Well, I have a few tanks that I learned a lot with. But my 55g had a small tank under it and it sprung a leak messing up my stand. So instead of building a new stand or buying one, I decided that now is the time to build my dream tank.
This time my tank will be outside where OTHER people can enjoy it. Its going to be a 40g breeder that I got at petco for their $1/gal sale.
Since the tank isnt that high, most stands are to low for this stand. So I decided to invest some money into a stand that I will build. Usually im used to building stands and wrapping them with ply and painting it. Easy as pie, but this time I wanted to use quality hardwood and stain it.
I decided against oak and poplar because of the grains. I didnt like the look of oak, in that it looks old (regardless on how you stain it). I decided to use a wood called sapale, its a type of mahogany thats actually used in the newest bmw's lol.
It was not cheap! But im going to build a show tank, why not spend a little more cash and make it look bad ass.
On to the pictures.
PRetty wood
Since this wood was bought at a specialty store, the sides were not even at all. They were a very ruff cut. I wouldnt of been able to put it through the table saw and use the guide because it was so uneven. So I had to jig it and cut it with a table saw to get a straight line.
My pieces cut, most of them. These are the legs. 1x3.5x36''. The burn marks ill sand off later.
Since the stand I was going to make was so high, I decided to put it together and see if I can make it look smaller. I decided to bring the bottom shelf upwards so that porportionally it will look better.
Here are the legs I built, I skeletoned it with 2x2's. I was told it wasnt necessary, but lets face it....im not a pro at wood. it helped me make a corner. Everything is glued and screwed.
Joined the 2 sides together. I also played with the horizontal hardwood pieces. The angle metal brackets you see was to help me hold the stand in place while I was gluing it. I may remove them later.
Here is the bottom of a leg. I used 2'' self drilling screws. I really want to go longer but 2.5'' is to long, and its hard as heck to find 2 1/4'' screws
My initial plan for the sides. But I think for the horizontal pieces I will trim them down (thickness wise) so that they are a little thinner than the legs. Ill do this for the front as well.
This is a dry fit of the horizontal hardwood.
For the sides im planning to try and inlay with some black or some neoprene fabric. I seen it done on entertainment stands, so we will see how it looks.
As for the doors, im building them, but making both doors one solid piece. This way when I work on my tank I can remove the doors completly.
What you guys think?
