Wood for tank stand building
- Thread starter JEAE21
- Start date
it's available at any home improvement place and is usually around $26.00 to $30.00 per 4 x 8 sheet...More expencive than common building grade...but this can be used to build boats out of...
5 ply is junk IMO...7 is a little better...but 13 ply voidless...(no gaps in any of the layers) is by far the strongest.
5 ply is junk IMO...7 is a little better...but 13 ply voidless...(no gaps in any of the layers) is by far the strongest.
Yup, thats a simple but very strong method. I think marine grade ply is an overkill, it's the highest quality ply, both sides defect free and minimal internal voids. Great if you are actually building a boat,but you pay for the privilage. Normal furniture grade ply should have one good face, the other one is inside the cabinet so it doesn't really matter.
What you do is frame up the stand with the 4x2s then clad the top, back and sides with ply. This braces the 4x2s so the stand cant fold up under the weight. Once you have the structural part done you can add some doors and trim to make it look nicer, depending on your woodworking skills.
4x2s will vary in quality and wood species depending on what part of the world you live in. I believe in the States it may be Spruce, Pine or Fir (SPF). Doesn't really matter in this application, they all have similar properties. Also look at the individual boards, if they have a lot of knots or contain the pith of the tree (look at the end of the board) they are likely to be unstable. So be picky about which ones you use.
Finish the whole thing with a good waterproof finish, spar varnish or polyurethane and it will be waterproof. You are using the same materials as your house is made of, so it's going to last at least that long
Cheers
Ian
Ianab;1210945; said:Yup, thats a simple but very strong method. I think marine grade ply is an overkill, it's the highest quality ply, both sides defect free and minimal internal voids. Great if you are actually building a boat,but you pay for the privilage. Normal furniture grade ply should have one good face, the other one is inside the cabinet so it doesn't really matter.
What you do is frame up the stand with the 4x2s then clad the top, back and sides with ply. This braces the 4x2s so the stand cant fold up under the weight. Once you have the structural part done you can add some doors and trim to make it look nicer, depending on your woodworking skills.
4x2s will vary in quality and wood species depending on what part of the world you live in. I believe in the States it may be Spruce, Pine or Fir (SPF). Doesn't really matter in this application, they all have similar properties. Also look at the individual boards, if they have a lot of knots or contain the pith of the tree (look at the end of the board) they are likely to be unstable. So be picky about which ones you use.
Finish the whole thing with a good waterproof finish, spar varnish or polyurethane and it will be waterproof. You are using the same materials as your house is made of, so it's going to last at least that long
Cheers
Ian
thanks ian; do you know how long it'll take for the waterproof basin to dry out? a few hours or a few days?
Thats the number of layers of wood in the ply. Look at the edge and you will see the layers glued together. The grain runs in alternate directions in each layer, thats why it's so strong. Better quality ply generally has more layers.
How big is your tank?
A small tank, then 4 uprights will be fine, a monster tank will need more.. 6, 8, 10?
Generally polyurethane takes 12-24 hours to cure, and you will probably want 3 coats. So allow 3 days to finish it. Give it a quick sand with a fine grit sandpaper between each coat and you will get a much better finish.
Cheers
Ian