# DIY Stand... Please tell me you didn't use MDF!?!?



## ghengis

Hey all. Have pretty much cut and paste this from another forum, so apologies to those that may have seen it already. For the rest of you, this is what I have been up to of late 

So I managed to score four weeks off work, over the festive period, and, after spending most of that time O'D-ing on NFL football (something that is still very foreign to me, but I am slowly learning) and meat pies, I decided to bite the bullet and spend the last week actually being creative.

I have been nutting over ideas for a new stand for many, many months... My fave idea is the Jason Baliban Plywood under Formica ADA replica...however, Formica (Laminex) is far too expensive to justify. I kept being drawn back to MDF, as much as my common senses screemed protest. In the end, I figured, as long as it's sealed, and there are very few surfaces for water to sit, I should be sweet....also, it had to be seamless. Anyhoo, enough blathering...

Setup


















The plan was to go with mitre cuts at every join. Hopefully this will keep water from settling anywhere, as well as give the smooth finish I wanted.

I started with a 45deg cut right down the legth of the MDF. This would form the basis for the sides and front, and ensure they were all identical in height and angle.









Two sides, done 









All pieces cut. The doors were cut fom the full front section, again on the 45 angle.









Again for reasons of smoothness, I decided to have all screws located only at the sides of the stand, so any shadowing from puttied holes might be less obvious.
Extra pieces of MDF would have to be added to provide an anchor for the screws...


















Time for a test fit. Just a screw here and there to get the idea...


























_^(don't worry, this was only for the pic...it does actullay line up  )^_









All good! All screws were taken out and two coats of paint placed between the side/end panels and their added pieces.









Screwed and puttied back together, I commenced painting interior surfaces...









After a good couple coats and a night to dry, it was out with the cordless and the screws, again...o, and my own custom blend of glues. Black aquarium silicone bordering Liquid Nails (Construction Adhesive) 



























And this is where I am up to. Yes, it has taken more than the one week I had planned...I used a roller on the outside, so I have a much cleaner finish than the brushstrokes on the inside panels.


















I have painted the doors, but no pics yet. These are the handles I will use...a slight departure from the original clean requirement, but I would call it "semi-minimalist" 









I have some of those desk grommets to fill the side/back holes, also.


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## ghengis

OK, so that was up to a few weeks ago. The cabinet has been sitting idle since, but I managed to get a bit done on Tuesday, which was the Australia Day public holiday, here...

Got the doors hung. A little help from the ol' man and it's come up well, despite a small hiccup.

Pics:

Piano hinge in place, as well as magnetic latches.









One of the hiccups. Even 6mm screws were too long. A quick sand back will fix that. I'll also remove each screw and snip the end off...









...and the other hiccup. Piano hinge pushed the doors further toward each other than I calculated. 









A quick pass or three with the electric plane and she's just like a bought one...aside from needing a few touch ups 



























Need more paint for the touch up areas, but will be done soon.

I really want to see how my current layout looks atop this stand, but I know I risk damage if I don't fully tear it down...what if I just drop all the water out?? Hmmm...anyway, I may put the stand into use soon, or it maybe later.

Will keep you posted and cheers for looking...!


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## MaD_Sci

That's a beautiful stand, you've inspired me to make one of my own.


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## teacherthomas

No reason no to use MDF, other than it is very heavy. Once sealed well, it has no issues. the only people who have problmes are those who don't seal it well. 

As you have shown, it makes beautiful stands, is easy to work with and sands great. Very practical for most DIyers without many tools.

Great job. This is for a 90cm tank right?


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## TAB

teacherthomas said:


> No reason no to use MDF, other than it is very heavy. Once sealed well, it has no issues. the only people who have problmes are those who don't seal it well.
> 
> As you have shown, it makes beautiful stands, is easy to work with and sands great. Very practical for most DIyers without many tools.
> 
> Great job. This is for a 90cm tank right?


as a professional wood worker I disagree, but that is another thread. it does not sand well at all, infact you can actually make things worse by sanding.

When you go to touch up your stand, you are better off painting the entire side rather then just touching it up. it will make it less noticable


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## ghengis

Teach, this will be under a 60cm tank. Thanks for the compliment!

TAB, I will definitely be coating entire panels when touching up... I mentioned in the txt being out of paint...I actually have enough to probably cover the needy areas once or twice, but not enough for full coats. I'll likely get more paint tomorrow and use it and the leftovers I have to build the layers back up, so it's all smooth and even


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## AquaDean

very nice, you did an incredible job!!

I would think about a final coat of a polyurethane type finish just for a bit extra water resistance. The key is just to not let water sit anywhere on the stand.

Really nice stand, can't wait for pictures with the tank on it.


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## WhiteDevil

Heavy,durable, just a soft wood got to watch the woodworkings of it to insure its quality when its done.

Never used it for aquariums before but built PLENTY of speaker boxes for automotive and home use(amp boxes and racks) and I always waterproofed before I put anything together.

Woodworking takes alot more attention to detail then metal does, metal material can be added, wood cant

I think it looks nice, especially the doors, great attention to detail and great layout.


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## Alexpatrascu

Wow, nice going buddy....congratz....


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## ghengis

*UPDATE!!* 

Have pretty much called this project finished, save for the tank tranferral procedure... I _finally_ bought some more paint, so I was able to get it done over the weekend.

Pics

Decided to mask up around all the areas that paint will commonly build up, just to avoid a nasty cleanup later on...









...and not forgetting the hinges.









Once the paint had dried over night, I siliconed carpet to the bottom of the cabinet, as is my habit with anything going inside (TV stands, coffee tables, etc)...it's not overly attractive, but neither are massive scratches in my nice timber floors 









After a couple hours for the silicone to set, I moved 'er inside  









I have a plan to move the tank, w.out fully tearing it down. I won't mention this (rather cunning) plan here, lest I find myself flamed for an idiot  Hopefully, though, I will have properly finished pics in a few days


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## Tex Gal

That looks so nice! A big improvement.


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## ghengis

OK, so the big move happened last night 

I had couple mates lined up to give me a hand, so straight after work, I began the preliminary preparations... The plan was to use a second (DIY) stand, which I made ages ago and was the model for the stand I was currently using. I knew I built them the exact same height for a reason 









I bought another small sheet of MDF, which is the same height as the styrene sheet already under the tank. I planned to drop the water and slide the tank onto the MDF. Then, when the mates arrive, they would lift the tank/MDF and I would slide it off onto the new stand. Thus:


















...so one mate turned up and we waited for the other. And waited...and waited. Rang him, apprently his missus had him keeping busy. Grrrr... Thank God for VB 

No drama's, we just decided to hit it. Forget the slide on, slide off arrangement, I lift one end, ol' mate lifts the other and let's just pray for no breakage 

And, as the French say, wahlah!









I took more pics, once it was reset, but they were crap. Got a couple this arvo, though. Sorry, no close ups, as my tank looks like a big bucket of pus and needs a good trim and cleanup...


















Pretty stoked how it came up. ALOT of months of planning went into this, and it looks exactly how it did in my head. Gotta love that!! Still a bit of tidying up to do...and the reactor just don't look right, hanging off the side. But as far as construction goes...sheeza feeneeshed!!


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## Bunnie1978

That is really awesome! It looks good AND didn't cost an arm and a leg! I'm impressed!


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