How to drill Oval shaped holes on aquarium stand

I would say drill two large holes spaced apart the distance you need, then jigsaw from the bottom of the first hole to the bottom of the second hole. Then repeat on the top of the holes.

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The Big Buddha said:

I would say drill two large holes spaced apart the distance you need, then jigsaw from the bottom of the first hole to the bottom of the second hole. Then repeat on the top of the holes.

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That works, so does a router/dremel and a steady hand

theatermusic87 said:

That works, so does a router/dremel and a steady hand

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I have a router, But i am comfortable with just flush trim bit

I have the other bits that came with the bundle, but i have never used them.

Small holes do look nice but they have a downside when I use them. I tend to have several items that produce heat under the stand and I want that heat to move out the back so I do not enclose it in most cases. A filter drawing 30 watts of power is much the same as a full time 30 watt heater. Add in a few power supplies and other items and you can have more heat than you want setting under the tank full time.

The Big Buddha said:

I would say drill two large holes spaced apart the distance you need, then jigsaw from the bottom of the first hole to the bottom of the second hole. Then repeat on the top of the holes.

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Click to expand...

This is about the easiest and quickest way.

I would use a Forstener bit to avoid tear out when drilling and sandwich a sacrificial piece of wood to the cabinet for the sawing part. Or use a fine tooth blade and put tape on the cut line to reduce tear out there. Or go old school and use a coping saw.

If I had to cut multiples I would make a template to use with a flush trim router after the hole was roughed out.

saty said:

I am building a DIY ADA style stand.
I dont know how to drill Oval shaped holes on the sides like the one shown in the pic below for filter tubing.

I can use jigsaw and cut a rectangle slot, but i felt oval shape would look nice.

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Unrelated question... What kind of clamp/hanger is that you are using to mount your reactor? I'm about to install a reactor this weekend and need something to hold it vertical.

That looks like a standard router template. You can also easily make a template to your own specifications from MDF: cut the holes with an appropriately sized hole saw, then jigsaw the straight edges.