Wood or aluminum?

[hillegom]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I have a guy locally that can weld aluminum for me. I'll probably go for 2" square tube for a beefier look. It just won't finish as well as wood with the welds. I have 2x4 mounts built into the stand already, so mounting the arms is taken care of.
I would hang it from the ceiling, but I have set the tank up in a temp location before I move it into position and I don't want to suspend it twice.

Have a look at how 2" al would look before you ask for that. For me 2" is a bit bulky, but that's just me.
If you have your welder do the job, he could grind the welds flat so that you would not even see them. Seamless look. Just a bit more $
If he uses the proper grinding grit, you would not even see scratches.

[Aquattro]

2" is fine, my LFS has it over their tank. I don't want too thin, as it might look out of place. Haven't decided yet. Might try and add a metal core to a wood arm. I have the tools, just questionable skills, and I'd like to keep my remaining fingers in tact

[TimT]

If you use a hardwood like oak it should be fine.

[Aquattro]

Having trouble locating a 2x3 piece of oak. I found some fir today, and it didn't look like it would warp.

[TimT]

I would stick with Oak or other hardwood. Windsor plywood in Langford should have what you need. You could even use Chakte Kok or Bubinga ;-P

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by TimT

You could even use Chakte Kok or Bubinga ;-P

Hmm, I love Thai!! Anyway, ya, I'll go look there. Was there yesterday, should have looked then.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Hmm, I love Thai!! Anyway, ya, I'll go look there. Was there yesterday, should have looked then.

going to have a hard time finding that size in any lengths, but if you do be prepared to blow a lot of money

West Wind Hardwood Inc. in Sidney (they do custom mill work also, so if you have your metal supports they might be able to make the wood covers)


reamer hardwoods (keating x roads)

I have bought a lot from Westwind, never bought from Reamer.

Windsor plywood is very expensive and don't have much of a selection, but be warned you are looking at rough cut lumber anywhere so you need to plane it, sand it ect...


when you get into solid chunks of wood the size your talking about you could be talking 5 bucks a inch and higher instead of board foot, so talking with west wind about what you want to do and seeing how much they would charge to do the mill work might be reasonable , worth seeing how much it would cost anyways.

I have a bunch of oak 2x4s here but to be honest I wouldn't use it for what you want as it will warp over time. with the steel inside and the wood as a decorative cover that would be ok.

how heavy is your light fixture?

Steve

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

how heavy is your light fixture?

Steve

Probably 35 pounds total. I'll probably go aluminum, quicker to have it made vs doing all the wood work myself. I have enough other jobs to do