New Fully Custom Double Stacked 4x2x2

[Claudiusx]

Ok confession time. You can see where I was at with my last update. Well I spent the last week tearing out all the fake rock structure.

It really was just way too big of an undertaking to do 2 full size enclosures with completely custom an handmade rock structures built in. It was taking me too long, and it got to the point where the amount of work I put into it, and the amount of work I still had to go on the rock structures was really killing my motivation to work on it.
So, I realized this is what's been making me not progress on the project, so I spent then next 4 days or so ripping it all out. It wouldn't have taken so long if I just used foam sheets, but since I used spray in foam also it acted as a glue of sorts and bonded to the wood. So, lots of demo and sanding later, and I'm back to a blank canvas.

I spray another coat of poly over the interior just to beef up anything I might have lost while sanding, and now I feel that this project is manageable again. And boy was it!

Spent a good 3 hours working on it last night. Accomplished more than I did in the last 3 months lol!

So I had decided awhile back that the tracks for my glass would be cut into the wood just like my previous designs, as opposed to buying a track for them to slide in. In my previous designs I just had 1 track, so the glass would butt together. And on the outside edge of the tank, the glass could pass all the way by. Sorry if that's hard to explain if you're not picturing it.

That's the design I've always used. It's the simplest in my opinion. Allows the glass to be completely removed. And I figured it looked cleaner as the glass was all on the same plane. That wasn't really going to work for this design though.

So I took a chance and cut two groves into the ply. Hopefully this holds up over time and doesn't end up pinching together. But time will tell. And experience is a good speaker.. lol.

The bottom tracks were cut maybe 3/8ths or so deep ( I didn't measure I just eyeballed something that looked decent) and the top tracks were cut about an inch and a quarter deep. The spacing allows enough room for the glass to be removed by lifting the glass higher into the top track, which exposes the bottom glass. Much like screens for your windows work at home.

Here is the face frame all completed. Don't judge me. It's a workshop, I need to clean it! LOL And there is still bits of foam hanging around from this project lol

Anyways, I needed a good way to connecting that above picture, to this:

So out comes the kreg jig. I've never used the... uh... "mobile?" version of it. I always have used the main unit to cut my pocket holes. But, hard to do that in this case now. If I would have planned ahead for this, I could have. But, thats part of the beauty of this particular kreg jig. I can remove it from the base and use it with a clamp on boards I wouldn't normally be able to use on the jig.

The pocket holes will allow me to secure the face frame to the rest of the structure. I would typically use glue also, but I have a slight concern over the tracks failing (especially the top ones since I cut them so deep to allow for the removal of the glass) so this gives me the option in the future to remove the face frame and redo it. It still won't be easy, but if I glued it and it failed, the whole enclosure pretty much would be ruined. Sure.. everything is fixable, but this is just a safe guard and the pocket screws actually hold up very well without glue.

Once all the pocket holes were drilled, the face could be attached.

I present to you, actual progress!

Fitting in the glass to make sure it all works and my cuts were parallel...

Hard to see but the glass is in. You can just see the reflection it makes.
The glass also overlaps a bit more than I wanted. I MIGHT try to cut the glass and make them close to flush, or at least a smaller overhang, but we will see.

Pictures of the glass in the tracks

Note how scratched up the floor is now. That spray foam is as good as glue LOL. Luckily that won't be visible due to substrate.

Now what needs to be done is lighting needs to be mounted. I'm probably going to wire everything into an electric box that I mount on the side of the back of the enclosure (or underneath now that I think about it... I'm going to be building a stand too for it.) that way everything can go to one point, and be controlled by timers and what not at one central location. Also so I can run it all off of one plug lol. The dragon room is running out of plug real estate.

I need to spray a bit more sealer on the interior, mainly the interior face of the face frame I built last night.

I need to fill the pocket holes on the inside of the tank.

And lastly I need to finish oil the exterior maple and mount the vents over the holes I've cut.

Then it will be done! I'm thinking this week or next week I'll have it finished!

And lastly, I'm contemplating painting the inside... any thoughts or opinions?

-Brandon

 

[MrSpectrum]

I like it! I didn't know about this thread until this update (or I missed it--there's a lot on this site to take in... )

We've made some different design choices, but that's what makes the world go 'round... As this is my first enclosure, I am using plastic glides--I wasn't sure how/if the glass would slide smoothly in wooden grooves, but it seems you've got that conquered.

Your joinery looks very professional. I'm countersinking my screws, but--like you--due to careful planning, very few are visible from the front & sides. I'm using rounded button plugs to cover the few exposed countersinks, and they'll be finished over when the exterior is finished.. That's an interesting squaring clamp; I don't have one of those. I'll probably square things up the hard way (I've already invested way more in tools for this project than budgeted--had to buy a new electric drill, hole saw & arbor, more... :bleick: )

The example pic--though I've never seen it before--looks very similar to what I'm doing with the recessed ceiling lights & overhead compartment for the fixtures, wiring, & ventilation. Whoever built it is an artist (talking about the landscaping).

