72g bowfront canopy - pics of work in progress

[Delphinus]

It's been a long time coming together .... but I think it's starting to look like a canopy...



To Do still:
- the doors (was going to start today, but ended up doing household repairs instead!)
- paint the exterior (marble finish) - to match the stand
- paint the interior (was thinking melamine ... since I have more of this stuff than I'll ever use anyways ... we'll see)

More pics maybe as I get some more progress .......... if anyone cares that is...

[StirCrazy]

Looks nice Tony, I don;t evny you trying to make that stuff for a bowfront.. looks like a PITA to me

Steve

[Canadian Man]

Looks great Tony, it seems to be comming along very well.

[Tau2301]

Looks good Tony.

[AJ_77]

That looks awesome, Tony! Do you have Mitch consulting, or what?! I had no idea you had such skill with the tools, knowing how much work went into Deb's bow-front unit.

Can't wait to see it finished.

Alan

[Delphinus]

Thanks guys ops: (sheepish)

I agonized over the "best" approach to take on this one. It's not a straightforward box unlike my other hoods (all my hoods are DIY). For this one, I decided to take a few lessons from fence building (it seems I've built a few fences over the years too), and build a frame using 1x2's and then slap on the fence boards over top.

Surprisingly, the bowfront part is not much of a complication using this approach. For the bowfront, I took some 1/2" plywood, cut the shape with a jigsaw, and glued two pieces together to get a 1" support to mount the boards onto.

The two biggest surprises or complications have been, the amount the 1x2's (used for the sides, back, and top cross bar support) bow and warp so it's been largely a pain trying to keep the whole thing square during construction, and also since this is a "sit on the top" design, the aquarium itself is not flat (the snap-track or whatever you call it has some significant upwards warping that I've had to compensate for).

I went through a lot of math (a LOT of math) trying to figure out the angle for each "fence board" should be tapered to fit the bowfront curve perfectly. It's an interesting process (I can go through it for any math geeks out there), but it's a moot point in the end. The amount a 1x4 fence board tends to curve anyways on its own seems to match the curve of the tank close enough anyways (just as long as you don't put them in backwards). Couldn't have asked for a better coincidence!

I was hoping to work on the doors after work today, but I wonder if it might not be better to take advantage of the warmer weather and spray paint the exterior instead (since I'm not allowed to do that kind of thing indoors).

[MitchM]

Looks good, Tony!

(Is that Deb's old bowfront?)

Good luck with the front doors!
One piece of advice...it looks like you have the "slats" for the only material for the walls of the canopy. You may want to look and see if there will be any light leaking through the cracks. I built Deb's with a plywood structure first and then put the slats on after.
Feel free to email me re my trials and tribulations with the doors.

Deb, you be quiet here.....

Mitch

[Seriak]

Hey Tony,

What are you using for lighting. DIY? My Lights sit right on top of the water so the glass protecting the lights gets coated in water crap. I was thinking of raising the lighting, but then the lights would no longer be in the canopy. Oh, I have a 90g Bowfront.

[EmilyB]

Originally Posted by Carpentersreef

Deb, you be quiet here.....

...............not saying a word ! As a matter of fact we were just talking about your doors............... :P

The old girl is looking good Tony ! 8)

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by EmilyB

As a matter of fact we were just talking about your doors............... :P

Should I be worried?....

:shock:

Mitch