wood working question: dado

[picoreefguy]

im going to build a stand for my 40 breeder and i had the idea of somehow recessing the board that will hold the tank down into the walls rather than having it sit on top and using wood trim to cover the tanks trim. i came across a video about dado cuts used for shelves. im wondering if i can do a 1/2" dado cut on the back and the two sides of the stand (would be using 1" birch) and and support under the front with a 2x4 and use that to hold up the tank board. or would i need to support it some more with 2x4's on all four sides of the tank under the top board.

 

[ghbrewer]

You can, but I would still suggest adding some support underneath (maybe just some ply strips on edge to provide additional support). I would not rely entirely on the dado to hold the weight of a full 40g tank, with rock and all you are looking at around 350-400 lbs. I like that you are going to use 1" thick birch ply, that will make the stand much more stable and the joinery stronger IMO. Dados can be tricky and dangerous, be sure to take it slow and not try to remove too much material at a time. If using a stacked dado, be sure to follow all safety precautions, especially if using one in a consumer grade table saw. Dados with routers are usually cleaner, and safer to cut using an edge guide.

 

[picoreefguy]

ill look more into safety as ive never used a dado before. i also have to make sure my friend has a dado set (he does lots of wood work so im sure he does). but if not ill go back to the original plan of having the board on top and putting trim around the edge to cover the tank trim. if do go that route ill use 3/4" birch instead of 1"