DIY 75 Gal Oak Stand - Building Log

[sharkbait]

Hi folks, I'm going to build a solid oak aquarium stand for my new 75 gal aquarium. This is the start of my building log, where I will share pictures of my progress with you. Feel free to ask any questions or offer any feedback you might have. I expect that this project will take me 2 months to complete. Tonight I'm starting to cut the wood, so no pictures yet. Instead, I've included a link to the plans I drew up.

http://sawdust.servebeer.com/aquarium/DIY-stand/75g_stand_plans.pdf

 

[fishfreek]

A Granite top? How heavy is that top going to be? Is that gonna cost a load of $ aswell? After all most of the top is going to be covered and you will never see it.

IMO you could save alot of money by just framing the stand so the tank sits on top and you maybe have a lip that goes around the tank so it looks like the tank sits inside the stand by a few inches. There is no real need to support the very middle of the underside of the tank. Just along all four sides.

 

[Biggen]

Cool drawings. What program did you use?

This is a glass tank I assume? If so, I second FF advise about not having to worry about supporting the middle as long as all sides are taken care of well.

 

[ohio reefer]

hey take a look at mine this is what i built for my 120gal. only cost $150 bucks.

 

[sharkbait]

fishfreek: Thanks for your thoughts. The top is probably going to be Corian or Silestone rather than real granite. It will still weigh in a little over 100lbs. Thats nothing compared to the weight of the stand or the aquarium. You will be able to see the edge and about a 1" wide band around the top.

I understand that glass aquariums don't need support in the middle. I am planning for the future, when I may decide to get rid of the aquarium. If I do, I'll still be left with a quality piece of furniture with a nice top. Saving money was not a primary concern here, although this will be much cheaper than buying a comparable quality piece of furniture.

Biggen: Those drawings were done in DeltaCad. It is a low-cost, basic CAD program. The more I use it, the more I like it.
http://www.dcad.com/
I know I don't need the top. My wife and I just like the way it will look.

Ohio reefer: Thanks for showing your stand. It looks very nice and I bet it was built very well. When I was in college, I built two stands using oak veneer plywood for the back and sides. That is another cost-saving option for the more dollar-conscious Aquarist.

This will be my 6th large woodworking project. I like to keep challenging myself, so I chose this more complex design. Woodworking is a hobby I also enjoy, so this is a labor of love.

 

[yaksplat]

What kind of wood are you using? I'd go with mahogany and wenge

Jim

 

[yaksplat]

duh...i should have read the title, "75 gal OAK stand"...... well, good luck

If you have any woodworking questions, feel free to ask.

Jim

 

[sharkbait]

What kind of wood are you using? I'd go with mahogany and wenge

Jim

Wenge? Thats some very pretty wood, but it can cost over $40 per bf. It is also supposed to be easy to bend. A veneer would be easier on the wallet, but I don't like veneer in wet environments. Thanks for the suggestion. It might be nice on something smaller.

Mahogany would also be beautiful. However, it too is relatively easy to bend. That is definitely not a good thing in an aquarium stand.

I chose Oak because of its structural properties, because I like the way it looks, and because it matches our other furniture. By using Oak I can get away with not using 2x4 framing ala GARF.

Here's the first pic. Its just a pile of wood right now

 

[sharkbait]

It's starting to look less like a pile of wood now. Here are the 2 end panels. They are just dry-fitted here as a test. I still need to do some sanding before I glue them up.

 

[yaksplat]

looking good

 

[sharkbait]

Here's another small progress update. These pics are the of the face frame and the back. The face frame is half-lapped for strength. I think I used every clamp I own on this one! The back is frame and panel construction. It looks so good I might have to find a place to use the tank as a room divider

 

[BillyZ]

coming together beautifully.

 

[GrndHog]

Your quite a craftsman!

 

[sharkbait]

Thanks for the comments. I didn't have much time this weekend for the aquarium stand project. The weather was perfect for painting, so we worked on the house all weeekend. In the time I did have, I assembled the four sides and installed the bottom. The next step will be making the drawers, followed by the doors, then moldings and trim. On the rear view, you can see that the romoveable center panel is out so that plumbing can get inside to a filter.

 

[BillyZ]

that's going to be beautiful when it's done. What kind of finish will you be putting on it? Any stain or just going to poly and leave the natural oak color?

 

[sharkbait]

I will be staining with Minwax Golden Oak oil stain and following up with Minwax Polyurethane Clear Semi-gloss. This stand will be set up in our great room, where I have some other custom pieces. So, I am aiming to match the style and color of the existing pieces.

The natural oak color is beautiful with the Minwax poly. It adds a golden tone to the wood unlike my other favorite brand (Deft), which is perfectly clear. I built a solid oak hope chest with cedar lining a few years ago. The natural color looked great.

 

[sharkbait]

I've been working on the drawers the past couple evenings. Here is the first drawer! It still needs the oak front, but you get the idea.

 

[BillyZ]

Damn you people and your, "workshops" you really know how to make a guy jelous!!

Very nice work. I made a dovetail once. And I did it by hand too! Too bad it wasn't attached to anything. I did get an "A" on it though

 

[IMPERATORFAN]

I'm don't know a thing about wood-working terminology ... what is "half-lapped" and "panel construction" mean.

I'm planning on building a stand myself. Will using oak plywood make any difference in the strength of the stand? Also, what are you using to connect the joints (wood glue, nails?)?

 

[sharkbait]

I'm don't know a thing about wood-working terminology ... what is "half-lapped"...

Half lapping is a way of joining boards together where you cut half the thickness off of one board, then cut half the thickness off the mating piece. The two pieces then fit together sort of like "Lincoln Logs". These were done on a table saw. Using a router or radial arm saw would be more accurate.

Click on this pic to zoom in and you can see the half lap joints.

... and "panel construction" mean.

Frame and Panel construction is similar to the construction of fine kitchen cabinet doors. The frame is made of 2 stiles (the vertical frame pieces) and 2 rails (the horizontal frame pieces). The panel is the center piece. The stiles and rails interlock and hold the panel captive inside. Take a look back at the pictures of the sides and back and you'll see what I mean.

I'm planning on building a stand myself. Will using oak plywood make any difference in the strength of the stand?

Plywood will not be as strong as solid oak. I have built two smaller stands (45g and 29g) using oak plywood for 3 of the sides and a solid oak face frame (made like this cabinet's face frame). As long as you keep the pieces square and your joints tight, it will be very strong. I don't have experience with plywood on larger tanks.

Also, what are you using to connect the joints (wood glue, nails?)?

On this cabinet, there are no nails. I have taken special care to ensure that every joint makes a good mechanical connection. The pieces fit together with no gaps. I glue with wood glue (Titebond or Elmer's Wood Glue) and clamp tightly. Once the glue has cured overnight, the glue joint is actually stronger than the wood itself. On the previous cabinets that I made with plywood, the joints were glued and nailed. Glue alone isn't enough when working with plywood.