This weekend I completed a stand & canopy build for fellow ARC member Dave and took some pictures to share along the way. Dave wanted a simple design, unfinished (he's going to paint it himself), with a fold-up style canopy rather than a hinged lid. Below was my SketchUp model/design:
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The stand is identical in style to the 50g Breeder stand I built for DHoff04, only scaled up for the larger 120g (4x2x2) tank. So, I didn't trace my steps during the stand build since I've posted basically the same thing in a past build thread. To see how the stand and cabinet doors go together, take a look at the link below:
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40211">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40211</a>
The only real difference in this stand/canopy combo, other than the size increase, is the way the canopy opens. Dave wanted the front 1/3rd of the canopy to flip up for easier access to the tank. This is a pretty common design, but I had never built one like this before so it was a fun learning process. It wasn't hard, and like any new woodworking project, I learned a lot along the way by trying something different.
The canopy began as a simple box with an open back, constructed of paint-grade 3/4" birch plywood.
[IMG]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff269/smithdu/120g%20Stand%20and%20Canopy/120gStandandCanopy-1.jpg alt="" />
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Using a straightedge as a guide for my hand held circular saw, I cut a line across the top and sides of the canopy "box" to create the flip-up portion of the canopy.
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The next step was to attach a 48" continuous hinge to the lid:
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Lastly, the canopy was trimmed out using 3" poplar. The trim pieces were cut in the same location as the canopy cuts, so that everything would line up nice.
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After some wood putty over the brad nail holes and some light sanding, it was done!
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Take care folks,
Dustin


The stand is identical in style to the 50g Breeder stand I built for DHoff04, only scaled up for the larger 120g (4x2x2) tank. So, I didn't trace my steps during the stand build since I've posted basically the same thing in a past build thread. To see how the stand and cabinet doors go together, take a look at the link below:
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40211">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40211</a>
The only real difference in this stand/canopy combo, other than the size increase, is the way the canopy opens. Dave wanted the front 1/3rd of the canopy to flip up for easier access to the tank. This is a pretty common design, but I had never built one like this before so it was a fun learning process. It wasn't hard, and like any new woodworking project, I learned a lot along the way by trying something different.
The canopy began as a simple box with an open back, constructed of paint-grade 3/4" birch plywood.
[IMG]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff269/smithdu/120g%20Stand%20and%20Canopy/120gStandandCanopy-1.jpg alt="" />

Using a straightedge as a guide for my hand held circular saw, I cut a line across the top and sides of the canopy "box" to create the flip-up portion of the canopy.






The next step was to attach a 48" continuous hinge to the lid:



Lastly, the canopy was trimmed out using 3" poplar. The trim pieces were cut in the same location as the canopy cuts, so that everything would line up nice.


After some wood putty over the brad nail holes and some light sanding, it was done!


Take care folks,
Dustin