# ada wannabe



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

there is currently no ada distributor in south africa, so i have decided to make a copy of their stand for a 90x45x45cm tank. i am using jason baliban's howto for inspiration...

i am using 18mm ply that i will laminate with storm gray formica.




































everything has been glued, screwed and biscuited so it should last forever 

i have the laminate sheeting, i just need a laminate router bit. i am going to start filling and sanding soon. i am going to paint the inside gray to match, i have a light that will come on when the doors open, so it shouldnt be too dark..

i still need to measure and cut the doors too... i have the hinges and the hinge pot cutter.

what do you think so far?


----------



## husonfirst (Sep 27, 2009)

That's a nice looking stand so far. Well done.


----------



## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

Being in the planning stages of a new stand myself, this is of great interest to me. Will be watching very closely


----------



## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

Are you using exterior grade plywood? I made a stand some years ago from plywood and had a problem when it got wet. It delaminated and warped.


----------



## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Interesting. The construction looks sturdy!


----------



## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

ghengis said:


> Being in the planning stages of a new stand myself, this is of great interest to me. Will be watching very closely


...so I priced up a sheet of Laminex (same as Formica) yesterday, after reading this. *THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!* Holy crap! I think I might be looking for an alternative...


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

thanks guys 

@ray - it is unfortunately not exterior grade, so i will be careful not to get it wet, i have wet a stand i had previously made of supawood, and it swelled, so now i am extremely careful...

@ghengis - i also though the laminate was expensive but i paid about $100 for a 1.3x3m sheet. $300 just for laminate, i would have imported a genuine ada stand


----------



## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

I like the work you're doing; can't wait to see how it turns out.

I always thought it would be neat to do a 100% ADA-less ADA clone tank from end to end, then put it through the IAPLC and place well. It would be a wonderful example of what DIY can accomplish. I imagine it would have to be a group effort, unless we have an award winning aquascaper who can blow glass, etch logos, cut rubies etc.

-Philosophos


----------



## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

if every thing is glued and biscuited, I would recomend removing the screws. Sooner or latter they will rust. They are really not adding much to the strength of the stand at this point. standard yellow glue is stronger then wood.


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

@philosophos - that is a great idea, i would also like to see that... it does seem like a tall order for one person 

@tab - do you think the screws will rust away in my lifetime? they have been filled over with woodfiller, and will be covered in laminate and hopefully never get wet...

all the screws have been covered and sanded, the inside got its first coat of paint. i will be experiment with laminating and trimming some off cuts this weekend 

i also found some gray plastic cable grommets, i will be using for the filter pipes on the side, and the power inlet on the back...


----------



## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

what happens is they "push" the filler making it so it will show.


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

i finished with the body of the stand last night.

i just need to wire up the light fitting inside, and now i need to make the doors and hang them.



















all the laminate pieces missing in the above two pics are now glued on and trimmed...


----------



## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

what kind of equipment are you using to make all this? BTW, looks great!!!


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

thanks bjr!

i bought a router, which i have been wanting to get for ages anyway for other projects, and i got that at 40% discount at a closing sale

the other electric tools i have used so far:

table saw
circular saw
drill
biscuit cutter
belt sander

you can get away without using most of those if you get the hardware shop to cut the wood for you...

this has cost:

2 sheets of 18mm ply @ $30 each
1 sheet of storm grey formica @ $110
4 hinges, screws, biscuits, hinge cup cutter, etc. $30
1 tin of contact $8
a laminate router bit $30

$208 in total 

the 90cm ada stand is around $900 so quite a saving


----------



## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Those worried about delamination might consider lumber core plywood. Pricey but the next best thing to solid wood.


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

last pics of the body...

all the laminate on and trimmed:










light fitting, not wired up yet to come on when the door opens:










pic with the light on:










light on, main lights off, looked like a google sketchup rendering, so i couldnt resit adding it here...


----------



## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

Wow!!!! Looks GREAT!


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

thnaks kilfrg7864!


----------



## huaidan (Mar 6, 2010)

If you haven't already, I'd get some heavy duty sealant and seal all the edges around the laminate. A little TLC sealing that up now can pay off for years to come.


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

what kind of sealant huaidan?


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

nevermind i found and bought some sikaflex 11fc in gray! so i will seal up all my seams


----------



## sollie7 (Nov 3, 2009)

wearsbunnyslippers said:


> nevermind i found and bought some sikaflex 11fc in gray! so i will seal up all my seams


that should work and blend in nicely


----------



## huaidan (Mar 6, 2010)

That's probably better than what I had in mind anyway 

Do what you can to keep the water off that wood, so you won't have to worry so much about an occasional spill.


----------