It's amusing that you're doing an up & down, and I was considering a side-by-side. :lol: It's raining today, or I'd be out sealing & painting the rest of my boards before assembly. I agree cutting them ahead is a better way.

That's too bad you had to spend all that time ripping out what you had spent so much time putting in (Did I say that right? :? ) That's partly why I was concerned with attaching the backsplash tiles directly to my birch plywood. (Still thinking on that one... :silent: ) I (literally) just printed off a little pattern/jig on an index card to help me line up tiles for a curved stair. Haven't tried it yet.

I'm a little amazed you drew the whole thing out on graph paper! I used to work exclusively on vellum with T-square & lead holders (I may have been the last draftsperson in N. America to switch over to a drawing utility ) Now I find it difficult to go back, though I can--still have all my old drafting equip.

You took a picture of your boards, eh? :laughing6: I thought about doing that, then didn't. I probably still could. Decisions, decisions...

Again, nice work!

 

[Claudiusx]

So far the groves in tombos tank have held up great. But it's only 1 grove so the wood is stronger, and they are shallower which also helps their strength. This one is a shot in the dark.

Its partially because the kerf on my table saw is literally the perfect width for the glass I buy. And partially because I didnt want to go searching for plastic or aluminum tracks. It would change my dimensions and I like the clean look without them. So basically I was too lazy lol. But hey its like Bill Gates said, he'd hire a lazy person to do a task as lazy people try to find the quickest easiest way to do something... :laughing6:

In regards to the pocket holes, of course I have them interior so they aren't visible form the outside, but I wasnt concerned with filling them at first because they were going to be hidden by the rock structures.
Now I need to fill them. At least the ones going up the sides as they will be visible in the tank. So i can either buy plugs, or fill with filler I have. My filler matches decently to the wood, but not perfect. That's why I'm contemplating painting the interior now. I'm just not sure what I'll do so I'm thinking it over.

I highly suggest getting something decent to help you join square. Of course your first tool for that is square straight cuts, but come on, neither of us have cabinet maker grade tolerances or equipment lol. Nothing is worse than putting things together and finding out things are off.

If the square clamp you are referring to is that green thing in the early pics, ingot it at harbor freight for like 9 bucks lol. So worth it. That and a good square to verify. They are musts in my opinion.

One of my favorite things about my projects is finding out I need a new tool. "Babe, I have to get this! If I dont have this I cant even finish this project then all that money we spent on it already will go to waste!"........ :laughing6:
Luckily at this point I have most everything I need in my shop. There are only 2 tools left I really want but they aren't super cheap lol.

Thanks for the compliment

-Brandon

 

[MrSpectrum]

But hey its like Bill Gates said, he'd hire a lazy person to do a task as lazy people try to find the quickest easiest way to do something... :laughing6:

He also (allegedly) said, "640K ought to be enough for anybody." :lol:

I highly suggest getting something decent to help you join square. Of course your first tool for that is square straight cuts, but come on, neither of us have cabinet maker grade tolerances or equipment lol.

Umm... I did have a cabinet maker do my cuts for me. He's done work for me before, and he's excellent. I believe he also gave me a deal on the price of the wood. There's only one lumber dealer in this area that stocks it, and I got the cut pieces for less than the lumber dealer charges for just the sheets.

I do have a decent framing square; it was my dad's, but I've always taken care of it, and it's still true. That's what I meant by, "the hard way". :wink:

One of my favorite things about my projects is finding out I need a new tool. "Babe, I have to get this! If I dont have this I cant even finish this project then all that money we spent on it already will go to waste!"........ :laughing6:

Yeah, I did that in my 20s, 30s, 40s, a bit less in my 50s, and now it's getting harder to justify. Not as "handy" or energetic as I used to be... C'est la vie! :roll:

 

[Claudiusx]

I am about 90% sure I'm going to paint the interior now. I'll go to the store today and see what I can find. If I find something I like I'm doing it. That's why I'm only 90% sure. The other 10% is incase I don't find what I want at the big orange box lol.

In the meantime, I finally have a day off. So i'm gonna eat, then get to filling a dang lot of pocket holes. Gonna use wood will instead of gluing plugs in. Figured that would be easier to remove in the future If I have to redo the tracks.

And now that I think of it, if the tracks end up failing, I am probably going to just get aluminium or plastic tracks, attach them on top of the current tracks, and cut my glass to fit. Dang, should have glued that face frame after all.

Maybe I will glue in plugs then.... Will be more permanent.

Sorry I'm thinking out loud here lol.

Anyways goals for today, go to the orange store, if plugs are cheap enough, I'll get those. I'll find paint. I'll buy one more can of spray sealer. And I will find some finishing oil for the maple exterior. While all that is doing it's thing I'm going to have to start designing the base for this unit. I already know I want it to be 3 feet tall, making the whole piece 7'. I feel this is a good height (at least for me) to see into both tanks pretty easily.

