New fry stand!

[groan]

I used plans made by ARt and it looked so easy! Little did i know that i did things bass ackwards.

If only wood were perfect it would have been perfect.

I'd never done any sort of carpentry project. Didn't even own a circular saw, so for this project i bought:

1 Circular Say...SKIL for $50 and a finer blade for $7
5 10' 2x4's and 2 8' 2x4's for $22
a package of 100 3" #8 wood screws for $11

And what did i end up with?


I had to shim it a bit to make sure all the legs touched the ground but it is mostly level...I'm stil nervous that it will fall apart as there are a coupel spots where the wood split a bit. I reinforced with screws from the opposite side bu tit shoudl hold, at least for a bit. It is secured to studs behind the drywall to protect it from tipping forward.

The center tank is a standard 10x20 10 gallon and the other 2 are 15x15 10 gallon tanks.

[darkdep]

Is that SIX screws at the corner?  LOL

That isn't coming apart

[babblefish1960]

Pre-drilling the pilots are the best for screws they hold better and virtually no splitting, however, you've done it now, and it looks good, have fun filling the shelves up with water, and good job.

[darkdep]

Another thing to remember:  2x4 frames are what they build houses out of, and I guarantee the builders cared less about the end result than you did about your stand.

[groan]

cool, thanks.
and that was 3 per board on that corner.
I considered doing pilot holes, but since the screws were #8's i didnt think it was necessary.

i was concerned that after it was put together it didnt sit level, only 3 legs touching, but a ouple shims helped but now it seems to lean back too far. I may have to look at it agian.

the styrofoam under the tanks seem to help them level themselves out.

[damarech]

Wellllll !!!
Sorry Darkdep i have to disagree. The construction industry has codes that they have to follow.
It always scares me when I see heavy loads,like this, being carried by screws only. IMOA the 2x4  legs should have been at least notched out to accept the shelving.This is so the the downward load is carried by the wood and not the screws.Also that twist tie holding it against the the wall will not do much for any sideways motion that may pull the scews out bit by bit every time the stand is rocked backed and forth.

Hopefully, I am wrong and all will be OK.

[groan]

there isnt any side by side motion when i try to move it so hopefully that isnt a concern.
of course the hooks that the cable tie is attached to is in a stud so again, hopefully that wont be a concern.

I guess if i have to i can redo the shelving (i dread the thought!) but at most, this self will have on ly 3 tanks on it and at most the whole thing will have 4 (maybe one more on the bottom)

i'd like to know how long art had his standing and if the construction was similar...ART!!!

[groan]

I filled the other 2 tanks and so far so good. no creeking or swaying.
the tanks are on sheets of styrofoam so they don't slide.

art did you construct the same way?

[bitterman]

This should be fine, but I would ad an angle brace, not really needed, but will add strength, and for the couple $ its worth it.

Also for the construction, It too is great, but I always go overboard for strength (ask art about the tank stand we built LOL )

I normally cut 3/8" to 1/2" dadoes were the shelfs attach and then screw them and glue them in place for stuff like this. It effecting at least double the strength of the stand.


Bruce

[groan]

thanks bruce. ill get some today...
what about center support or should I worry?

after I got started I thought how I should have taken you up on your offer to help...well if it starts to go ill be calling Bruce-911.

[audioslave_36]

Hi there

If you are worried about the down force or sheer weight of the shelf holding the three tanks, simply get some 1x4 or use More 2x4 and cut them to fit between the shelf and the bottom framework of your stand or do the corner brackets and you will have no worries.  A brace to stop side to side motion never hurts either.

Dave

[hamstercaster]

The only concern I have with your stand is it's narrowness compare to it's height..  If it's well tied to the wall (I would personally use some type of a brace and screw the stud and shelving together), it should be ok but you can hardly ever overdo it when it comes to solidify shelving.  There isn't huge amounts of weight on the shelves but you're better safe than sorry!!  I know that I would have personally made the shelving wider, like 18 to 24 inches or something, but that's just me 

[damarech]

what about center support or should I worry?

If it were only one tank ,there would be no problem,as the weight would be concentrated on the ends.But with the long shelf ,I am assuming 6 ft, and three 20 gal tanks =600 lbs of static weight,IMOA I would brace it ,or would of used 2 x 6 instead.

Marcel

[groan]

it's 5 ft wide and holds 3 10's

i just got some angle brackets so hopefully that will help.

i wish i had posted my plans to build before i built, nnow i have to make due and i dont like doing that.

oh well, live and learn.
I'll reinforce a few things and perhaps i'll take your advice and screw a support to the wall direct to the frame.

thanks everyone for your help on this.

[artw]

Looks good groan, as you know I had the exact same design and it held 20's, 15's and 10's no problem.  I am assuming you used glue as well as screws..  that split may be a problem, if you didn't glue it, I would take it apart and apply carpenters glue to all joints.

[hamstercaster]

Looks good groan, as you know I had the exact same design and it held 20's, 15's and 10's no problem.  I am assuming you used glue as well as screws..  that split may be a problem, if you didn't glue it, I would take it apart and apply carpenters glue to all joints.

Carpenters glue will go a long way.  It will actually pretty much hold everything together by itself but that doesn't mean that you don't need screws 

[artw]

well, you more or less need the screws to hold it together while the glue dries

[hamstercaster]

Yep, my thought exactly

[CuckooJay]

Well, the fact is most commercially made stands are built out of fibre board or OSB, and are designed to hold a lot more weight per square inch.... I agree with putting some kind of angle at the joints to destribute the load,   but if you check out the O.B.C. you'll see that 2x4 studd connections are prety strong. Think of what it is that's holding you and a couple of your friends up when you stand close together in your house. That's over 300 pounds in a concentrated space! It seems the "accuracy" of the shelf is more imprtant. When I was a kid my dad had a tank set up in our old (100 yrs or more) brick house. Supposedly the unevenness of the floor eventually caused the tank to split right accross the front... ouch.

[darkdep]

When constructing 2x4 frames, for maximum strength build so that the screws are just holding things in place, but that if no screws existed everything would hold fine.  Horizontal beams resting on Vertical supports, for example, as Damarech suggested (I wasn't disputing this dam, BTW).

That being said, a couple of small tanks will be just fine on what you've built.  You still have more than enough strength.