February 16th 05, 11:00 PM
Hey all,
Soon after buying a brand new 65 gallon aquarium (above), I searched
online for about two months for inexpensive, attractive aquarium stand
designs that didn't require fancy woodworking equipment or expertise.
I found several inexpensive designs, but the only ones that appeared
physically sound required tools and woodworking knowledge that I don't
have. Though I don't know much about wood or woodworking, I do have a
decent head for physics.
Most of the other designs seemed to lack a grounding in physics,
leading to risky stands that I considered unsafe or bound to be
short-lived. For example, one widely distributed design involves
weight-bearing 2x4 struts underneath the main body of the tank. The
2x4s butt end-to-side against 2x4s that run the length of the aquarium.
The studs underneath the aquarium are only connected to the lengthwise
studs with four wood screws! Those screws are both load-bearing and
screwed into the end grain of wood - they could shear or pull free at
any time! Another common design I saw involved fiberboard - get that
stuff wet and it will expand just before it falls totally apart. Not
ideal for an aquarium stand.
I wanted a stand design that was rooted in basic physics and that
relied on the natural strength of wood rather than trusting in
hardware.
So I thought one up and built it. I would like to share my own
experience with you, in the hope of contributing to society and to
boost the quality and reliability of publicly available aquarium stand
designs.
If you don't own a lot of tools and don't know a lot about woodworking
but would like to make a great-looking, sturdy aquarium stand of your
own, I invite you to download complete, detailed, illlustrated
instructions for...
Dave's Amazing, Strong, Logical, Inexpensive, Not Very Hard to Build,
and (Practically) Tool-Free Aquarium Stand
at: http://home.comcast.net/~davesaquariumstand/
Thanks, and please spread the word.
Dave
Soon after buying a brand new 65 gallon aquarium (above), I searched
online for about two months for inexpensive, attractive aquarium stand
designs that didn't require fancy woodworking equipment or expertise.
I found several inexpensive designs, but the only ones that appeared
physically sound required tools and woodworking knowledge that I don't
have. Though I don't know much about wood or woodworking, I do have a
decent head for physics.
Most of the other designs seemed to lack a grounding in physics,
leading to risky stands that I considered unsafe or bound to be
short-lived. For example, one widely distributed design involves
weight-bearing 2x4 struts underneath the main body of the tank. The
2x4s butt end-to-side against 2x4s that run the length of the aquarium.
The studs underneath the aquarium are only connected to the lengthwise
studs with four wood screws! Those screws are both load-bearing and
screwed into the end grain of wood - they could shear or pull free at
any time! Another common design I saw involved fiberboard - get that
stuff wet and it will expand just before it falls totally apart. Not
ideal for an aquarium stand.
I wanted a stand design that was rooted in basic physics and that
relied on the natural strength of wood rather than trusting in
hardware.
So I thought one up and built it. I would like to share my own
experience with you, in the hope of contributing to society and to
boost the quality and reliability of publicly available aquarium stand
designs.
If you don't own a lot of tools and don't know a lot about woodworking
but would like to make a great-looking, sturdy aquarium stand of your
own, I invite you to download complete, detailed, illlustrated
instructions for...
Dave's Amazing, Strong, Logical, Inexpensive, Not Very Hard to Build,
and (Practically) Tool-Free Aquarium Stand
at: http://home.comcast.net/~davesaquariumstand/
Thanks, and please spread the word.
Dave