The Class Act Aquarium Stand
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And after all this hard work and getting all these ideas out of my head my wife says to me...
"It looks to nice. People are going to come over and just stare at the stand and not even see the corals or fish in the tank."
So there you have it. I have some more sanding to do then decide on how to finish it.
Ideas as of now are using some india ink and Ebonize the wood black followed by a nice tung oil or poly. Other ideas are to mix Gereal Fishes Java with some Espresso and come up with an in between dark stain, but not to dark. Or last idea is paint it a matte black (prefer not to).
"It looks to nice. People are going to come over and just stare at the stand and not even see the corals or fish in the tank."
So there you have it. I have some more sanding to do then decide on how to finish it.
Ideas as of now are using some india ink and Ebonize the wood black followed by a nice tung oil or poly. Other ideas are to mix Gereal Fishes Java with some Espresso and come up with an in between dark stain, but not to dark. Or last idea is paint it a matte black (prefer not to).
Awesome Job Alex! Looking forward to seeing it when all done
rainydave
Chimp in Space......
Awesome job.
So many great ideas that I'll have to borrow when I build my next stand.
So many great ideas that I'll have to borrow when I build my next stand.
Krish
RF STAFF
Very nice Alex!!! Looks VERY clean!!
Maxx
Staff Housemonkey
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
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Here's the same box with 2 DJ power strips mounted into the box. Looks good to me.
All the screws, nuts, bolts and washers are 18/8 stainless steel. The mounting screws that will hold the DJ strips into place are stainless steel 18/8 and coated black.
I'm a little sleep deprived at the moment, so it maybe obvious to others, but I'm not understanding something:
What is the purpose of the detachable front face to the American DJ Power Center box? Why have the front part able to be removed?
Excellent attention to detail btw. If your system's half as well thought out as your stand build is, it will be top notch in just a short time.
Nick
Thanks for all the compliments to all.
Nick, What you're actually seeing with the DJ mounting is that the front folds down on a set of hinges so I am able to readily see all the plugs and I wil have them all labeled on the back as well as the front. The side latches help to hold and lock the front fold down upright when closed.
I'd seen were others had mounted the DJ power strips just above but did not have any way of folding them down to unplug and plug stuff in and a few of those people had mentioned that it was somewhat of a pain. So I took it a step further and what you see before you is what I designed.
Hope this makes a bit more sense with that explaination.
Cheers,
Alex
Nick, What you're actually seeing with the DJ mounting is that the front folds down on a set of hinges so I am able to readily see all the plugs and I wil have them all labeled on the back as well as the front. The side latches help to hold and lock the front fold down upright when closed.
I'd seen were others had mounted the DJ power strips just above but did not have any way of folding them down to unplug and plug stuff in and a few of those people had mentioned that it was somewhat of a pain. So I took it a step further and what you see before you is what I designed.
Hope this makes a bit more sense with that explaination.
Cheers,
Alex
So I think I have decided on what type of finish I will be attempting on the stand. I'll try and head down to the art supply store in Seattle tomorrow or Monday to pick up some of the supplies.
It is what's know as an "Ebonized" Finish. What this is really is a sort of dye finish, but a little more simple and easier to do. I'll try and explain it the best I can.
1.Stand will be sanded 120-150-180-220 before any finish is applied. The reason for the close intervals will be in attempt to remove all sanding scratches. After 220 grit I'll wet the surface with distilled water to raise the grain of the wood. After the water dries, I'll remove the raised grain with 320. I want the surface to be baby butt smooth, plus intentionally burnish it to some degree to close the pores as much as possible for an even spread of ink/finish media.
2. Now you take, in this case, some India Ink and either brush or wipe the ink onto the surface of the wood. I'll be testing both Speedball Super Black ink or Blink Black Cat ink before continuing onto the finished stand.
3. After the ink is dried, I will follow with 2 more wipes/brushes of ink to make sure the wood is evenly penetrated. Then, I will lightly sand with 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper.
4. After all the ink is dry and I have completed the sanbing and I am satisfied. I will put a coat of de-waxed shellac onto the stand. This will help to seal and lock in the ink, thus not allowing any moisture to ruin the finish. After this coat is dry I will lightly sand with 600 and 1000 grit once again.
5. Finally, I will do a 2 coats of a 60%-40% oil based poly finish. Followed by a light wetsand of 400-600 grit sandpaper.
