out of pieces of 2x4. Each corner will have a piece with a 45 angle, and the long edge will be at least 7 inches long, to add 'anti-racking' with leverage, similar to what a piece of ply would accomplish.
I'm going to brace the front, back, and sides also.

I'm also going to try and achieve a nearly perfectly level stand when it's set up.

I feel everything will be OK if I go this route.

I actually think the stand design is so overbuilt now, even without the bracing, it would be fine. But I like to overbuild.

Have you seen the average store bought stand (like theone on my current 125?), comparing, those things look scary, and they work fine also.

 

[ca1ore]

Best way the keep a stand from racking is to just put a sheet of ply on the back. Face framing the front won't do all that much. I have also run a diagonal strip of ply across the back, and that helps almost as much as a full sheet of ply.

Definitely use plywood as the panel insert for your doors (plus you can glue it rather than needing to keep it free floating). The high humidity environment of a tank will wreak havoc on a solid wood panel.

 

[ca1ore]

Have you seen the average store bought stand (like theone on my current 125?), comparing, those things look scary, and they work fine also.

Wood, and fibre board, has enormous compressive strength, so as long as you don't have unsupported runs, the 'underbuilt' nature of commercial stands
is more than fine. The key is to have a stand that is level, flat and coplanar. You could DIY a stand to carry 10,000 pounds, but if it causes the tank to twist --- watch out!

 

[Donw]

Best way the keep a stand from racking is to just put a sheet of ply on the back. Face framing the front won't do all that much. I have also run a diagonal strip of ply across the back, and that helps almost as much as a full sheet of ply.

Definitely use plywood as the panel insert for your doors (plus you can glue it rather than needing to keep it free floating). The high humidity environment of a tank will wreak havoc on a solid wood panel.

You dont want to glue plywood panels in the door stile and rails either just like hardwood. They do expand and contract just not as much, gluing causes delamination of the face veneer. A solid hardwood panel will perform just as well as plywood as long as its floating.

Don

 

[ca1ore]

You dont want to glue plywood panels in the door stile and rails either just like hardwood. They do expand and contract just not as much, gluing causes delamination of the face veneer. A solid hardwood panel will perform just as well as plywood as long as its floating.

Don

I have actually glued in plywood panels many times without any issues - just as long as one is careful to not have any squeeze out.

 

[MidwesternTexan]

Thanks,
But I think I'm going to cover the sides and front, and canopy similar with
Maple or RedOak Ply.
I do plan to seal the inside, and waterproof stain the outside also.
The panels will be held to the frame by devices that allow it to 'pop' on and off.
So I actually won't be making any doors.

I'm pretty sure the front part of my canopy will fold up and back exposing some of the top, like with a piano hinge- so again, no doors.

I think you saw the pic I posted of how I want the final product to look sort of, but it had doors- I'm not planning doors.
I'm not sumping in the stand, but using the area I currently use in the basement for the sump.


Thanks,
Todd

 

[MidwesternTexan]

I continued to 'reduntantly overbuild' my stand frame.

I installed 4 Ply triangles on the back, each with very long screws into the frame as an 'anti-racking' measure, with 2x4 braces in the corners of the sides as well.

Here's a pic or the stand laying on the face of the stand, showing some of the re-inforcements.



I also purchased the 3/4 inch, made in USA, Maple Plywood today also. ON sale at Menards for $46 a 4x8 sheet.

 

[Terefel]

That's some serious bracing right there! Congrats on making progress. :beer: Tagging along since my build is upcoming.

 

[MidwesternTexan]

That's some serious bracing right there! Congrats on making progress. :beer: Tagging along since my build is upcoming.

Thanks!
To be honest, the stand is already way more than needed, and I just continue to make it overkill.

My intended method of finshing the covering, won't give me any 'anti-racking', like the face framing style of doors adds.
So this is my alternative to help keeping it 'sturdy'.

 

[Terefel]

Nice! What is your plan for the covering/sheathing?

 

[MidwesternTexan]

Nice! What is your plan for the covering/sheathing?

See this thread, post #17.
After looking at what seemed like hundreds of pics of finished stands, I decided on this look that's in the post.
I want it to look similar to the one in the pic I borrowed from a 2008 post.


I started the base coat on the stand today.

Rust o leum Latex Int/Exterior.
I figure if they make gloves out of it, it will seal things OK.
Also, b/c I'm using my basement sump, I don't expect the stand to get wet much, if any.

I also cut all the Maple plywood pieces for the exterior today.
No table saw, took forever set up guides for my circular saw.

 

[MidwesternTexan]

Well, a little update.
I did finally settle on the outer shell canopy for my DIY Stand.

I simply used these fasteners to keep the panels flushed up with the frame:



The entire front of the canopy swings up and rests on itself for feeding, maintenance, etc.






I'll be doing the final sanding, precise fitting, and staining/sealing when it warms up this spring/summer.