-Brandon

 

[MrSpectrum]

Umm.. Aren't your pocket holes elliptical? I don't know if they make plugs for those--maybe they do. :dontknow:
IME, plugs are easier to remove than filler, but then I don't usually glue them in--they friction fit pretty good, and unless they're going to get bumped or rubbed against a lot, that's enough. If you do glue them, I'd use something weaker than carpenters glue... just in case. :wink:

You shouldn't have any trouble finding paint--they'll mix any color you want in any brand/finish they carry. I grabbed a bunch of near-sky-blue chip cards, went out in the parking lot, and held each one up against the clear blue sky until I found the closest match (and it was pretty darn close), then went inside and they mixed me up a quart.

Sorry I'm thinking out loud here lol.

No worries--I do it all the time. :roll:

 

[Claudiusx]

The kreg system I uses has a whole line of things. They make plugs for the pocket holes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y32NHxN4vDw

IME the plugs they show in the vid don't actually stick out that far, and I just end up sanding them down flush and they are good to go.

You shouldn't have any trouble finding paint--they'll mix any color you want in any brand/finish they carry.

Excuse me sir but I am a sprayer! I'm buying cans of aerosol lol! I honestly don't really enjoy brushing anything on, paint, sealer, etc lol. Although I will get a wipe on finish for the exterior, that's my only exception.
Spraying is just so much quicker IMO.

I'm either going with a white or a grey. Not sure which but I'm leaning towards white.

-Brandon

 

[MrSpectrum]

The kreg system I uses has a whole line of things. They make plugs for the pocket holes

Wow, that looks like a lot of work! :bleick:
Glad I got the button plugs--they just pop right in--no futzin' around.

Excuse me sir but I am a sprayer!....Spraying is just so much quicker IMO.

Yeah, when I've got a booth to work in (I don't at the moment, but my cabinetmaker does).
Next to that I'd rather roll, but to each their own.

What, do you buy aerosol cans by the case? Hope they're eco-friendly. :roll:

I think there are more good reasons to go with white, but you've probably already gone (I sorta took a nap... :sleepy2: )

 

[Claudiusx]

The kreg system I uses has a whole line of things. They make plugs for the pocket holes

Wow, that looks like a lot of work! :bleick:
Glad I got the button plugs--they just pop right in--no futzin' around.

True it is a bit more work but pocket holes in and of themselves are a much stronger fastening method than simply screwing straight through. And typically they aren't visible (you'd typically use it on the underside of furniture). Look them up if you're bored and have time. They are a great fastening method.

What, do you buy aerosol cans by the case? Hope they're eco-friendly.

Sir this is California. We aren't allowed to have anything fun. It's all eco friendly :laughing6:

I did end up going with white though.

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

Oh and I also went with danish oil. Surprisingly I've never used it before but I saw a couple other people who work with maple tend to like it. I'll test it out on some scraps first to make sure.

-Brandon

 

[MrSpectrum]

Oh and I also went with danish oil. Surprisingly I've never used it before

I have, and it was on maple. Lotsa coats, and sanding with fine steel wool between. Maybe that's changed too; it was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... :lol:

Lately the only oil finish I've used is tung oil on my cane. Wipe on lotsa coats, but no sanding!

 

[MrSpectrum]

Sir this is California. We aren't allowed to have anything fun. It's all eco friendly :laughing6:

Sorry... in all the excitement I forgot myself for a moment. :roll:

 

[Claudiusx]

Psh... Decided to paint the old fashioned stone age way LOL
I figured since I already sealed the wood that it wouldn't take so much paint. I was wrong and I underestimated just how much. Since I was using aerosol cans at first, it would have taken too many. Cheaper to just buy a gallon of paint so I did. On the flip side at least I have a full can of white spray paint to use on another project now lol.

Got about 2 coats of paint on. Going to cut the holes I need for the wiring to run today, and then put one last coat of paint. After that I can remove the masking tape, and start the danish oil on the exterior.

Also found some nice rocks in my yard yesterday (maybe rediscovered is the right word) that I will be using in my tanks.

I still need to draw up a plan for the stand also. I'm thinking just a base made of 2by4s wrapped in ply. I don't have enough maple left over for that though so I might just make it more of a "table" than a stand. But we will see.

-Brandon

 

[MrSpectrum]

Psh... Decided to paint the old fashioned stone age way LOL
....
Also found some nice rocks in my yard yesterday (maybe rediscovered is the right word) that I will be using in my tanks.

Do they allow rocks in Cali‽ :headbang:

 

[Claudiusx]

For now..... but dont jynx it :laughing6:
Picked up the paint I needed today but worked 12 hours (fine 11 but 12 sounds cooler) so I didnt get to it. Will hopefully tomorrow. The last light I needed came for the enclosures today too so at this point I have everything I need besides a stand made.

-Brandon