6. The final coat of oil based poly will be a 50%-50% and wiped on. Then it will sit for 3-5 days.
7. Last step will be to take a nice wax (Liberon Black Bison Clear) and using a 0000 steel wool pad I will apply the wax and buff to a nice matte/satin sheen.
Should look something like the black on this flat panel TV stand.
It is what's know as an "Ebonized" Finish. What this is really is a sort of dye finish, but a little more simple and easier to do. I'll try and explain it the best I can.
1.Stand will be sanded 120-150-180-220 before any finish is applied. The reason for the close intervals will be in attempt to remove all sanding scratches. After 220 grit I'll wet the surface with distilled water to raise the grain of the wood. After the water dries, I'll remove the raised grain with 320. I want the surface to be baby butt smooth, plus intentionally burnish it to some degree to close the pores as much as possible for an even spread of ink/finish media.
2. Now you take, in this case, some India Ink and either brush or wipe the ink onto the surface of the wood. I'll be testing both Speedball Super Black ink or Blink Black Cat ink before continuing onto the finished stand.
3. After the ink is dried, I will follow with 2 more wipes/brushes of ink to make sure the wood is evenly penetrated. Then, I will lightly sand with 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper.
4. After all the ink is dry and I have completed the sanbing and I am satisfied. I will put a coat of de-waxed shellac onto the stand. This will help to seal and lock in the ink, thus not allowing any moisture to ruin the finish. After this coat is dry I will lightly sand with 600 and 1000 grit once again.
5. Finally, I will do a 2 coats of a 60%-40% oil based poly finish. Followed by a light wetsand of 400-600 grit sandpaper.
6. The final coat of oil based poly will be a 50%-50% and wiped on. Then it will sit for 3-5 days.
7. Last step will be to take a nice wax (Liberon Black Bison Clear) and using a 0000 steel wool pad I will apply the wax and buff to a nice matte/satin sheen.
Should look something like the black on this flat panel TV stand.
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Now I love my beer, and I love my coffee.......I also love raw oysters on the half shell and milkshakes, but that doesnt mean they should be mixed together.
Nick
Actually if you've ever tried and like Guiness, you might like this one. Very similar in apperance, but boy does it taste so much better.
p.s. We really like our coffee here in Edmonds. *lol* I personally am partial to anything Hawa'ii.
Mele Kalikimaka
Its so clean!! DO you think you could smear a little skimmer skum on something for me??? It just looks to good???
Mojo
I'll see what I can do for you, Mojo.
Cheers,
Alex
rainydave
Chimp in Space......
Went ahead and ordered 4 120mm fans for cooling. Plan to put at least 2 of them in the canopy and the other 2 may go and cool the sump area.
70 cfm at 19 dB is fairly quite IMO. We shall see when I receive them how quite they really are.
SickleFlow 120 2000 RPM Blue LED - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply
70 cfm at 19 dB is fairly quite IMO. We shall see when I receive them how quite they really are.
SickleFlow 120 2000 RPM Blue LED - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply
tat2z_21
tat2z_21
This stand is amazing. Looks like your patience meter is about pegged out right about now though. Or I should say that my patient meter would have been. THat stand is beautiful, and a real piece of furniture. Well done.
Hi Nick,
I just realized that I do have some better photos of the DJ mounting box that probably shows more of what I was referring to as far as opening the box and being able to access the plugs easily.
Here's the photos,
Thanks Tat.
"He that can have patience can have what he will."
Benjamin Franklin US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)
So after ordering the fans and no fan grills I got to thinking. Yes I think to much sometimes. Anyways came up with this rough draft idea in 10 minutes. Saltwater safe, will not corrode and fairly easy to make. The final piece will be rounded and nicely done. Just had a few minutes beofre lunch to whip this out.
Cheers,
Alex
Cheers,
Alex
Maxx
Staff Housemonkey
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
- Messages
- 2,935
Hi Nick,
I just realized that I do have some better photos of the DJ mounting box that probably shows more of what I was referring to as far as opening the box and being able to access the plugs easily.
Here's the photos,
This makes alot more sense now. I use the same powercenters for my tanks and I can see where that would be nice to have.
Excellent work.
BTW, I like Guinness, but I'm not a mass quantities kinda drinker of it. Generally I stick with pale ales and lagers. Winter brings me over to the Dopplebocks, and Octoberfests, but I've put my olympic drinking days behind me now...
Nick
