Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
joanstone
Yes, that's a good one too. There are some really neat ideas out there, I'll be very interested in how yours turns out. Keep the updates coming!
Will do. I had always liked the simple designs of the ADA tanks, and this tank will definitely have that as its inspiration. I bought some bits today to round out the edges, as well as a bit for the router for the corners.
I'm also thinking of painting the trims. Does anyone have trims in any other color besides black?
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Attachment 82062
This is what being bored at work gets you. I did a rough sketch of how I want the stand to look.
I decided to do double doors with glass/plexi inserts w/ frost tint since I have so much left over.
I guessed the measurements since I was at work and didn't have the actual numbers available but I shouldn't be too far off.
Left side shows what the left side (as you stand viewing it straight on) would look like. The right is obviously the front.
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Did the top and bottom main pieces. Unfortunately, the router bit I bought did not work with the router I had on hand. What really sucked was cutting the plywood with an electric saw :mad:
Rough cuts, so now there is a lot of covering up with filler and a lot of sanding. Rounded the corners with another bit and it came out nice. I still have to drill out the two side holes for the filter hoses. I need to buy the grommets first though.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps926a786a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psdc07c2a2.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps4a4c333f.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psd9a8b3ee.jpg
Ultimately I will paint the whole thing and the wood will not be visible so I am not too worried about the minor imperfections. I will work hard at filling though. Will work on the 2x4's tomorrow.
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
I use a fine toothed hand saw for work like this. It takes a little longer and you can sometimes work up a sweat but the results are usually much easier to finish. Looking good so far Ricardo :)
Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Update: 4/11/14Journal)
I got to work on the stand today. It went pretty well. I have to go to work in a little while so I had to stop short of finishing with the 2x4's. Tomorrow I should be able to do the plywood and hopefully this weekend will be filling and sanding.
On to the photos:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps2caa55e5.jpg
Straight cut time!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psaeec68ad.jpg
Bottom frame
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps5339e4c7.jpg
Still bottom frame
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps8607c94a.jpg
Screwing it to the top
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psc7acdf83.jpg
It helps to clamp exactly where you want the 2x4's to stay.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps28298515.jpg
We had 3 screw guns because we didn't want to keep switching bits lol. One had the pilot bit, the other had a screw bit and the last was just your regular screw tip. This kept everything flush, and preventing unnecessary wood cracking.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psf23437ad.jpg
After it was all screwed up
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psabf1e408.jpg
Screwing the uprights. The longer 2x4's were cut at 35 inches if I remember correctly. The plywood is 5/8 and the total height will be right around 36.5"
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...pscb99a7ea.jpg
Almost done. At this point we still had to put the 2x4's on the outside of the uprights.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps9d04c62c.jpg
You can see the 2x4's screwed to the uprights here. They offer extra support, and additionally provide a surface to screw the plywood on.
So, the doors will be flush mounted to the plywood face. They will hopefully have a glass or plexi insert w/ frost tint to match the back of the tank. I still have to drill the side holes for the hoses on the top plywood as well as the sides. I found the grommets (well 3 actually, I need to find 1 more, lol) for the side decks but not the sides.
Thanks for stopping by.
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Looking good Rick.
Mishka
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
chaoslite
Looking good Rick.
Mishka
Thanks Mishka. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this but I'm going with an ALL WHITE finish, lol. You don't see many white stands in our hobby and I felt that a white stand would go better with the "clean look" of the build.
Also, I'm painting the trim. I suppose that is as close as rimless as I'm going to get, lol.
Rickztahone's Bowfront Discus Tank (Update 4/12/14 Journal)
Update. Got the side plywood on. Sanded a bit. I will start filling in the gaps and screw holes with wood putty. I'm pretty beat now, lol.
As always, on to the pictures:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psea276197.jpg
I had a helper this time
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psdfeca334.jpg
Side shot with the plywood done and first round of sanding.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps8370a413.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps7c8c9912.jpg
A detail shot
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psad0f66f9.jpg
Obviously a lot of putty still needs to be done. This is what happens when you get cheap plywood, lol. I went the cheap route because I will be painting the wood over, not staining, so the quality of the wood did not matter much.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps701f121f.jpg
And again, the little helper.
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Looks great!! Cute little helper too!!
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
looking good rick, cant wait to see your layout plans
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
The weekend has come and almost gone and that means I got a lot of work done.
I bought the glass locally today and got them custom cut. I also frosted them over to match the back of the tank. I started the wood filling process but to be honest I was too tired to finish. Tomorrow I should be able to fill in all the gaps and screw holes. A few more hands of sanding after that and I should be ready for primer and paint. That will probably not happen until next weekend though. Either way, stay posted :-)
Pics:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps8a90eca3.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psf238d0b9.jpg
The thing you see on the glass is just a reflection. It is not scratched.
Thanks for stopping by.
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Oh, I forgot to mention that I had found the ADA platic grommet look alikes but sadly, the only clearance I have on the side is 5 1/2", The grommet is 6 1/2"! Missed it by one inch! Shame really. I will go with the round ones only, 2 grommets total for each hose, so a total of 8.
http://www.mockett.com/media/catalog...3-95-600px.jpg
If you want to give these a try here is the link to the plastic grommets in quite a few colors : link here
http://www.mockett.com/media/catalog..._03A-600px.jpg
These are the ones I ended up going with. Of course I ordered the ones with no lid, for a few bucks each.
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
This is a great thread! Good stuff, what are your plans for inside :D
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
musicmarn1
This is a great thread! Good stuff, what are your plans for inside :D
5 adult APRT's from Josie or 5 adult Brilliant Turqs from Forrest (Kenny).
The contents of the tanks will be very simplistic, as everything else has been so far. So, that means, only sand, small driftwood piece to the right, and some stones. That's it. The discus will be the main focal point here.
Re: Rickztahone's Simple Bowfront Discus Tank (Journal)
Not sure if any of you are interested in the doors build but here goes:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps61c8f019.jpg
Glass channel cut with table saw. Make sure to sand the inside of the channel.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psf40a22e9.jpg
Mach lineup
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps96a0eea7.jpg
Gotta tint the glass too!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps9f85d585.jpg
Gotta build the 3 sides, making a U shape, leaving the last one off to slide in the glass. I used screws for the corners because I could not find the bit to do the corners. So decided to the 45 degree angles. I do not like this process as much, but at the end of the day it will work just fine. Used glue as well. Screw head was hidden by using a pilot guide, and it will eventually get filled in.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps0fcd0ec9.jpg
Gluing
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psb4469b71.jpg
All done. Now to dry.
And the last one, just for fun; the tank all masked off to be painted:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps93f0ac5a.jpg
Didn't have time to take a pic of the trim painted, but will post it tomorrow.