DIY Stand.

[Marcom12]

While the stand itself is a fairly well known DIY design, I decided to not put doors on the stand for access to the sump underneath.

Doors have always been an annoyance to me for various reasons..... not shutting tight, sagging, using an open door to push myself up and tweaking it lol :mad: I also find it ends up limiting my access to the under tank area.

So I ended up going with Full sized panels that are fully removable... on all three sides.

While I'm not completely finished with the panels yet, my front panel is tested and it works well. I still need to paint it, maybe, and put some door knobs on it for removal purposes, and some trim.

Essentially what it is, is... an "L" bracket mounted on bottom of stand, and a mating "L" bracket on the panel. Simple enough right? I found i needed to make little ramps on the stand mounted part so it would slip into place.

I am going to add a few magnetic mounts at top to prevent it from leaning out, although so far it doesnt lean out at all. But gravity and all.....

Again, it's not finished yet but the front panel works great.

 

[Oscaror]

While the stand itself is a fairly well known DIY design, I decided to not put doors on the stand for access to the sump underneath.

Doors have always been an annoyance to me for various reasons..... not shutting tight, sagging, using an open door to push myself up and tweaking it lol :mad: I also find it ends up limiting my access to the under tank area.

So I ended up going with Full sized panels that are fully removable... on all three sides.

While I'm not completely finished with the panels yet, my front panel is tested and it works well. I still need to paint it, maybe, and put some door knobs on it for removal purposes, and some trim.

Essentially what it is, is... an "L" bracket mounted on bottom of stand, and a mating "L" bracket on the panel. Simple enough right? I found i needed to make little ramps on the stand mounted part so it would slip into place.

I am going to add a few magnetic mounts at top to prevent it from leaning out, although so far it doesnt lean out at all. But gravity and all.....

Again, it's not finished yet but the front panel works great.

Nice, looks super clean

 

[Marcom12]

Nice, looks super clean

Thanks! I plan on adding corner trim that's attached only to front panel. I'll post updates as I make em.

 

[Michael Lane]

Looks good. Is the cleat only on the bottom?
I did something similar and think it was one of the best decisions I made about the stand. I also tried magnets, but wasn't able to get to work well. I ended up going with some strong velcro and it works great. I also added a couple of positive alignment blocks to make sure the panel always lines back up into the correct position.

 

[Marcom12]

Yes, I only have ,you call it a cleat and I like that term, on the bottom. It holds my panel pretty tight to my stand so a magnet at top will only be precautionary... Maybe it won't do much *shrug* but I can lightly pull it out ward without it. I have not installed it yet so the jury is out

I will have two "pull knobs" to aid in the handling of the main panel...

 

[Marcom12]

Oh, and I placed the "cleats" at the inside edge of the panel so it self centers. I first adjusted one end.... Then made a mark on other side in order to get a good centering.

 

[Marcom12]

Like this...first was cleat... Then second was mark made. If that makes sense...

 

[Erica-Renee]

I like the wood cleats and I have used them a lot in various projects ,
You might be better of using doubled up ply or Re cutting them from the end grain. as they are now they will more then likely split . I have found plywood is better in this situation.

 

[Marcom12]

I like the wood cleats and I have used them a lot in various projects ,
You might be better of using doubled up ply or Re cutting them from the end grain. as they are now they will more then likely split . I have found plywood is better in this situation.

That makes sense.... I definitely would upgrade to something less prone to splitting. This attempt was mostly to see if I liked it and if it worked.

One thing I like about DIY is this process of trying then improving. Thanks for the input

 

[redfishbluefish]

Loving the DIY stuff....nicely done!

 

[Marcom12]

Loving the DIY stuff....nicely done!

Thanks alot of my setup is DIY ... I needed to get it started instead of waiting till I was ready .. as most know, that leads to .... Waiting forever lol.

I think there is great benefit in store bought stuff, but I also think there is great benefit in creating stuff even if it's not perfect...

 

[Fritzhamer]

I’ve always known them as “French Cleats”. You can do a simple 45 degree bevel on plywood. Really cheap, effective, clean and great way to do this. Love the idea of the magnets at the top and cleats at the bottom!

 

[Marcom12]

I’ve always known them as “French Cleats”. You can do a simple 45 degree bevel on plywood. Really cheap, effective, clean and great way to do this. Love the idea of the magnets at the top and cleats at the bottom!

I may try the plywood. These cleats are 45° also...

My question might be, how thick of plywood is readily available. I'm sure any size is technically available.... But at your local Menards or Lowe's?

My cleats are pretty "beefy" I think..... Maybe not...?

 

[Fritzhamer]

The photos you posted are of cleats that are 90 degrees.
The below links shows a 45 degree French Cleat. It’s super easy to make. 5/8” or 3/4” ply would be fine. I’ve even used board wood that was 1x. Just pre-drill the holes that attacking to the doors and cabinets. Counter-sinking the holes wouldn’t be a terrible idea either.
https://goo.gl/images/xJe5xo

 

[Marcom12]

The photos you posted are of cleats that are 90 degrees.
The below links shows a 45 degree French Cleat. It’s super easy to make. 5/8” or 3/4” ply would be fine. I’ve even used board wood that was 1x. Just pre-drill the holes that attacking to the doors and cabinets. Counter-sinking the holes wouldn’t be a terrible idea either.
https://goo.gl/images/xJe5xo

Further up I show the 45° parts. The ones on the panel are 90° as my thinking at the time was after the 45° ramp the 90° would give good holding. I'll repost the combo

 

[Marcom12]

The 90° cleat kinda slides down the 45° one then slips down to fully engaged the 90°part.....

I started with 2 90° cleats but it was so hard to engage them. So I just cut a 45 on the "receiver" side so it could "ramp" into the stand....

2 45's might be better? This seems to work pretty well.... But maybe out of ignorance

 

[Fritzhamer]

Two 45s make a tight fit as there is more contact and it “pulls” the cover tighter by gravity. Although, if it ain’t broke.....

 

[keystoneckp]

I like the cleat idea. Old tank I took the hinges off and used magnet catches to hold the doors on.
Pull handle and the whole door came off and out of the way.
May use this idea on my new stand

 

[Marcom12]

I have been slacking the last two days.... Haven't worked on it.

 

[mindwalkr]

Two 45s make a tight fit as there is more contact and it “pulls” the cover tighter by gravity. Although, if it ain’t broke.....

This design is called a "French Cleat". Google them. You can buy them.