Working on a little stand

BigDave · 05/21/2018, 09:29 AM

Not reef related, but still an aquarium stand.

My wife has a 5 gallon Beta tank at her school she brings home each summer.

This year, we brought home a piano, so the place where our little 10 gallon tank and the 5 gallon Beta tank live is no longer available.

I'm working on building a little stand for both of them to go on. The 10 gallon will go on top and the 5 gallon will sit on the shelf. I'm building doors to enclose the bottom and will drill a hole in the back to run the power chords through to hid everything inside the cabinet.

The stand is made from oak and I used dimensional lumber where I could to limit ripping any boards. It's been a while since I've made any 'real' furniture and even longer since I've used oak. I found out pretty quick my old table saw blade is worn out.

Here's the progress I got to on Saturday. Sunday I got the doors made, but an outage at work kept me from getting the hardware fitted.

The hope is to get it finished this weekend. We picked out a somewhat dark brown to stain it and then I'll put a few coats of poly to help protect everything.

Vinny Kreyling · 05/21/2018, 11:15 AM

Nice!!

billdogg · 05/21/2018, 11:28 AM

Very nice job.

Pics when it's set up please!

bekate · 05/21/2018, 03:03 PM

Looks very stable. Great work! Post photos when it's all done with the tank on it

davocean · 05/21/2018, 08:02 PM

Looks cool, clean!

RobZilla04 · 05/22/2018, 04:57 AM

Nice

Apotack · 05/22/2018, 08:47 AM

Very nice

BigDave · 05/22/2018, 12:06 PM

Got a little more work on the stand done. Finding time to get into the garage during the week is always a challenge. Add on to that that I had to mow the lawn last night, and I was really pressed to get much done.

I did, however get the doors roughed in:

Need to do some final fitting and mount all the hardware. Then I can start staining.

BigDave · 05/23/2018, 06:28 AM

Spent about 3 hours last night fitting the doors into place.

I used the penny method and a lot of hand tools. Trying to take 1/32" off with a table saw was pretty interesting.

Tools used:

Fitting the gaps:

With all the hardware:

After the last picture was taken, I had to remove all the hardware and run the doors through the jointer set at an angle to put a small bevel on the inside corner of each door so they won't hit when opening and closing the doors. I think I did 3 passes at 10º.

Only thing left is final sanding, staining, and poly. I bought a new color of stain I want to try out, but I'll probably do a few test pieces of different colors to see which one I really want to use. I haven't decided if I'll brush or spray the poly. I'm leaning towards spraying it.

davocean · 05/23/2018, 08:17 AM

Spraying will come out cleanest.
I usually will roll or brush 2 coats, sanding between coats, and my final 3rd pass will be a spray on, that way good penetration w/out any brush or roller marks.

Looks good!

BigDave · 05/23/2018, 08:54 AM

Question on the feet.

What should I put on the bottom of the legs? It sits pretty level, but I don't like the idea of the wood sitting direct on the ground (not sure why). It's going to be sitting on a tiled floor.

davocean · 05/23/2018, 09:01 AM

I suppose it would be nice to have something like the vinyl pads to both buffer at floor and also protect end grain from any moisture

BigDave · 05/23/2018, 09:53 AM

I did a bunch of searching and settled on these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I want to say I used these once before on something else I built.

davocean · 05/23/2018, 09:56 AM

Looks perfect

BigDave · 05/25/2018, 06:14 AM

Time to pick a color.

My wife likes the one on the far left. I really like the second from the right.

My kids and I picked out the second from the left last weekend, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of it now that it's on a test piece.

The weird thing is, I don't own a lot of stains (just the 4 actually), and I can remember which piece I bought each color for. For the life of me, I can't remember when/why I bought the light colored one.

Either way... we'll probably end up going with the light colored one. I'll put some poly on the top two test pieces and get confirmation from the wife which one to go with.

Smokey Stover · 05/25/2018, 07:20 AM

Maybe try just a coat of clear on a sample. With Red Oak all the variations come out and can be kind of interesting.

BigDave · 05/25/2018, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smokey Stover

Maybe try just a coat of clear on a sample. With Red Oak all the variations come out and can be kind of interesting.

I'll try that too.

davocean · 05/25/2018, 07:39 AM

Clear will make grain pop and show color best.

I do like the redish tones best myself, so 2nd from right, and far right looks more like espresso which is another fav, but in the end it's eye of beholder, and I always advise matching to home decor when possible

BigDave · 05/25/2018, 08:24 AM

I am using water based polycrylic. My understanding is it tends to 'color' the wood less than the lacquer based varnishes do.

We'll see after I get the test colors on.

There's no other wood in the room that this is going in, so no need to match it to another wood color.

Our furniture tastes are all over the place.

I enjoy the arts & crafts style stuff and tend to build things that somewhat resemble that (cleaner lines, some trim work), although my joinery skills aren't there for the full through mortises and other aspects of the design.

Our bedroom furniture is more rustic looking with wrought-iron hardware. Our dining room is somewhat more modern looking.

BigDave · 05/25/2018, 10:08 PM

Test colors went well.

After seeing it with the clear coats, we decided to go with the Red Mahogany stain.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

BigDave · 05/27/2018, 02:17 PM

All done. Tanks moved. Stand is nice and stable. All power cables are hidden in the stand and I ran a flexible conduit up the back of one of the legs so it hides them all.

billdogg · 05/28/2018, 06:32 AM

Nice job. It turned out very well.

I especially like the plastic plants

Apotack · 05/28/2018, 08:53 AM

Really nice

Vinny Kreyling · 05/28/2018, 09:32 AM

Can't see any pics??

davocean · 05/28/2018, 09:52 AM

That does look really nice!

