Stand carpentry/ finishing help

[Johnd651]

Planning for my diy wood stand, and working on a cut list, and I ran into a finishing problem/question. I want to create a shelf around the outside of the tank so the plan was to cut the 3/4" top piece of plywood 2" bigger (or more) to create the lip. But how do I finish it off? Route the edge (if bigger then 2")?

Or I was thinking I would like to hide the bottom pane of glass, so possibly create a layer of wood and cove to finish it. (Sketch below) I would use one piece of cove to hide the edge of the 1/2" skin plywood and another piece of cove to cover the 3/4" top plywood edge, and then a piece of 1x4 on top.

Am I overthinking this?

 

[4tanks]

Planning for my diy wood stand, and working on a cut list, and I ran into a finishing problem/question. I want to create a shelf around the outside of the tank so the plan was to cut the 3/4" top piece of plywood 2" bigger (or more) to create the lip. But how do I finish it off? Route the edge (if bigger then 2")?

Or I was thinking I would like to hide the bottom pane of glass, so possibly create a layer of wood and cove to finish it. (Sketch below) I would use one piece of cove to hide the edge of the 1/2" skin plywood and another piece of cove to cover the 3/4" top plywood edge, and then a piece of 1x4 on top.

Am I overthinking this?

 

[4tanks]

Personally I would finish like this with a solid bull nose I'm a joiner so ask away

 

[Johnd651]

Personally I would finish like this with a solid bull nose I'm a joiner so ask away

Easier...I like it. They make a 1.5in bullnose I can buy at big box stores?

 

[4tanks]

Easier...I like it. They make a 1.5in bullnose I can buy at big box stores?

Yes much better finish and looks nice and chunky rather than a thinner edge feel free to message if you get any trouble

 

[Johnd651]

Yes much better finish and looks nice and chunky rather than a thinner edge feel free to message if you get any trouble

Thanks. I am also open to other finishing ideas, never thought of the bullnose.

 

[Saltyreef]

Heres how i finished my stand. Just framed around it. But i made the stand slightly larger by 1/2" so it sits inside the framing.

 

[Johnd651]

Heres how i finished my stand. Just framed around it. But i made the stand slightly larger by 1/2" so it sits inside the framing.

So is that an additional board and quarter round on the top, just covering the edge and moulding?

 

[Saltyreef]

I just nailed a thin piece of sanded ply onto my frame after i skinned it. No overhang. Then framed the outside in window casing and covered the joint on the inside with the 1/4 round. Everything joined at "substandard" 45° angles lol.

 

[Saltyreef]

Might be a little less phallus looking than this

 

[4tanks]

Johnd651 is wanting to create a shelf all the way around that's the reason for his over hang

 

[Saltyreef]

Johnd651 is wanting to create a shelf all the way around that's the reason for his over hang

It was a joke. I can see this is a great design and more along the lines of what he wanted.

 

[Johnd651]

It was a joke. I can see this is a great design and more along the lines of what he wanted.

I can frame, I am just bad with finished wood. Its all good, I would like to create a shelf, but if i cant, casing/moulding around the top was plan B. I do like the addition of the corner round on the inside though, it is different.

 

[Softhammer]

Do you have a router table? Also I would refrain from the 1/4 round on the inside just as it would trap water, salt creep sand bits of food..Also food for thought, how big of a tank and do you have curious kids? My concern is always someone leaning on ledges like that and potentially toppling a smaller tank. If you don’t have a router setup I’d go find a local hardwood store and have a walk through for ideas. You’ll want to use solid wood for any exposed edges and the may have some nice pre made profiles that could work for you. If that doesn’t work out you could always cap the perimeter with some Lowe’s poplar and then build up a stacked profile under it. And just so you know I’m not pulling this out of my rear.. I made this entire setup in my garage ( I just pulled it out as I was building it..)

All solid maple raised panel doors and faces. Made all the trim pieces and mitered door mounding too

 

[Johnd651]

Do you have a router table? Also I would refrain from the 1/4 round on the inside just as it would trap water, salt creep sand bits of food..Also food for thought, how big of a tank and do you have curious kids? My concern is always someone leaning on ledges like that and potentially toppling a smaller tank. If you don’t have a router setup I’d go find a local hardwood store and have a walk through for ideas. You’ll want to use solid wood for any exposed edges and the may have some nice pre made profiles that could work for you. If that doesn’t work out you could always cap the perimeter with some Lowe’s poplar and then build up a stacked profile under it. And just so you know I’m not pulling this out of my rear.. I made this entire setup in my garage ( I just pulled it out as I was building it..)

All solid maple raised panel doors and faces. Made all the trim pieces and mitered door mounding too

No router yet. Looking at a 60x24 150g, with a 9 month old just starting to crawl. I am restoring our 1886 Victorian, so I am able to do trim work and luckily have a good local lumber yard that has some good stock. I'm just not a pro and had a hard time envisioning how to build a shelf with nice edge. What you built is similar to what I was originally thinking, just more grey/distressed/barn look... since we have a farm.

 

[Johnd651]

This is what I did last April. Complete gut and redo. But like the window sill edges I sanded round vs routing.

 

[Snorkelsteve]

Here is what I did for my stand. I didn’t want to see the black plastic trim around the bottom.

Not sure what’s up with the sideways pictures. New to the forum stuff

 

[Johnd651]

Here is what I did for my stand. I didn’t want to see the black plastic trim around the bottom.

Not sure what’s up with the sideways pictures. New to the forum stuff

So how is that top board secured? Is there plywood under the tank, same size as tank or bigger?

 

[Snorkelsteve]

So how is that top board secured? Is there plywood under the tank, same size as tank or bigger?

My stand is “wrap” for a basic 2x stand. Hope this drawing helps you understand the basics of it. The tank sits on a plywood sheet that is the same size as the tank. Then I used 3/4” sanded hardwood plywood to wrap the 2x stand.

 

[Johnd651]

My stand is “wrap” for a basic 2x stand. Hope this drawing helps you understand the basics of it. The tank sits on a plywood sheet that is the same size as the tank. Then I used 3/4” sanded hardwood plywood to wrap the 2x stand.

Very helpful. I was not sure that plywood nailed to plywood would hold like that. But I do see you used 3/4 so I guess more nailing surface area.