92 gallon stand and canopy

[hobogato]

i am building this for scuba steve, but thought it would be an interesting one to do a "how i built it" thread on.

since it is a quarter circle, it is built a bit differently than a normal rectangular stand. the first thing i had to do was draw out and cut the top and bottom of the stand and the top of the canopy
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04943.jpg

notice, two of them are 1/4" smaller in the front arc and 1/2" smaller on the sides - that is to accommodate the skin that will be on the outside of them. the top of the stand does not fit inside the side and front skin so it is the exact size of the bottom of the tank. the extra arc is for the top of the canopy door - the rest of the top of the canopy will be recessed 2 3/4" to house the ballasts.

next, the frame that will go under the bottom and under the top.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04944.jpg

notice, i will have to go back and cut the arc in the frame after i have laminated the two 1x12s that i will use for the front of the frame

this pic shows the laminating process for those front pieces
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04945.jpg

more to come soon.....

[scuba_steveo]

Great start!!!! Hurry up already!!! No, wait, take your time....

[dannyv]

Sweet!

Can't wait to see it finished...

[sharkboy]

what about the sailboat?

[Jarob]

haha Ace how many projects do you have going on?!

[hobogato]

time for a lunch break :)

got the vertical frame pieces cut and the sides for the stand and canopy cut.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04946.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04948.jpg

[mdavis735]

i am excited to see how this turns out.i have a 92 gallon corner tank identical to the one that stand is for.i have been considering building a custom stand and canopy.i cant wait to see how it turns out.

[hobogato]

follow along closely, i plan on including measurements as well so anyone could use this thread to build his/her own. as always, if you have any questions feel free to ask and i will do my best to help you out.

[subsailor]

Wow ! great thread Ace! I wish I had half of your DIY skill. LOL

[LoneStar]

Good to see Scuba-Stevo back in the game!

[hobogato]

man, it is starting to get hot already!

got the front frame pieces marked and cut to size - notice, i used the bottom plywood to mark both because the frame will go inside the skin on the top an bottom - the top plywood cover will be over the side and front skin.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04949.jpg

notice, i have a small scrap of 1/2" plywood next to the sides of the one on the right. that is the top frame and i will use that scrap to line up the top cover so it will be flush with the outside skin when everything is assembled
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04951.jpg

before assembling the top and bottom frame and covers, i used one of the frame pieces to trace out the remaining arcs i will cut later
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04950.jpg

here they are assembled - notice on the top one (right) i temporarily nailed the scrap wood spacer on the side to keep it in place while lining everything up.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04952.jpg

hopefully i will get a lot more done today.....

[hobogato]

ok, time for a lunch break.

while waiting for the bottom and top frames to set, i cut the bevel on one end of each piece of wood that will be used for the molding. i also planed down the pieces that will be used for the front arc. the original lumber was 3/4" thick and not bendable, so i planed them down to 3/8" thick and will laminate two pieces together on the stand as i bend them to the correct shape. that will probably be the hardest part of the entire stand.

notice, there are two stacks of short boards - four each for the sides and one stack of 8 longer boards that will fit to the front arc
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04953.jpg

the next step was to assemble the frame and sides. this pic shows the piece of scrap ply that i temporarily nailed to the front so i could be sure to line up the sides in the proper position.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04955.jpg

here is the assembled stand minus the two horizontal 1x12 braces that i still have to cut to the correct shape and the front skin and doors
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04956.jpg

will get back to work after lunch on the rest of the bracing and the front skin.

[dannyv]

It's coming along nicely Ace! What is the height of this stand?

[cpreefguy]

^^^ I was about o ask the same thing! Looks great so far! Definitely a tricky build.
But, who is scuba steve o ?