05/21/2018, 09:29 AM	#1
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	Working on a little stand Not reef related, but still an aquarium stand. My wife has a 5 gallon Beta tank at her school she brings home each summer. This year, we brought home a piano, so the place where our little 10 gallon tank and the 5 gallon Beta tank live is no longer available. I'm working on building a little stand for both of them to go on. The 10 gallon will go on top and the 5 gallon will sit on the shelf. I'm building doors to enclose the bottom and will drill a hole in the back to run the power chords through to hid everything inside the cabinet. The stand is made from oak and I used dimensional lumber where I could to limit ripping any boards. It's been a while since I've made any 'real' furniture and even longer since I've used oak. I found out pretty quick my old table saw blade is worn out. Here's the progress I got to on Saturday. Sunday I got the doors made, but an outage at work kept me from getting the hardware fitted. The hope is to get it finished this weekend. We picked out a somewhat dark brown to stain it and then I'll put a few coats of poly to help protect everything.

05/21/2018, 11:15 AM	#2
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Nice!! __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

05/21/2018, 11:28 AM	#3
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	Very nice job. Pics when it's set up please! __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

05/21/2018, 08:02 PM	#5
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Looks cool, clean! __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

05/22/2018, 04:57 AM	#6
RobZilla04 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: St. Augustine, FL Posts: 1,857	Nice __________________ 90g Mixed Reef

05/21/2018, 03:03 PM	#4
bekate Registered Member Join Date: May 2018 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 15	Looks very stable. Great work! Post photos when it's all done with the tank on it

05/22/2018, 08:47 AM	#7
Apotack Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New York Posts: 297	Very nice __________________ Adam Current Tank Info: 125gal

05/22/2018, 12:06 PM	#8
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	Got a little more work on the stand done. Finding time to get into the garage during the week is always a challenge. Add on to that that I had to mow the lawn last night, and I was really pressed to get much done. I did, however get the doors roughed in: Need to do some final fitting and mount all the hardware. Then I can start staining.

05/23/2018, 06:28 AM	#9
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	Spent about 3 hours last night fitting the doors into place. I used the penny method and a lot of hand tools. Trying to take 1/32" off with a table saw was pretty interesting. Tools used: Fitting the gaps: With all the hardware: After the last picture was taken, I had to remove all the hardware and run the doors through the jointer set at an angle to put a small bevel on the inside corner of each door so they won't hit when opening and closing the doors. I think I did 3 passes at 10º. Only thing left is final sanding, staining, and poly. I bought a new color of stain I want to try out, but I'll probably do a few test pieces of different colors to see which one I really want to use. I haven't decided if I'll brush or spray the poly. I'm leaning towards spraying it.

05/23/2018, 08:17 AM	#10
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Spraying will come out cleanest. I usually will roll or brush 2 coats, sanding between coats, and my final 3rd pass will be a spray on, that way good penetration w/out any brush or roller marks. Looks good! __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

05/23/2018, 08:54 AM	#11
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	Question on the feet. What should I put on the bottom of the legs? It sits pretty level, but I don't like the idea of the wood sitting direct on the ground (not sure why). It's going to be sitting on a tiled floor.

05/23/2018, 09:01 AM	#12
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	I suppose it would be nice to have something like the vinyl pads to both buffer at floor and also protect end grain from any moisture __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

05/23/2018, 09:53 AM	#13
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	I did a bunch of searching and settled on these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I want to say I used these once before on something else I built.

05/23/2018, 09:56 AM	#14
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Looks perfect __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

05/25/2018, 06:14 AM	#15
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	Time to pick a color. My wife likes the one on the far left. I really like the second from the right. My kids and I picked out the second from the left last weekend, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of it now that it's on a test piece. The weird thing is, I don't own a lot of stains (just the 4 actually), and I can remember which piece I bought each color for. For the life of me, I can't remember when/why I bought the light colored one. Either way... we'll probably end up going with the light colored one. I'll put some poly on the top two test pieces and get confirmation from the wife which one to go with.

05/25/2018, 07:20 AM	#16
Smokey Stover Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Largo, Florida Posts: 361	Maybe try just a coat of clear on a sample. With Red Oak all the variations come out and can be kind of interesting.

05/25/2018, 07:39 AM	#18
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Clear will make grain pop and show color best. I do like the redish tones best myself, so 2nd from right, and far right looks more like espresso which is another fav, but in the end it's eye of beholder, and I always advise matching to home decor when possible __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

05/25/2018, 08:24 AM	#19
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	I am using water based polycrylic. My understanding is it tends to 'color' the wood less than the lacquer based varnishes do. We'll see after I get the test colors on. There's no other wood in the room that this is going in, so no need to match it to another wood color. Our furniture tastes are all over the place. I enjoy the arts & crafts style stuff and tend to build things that somewhat resemble that (cleaner lines, some trim work), although my joinery skills aren't there for the full through mortises and other aspects of the design. Our bedroom furniture is more rustic looking with wrought-iron hardware. Our dining room is somewhat more modern looking.

05/25/2018, 10:08 PM	#20
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	Test colors went well. After seeing it with the clear coats, we decided to go with the Red Mahogany stain. Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

05/27/2018, 02:17 PM	#21
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	All done. Tanks moved. Stand is nice and stable. All power cables are hidden in the stand and I ran a flexible conduit up the back of one of the legs so it hides them all.

05/28/2018, 06:32 AM	#22
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	Nice job. It turned out very well. I especially like the plastic plants __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

05/28/2018, 08:53 AM	#23
Apotack Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New York Posts: 297	Really nice __________________ Adam Current Tank Info: 125gal

05/28/2018, 09:32 AM	#24
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Can't see any pics?? __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

05/28/2018, 09:52 AM	#25
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	That does look really nice! __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD