DIY tank stand issues

[kolleradam]

@kolleradam
Just an add-on for the above quote: If you go this route, make new holes when you rescrew on atleast 2 of the 3 screws. Otherwise the screws will want to just follow the old holes for their path. Then you're back crooked again, even though you did extra work to ensure straightness.

Oh and always Titebond 3, but I'm just a snob.

Yea i was wondering about the drilling. Thanks for the heads up! Also, i just bought titebond 2, hopefully it'll work out

 

[ReeferCPA]

Yea i was wondering about the drilling. Thanks for the heads up! Also, i just bought titebond 2, hopefully it'll work out

Titebond 2 is more than fine. And no problem

 

[92Miata]

@kolleradam
Just an add-on for the above quote: If you go this route, make new holes when you rescrew on atleast 2 of the 3 screws. Otherwise the screws will want to just follow the old holes for their path. Then you're back crooked again, even though you did extra work to ensure straightness.

Oh and always Titebond 3, but I'm just a snob.

I'm a bit of a hack - and like to use torx head impact deck screws for pretty much everything - and generally if you clamp stuff together, rescrewing them creates significantly more clamping pressure than was originally there - they either cut new threads, or cut a whole new hole, and work fine. They're only there to keep stuff together until the glue is fully hardened anyways.


That being said - new holes is definitely best practice.

 

[kolleradam]

If he's going to start chucking lumber, he should be moving away from the RocketEngineer design, not buying more 2x4s.

The RocketEngineer design assumes several premises:
1. The builder has no tools but a miter saw and a drill.
2. The builder has limited woodworking skills.
3. Good dimensional lumber is available for cheap.
4. The stand will not be sheathed in plywood.


If all those aren't true - it's an inefficient design that wastes a ton of wood and money, and has poor interior space.

Finding good dimensional lumber right now is really difficult, and it's not cheap. And if you're planning on sheathing the thing in plywood anyways, you're better off just building a plywood stand. They're drastically stronger, have more space inside, and right now, they're cheaper.


@kolleradam


Don't go out and buy more 2x4s to replace pieces. If you want to fix and use this stand, spend your money on some good clamps, a bottle of tightbond 2 or 3, and a square. Start at one upright, back out the screws, get everything lined up right, squirt some glue in, and then clamp it down HARD. Then re-screw and leave it for a couple hours with the clamp on.

You don't need the vertical center braces - it's just going to make the stand a pain to get into. Use those 2x4s to buddy up those uprights (put them in front of/outside the uprights). You may need one or 2 more 2x4s to get all the uprights reinforced.

I guess i should have asked this alot sooner, but does the stand have to be exactly(or close to) the same length and width as the tank? Because the stand has about 2in of overflow along the length on each side, and about .5in from front to back.