[scuba_steveo]

^^^ NO OFF TOPIC POST PLEASE!!!!! Can we get an admin to delete the above post???? lol

[sharkboy]

^^^ I was about o ask the same thing! Looks great so far! Definitely a tricky build.
But, who is scuba steve o ?
Just some guy who used to have a so..so tank...I also think he had a tiny clam... :)

[cpreefguy]

Just some guy who used to have a so..so tank...I also think he had a tiny clam... :)
Oh yeah, now I remember. Back to the build :D

[hobogato]

lol - the stand is 39" to the bottom of the tank with another 2" of molding above that to cover the molding of the tank.

afternoon break.

since lunch, i was able to finish the frames for the doors and prefit them and the hinges
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04957.jpg

i just attached the first section of the front - that plywood is not as bendable as i thought it would be. this will have to sit for a couple of hours to make sure the glue holds.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04958.jpg

i also decided to pre-bend the door skins since the door frames arent as robust as the frame of the stand. i slightly dampened each surface of the plywood taking care not to get the edges wet at all and then weighted down the center to get some curve to set.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04959.jpg

this has been a challenging project so far...

[jdjm07]

Nice Work Sir! how long have you being doing this project for?

[hobogato]

thanks, i started it yesterday jose

[jdjm07]

O wow, thats neat and fast! Of course you have to be very creative and intelligent to be able to do that! NICE

[mdavis735]

looking awesome so far ace.i cant wait to do mine.its tearing down and re setting the tank that i dont look forward to.lol

[hobogato]

thanks for the comments

ok, time to take a break for dinner.

since the afternoon break, i accomplished quite a bit.

first, i assembled the back part of the canopy
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04961.jpg

then, i assembled the frame for the front of the canopy
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04960.jpg

next, i attached the front of the canopy to the back with hinges. notice i used a scrap piece of ply on the front corners to make sure everything lined up properly
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04963.jpg

this shows how the canopy will open
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04965.jpg

also got the stand doors skinned and the other side of the front skin on the stand
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04966.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04964.jpg

and just before stopping for dinner, i put the first half of the skin on the front of the canopy
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04967.jpg

[Neptune@gabesfish]

Ace sorry to go off topic but, it looks like steel deer are running loose in your neighborhood..lol

[scuba_steveo]

Looking good....Looking good!

[hobogato]

:lauging: good one!

Ace sorry to go off topic but, it looks like steel deer are running loose in your neighborhood..lol

ok, quitting for the day, but i accomplished what i wanted to.

stand and canopy are ready for finish work and staining tomorrow. attaching those pieces of molding to that curved front was probably the most challenging thing i have built in a long time!

still very rough, but i think it will be very nice when i get finished with it (btw, the stand is up side down in the pic if you were wondering)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/projects/DSC04968.jpg

[scuba_steveo]

I have to tell everyone that I think one of the cooler things is that I had some of the stain left over that we used for all of the cabinets in the house so it should be a perfect match!

Great work Ace, MAAST is truely lucky to have you as a member, I am truely lucky to have you s a friend!

[hobogato]

dont forget you were supposed to let me know the process that was used for the stain/glaze on your cabinets steve

[scuba_steveo]

I cannot get in touch with the painter who did it. I was something like this: sand, stain, sand, stain, sand, stain, sand, gloss. Again, I trust you!

[JimD]

Ace, how much would you charge me to build me a new stand and canopy for my 65? In birch with a dark walnut stain. Id also like to get a quote on a cedar strip canoe like the on pictured... These things are cool! Pm me with the info... Thanks!
http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:U7EtDKaEnS9EFM:http://www.bearcreeklumber.com/images/projects/canoe/canoe_thumb.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bearcreeklumber.com/images/projects/canoe/canoe_thumb.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bearcreeklumber.com/projects/index.html&usg=__Nwj8rWTLCBb3kvK-oqPPNvsJUhs=&h=117&w=293&sz=9&hl=en&start=36&um=1&tbnid=U7EtDKaEnS9EFM:&tbnh=46&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcedar%2Bplank%2Bcanoe%26ndsp%3D20%26h l%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20%26um%3D1)

[hobogato]

oh wow, this got edited quite a bit while i was gone on vacation :lauging:

the following statement of mine should not have been edited out:

I will no longer be posting on this thread or posting any other build threads of things i do for other members.

mods, please lock this thread.

[JimD]

Mods did exacly as per your ok... All off topic posts were removed.

Locked.