DIY: 1-Sheet Laminated Plywood Stand

[TheHarold]

Hey the Harold, I realize this post is from last year. But I have been trying to recreate the stand you build, especially the white finished color and the plywood lip. Mind sharing specifics, like what sort of paint/primer did you use? Also, how did you get the 3" pieces of plywood onto the front, screws or mainly wood glue? Lastly, Does setting your tank inside of the stand and allowing it to be recessed with the "lip" or edge around the glass create any added strength, say like extra bracing? Thanks

Hey! Glad to see this thread is helping someone

All off the stuff I used to finish the stand was more or less "the cheapest stuff" I could find at Home Depot. Initially the the screw holes were filled with two rounds of wood filler ($5). Wood filler almost always shrinks, so after the first fill I let it dry and applied another round before sanding it flush.

After that the stand went through several rounds of priming with a quart of "Bulls Eye 1-2-3" primer ($11). The end product is almost 100% based on this; how many rounds of sanding and priming you are willing to go through. A random orbit sander and 220 grit sanding block are your friend during this process. Finally, a few coats of Rustoleum gloss white spray paint were applied.

All of the 3" plywood laminates were both screwed and glued together, with Titebond 3. I used WAY too many screws, but hey, I bought a box of 100 so why not. I could have screwed from the inside, but that would have been harder to fill/sand.

I do not understand your last question, re: recessing the the tank. All a tank needs is a flat surface + some Neoprene, which is accomplished from the 3/4 plywood top and 3/8 neoprene. Anything else (having a wood trim around the edge, etc is just aesthetic.

 

[WaderJames1983!]

Hey! Glad to see this thread is helping someone

All off the stuff I used to finish the stand was more or less "the cheapest stuff" I could find at Home Depot. Initially the the screw holes were filled with two rounds of wood filler ($5). Wood filler almost always shrinks, so after the first fill I let it dry and applied another round before sanding it flush.

After that the stand went through several rounds of priming with a quart of "Bulls Eye 1-2-3" primer ($11). The end product is almost 100% based on this; how many rounds of sanding and priming you are willing to go through. A random orbit sander and 220 grit sanding block are your friend during this process. Finally, a few coats of Rustoleum gloss white spray paint were applied.

All of the 3" plywood laminates were both screwed and glued together, with Titebond 3. I used WAY too many screws, but hey, I bought a box of 100 so why not. I could have screwed from the inside, but that would have been harder to fill/sand.

I do not understand your last question, re: recessing the the tank. All a tank needs is a flat surface + some Neoprene, which is accomplished from the 3/4 plywood top and 3/8 neoprene. Anything else (having a wood trim around the edge, etc is just aesthetic.

Awesome, thanks so much. So the finished product is rustoleum spray paint? Do that include the inside and the outside ply skin? You said the laminate panels is why Im asking...are they spray paint or laminate? Thanks again, Ill post a picture once its done.

 

[TheHarold]

Awesome, thanks so much. So the finished product is rustoleum spray paint? Do that include the inside and the outside ply skin? You said the laminate panels is why Im asking...are they spray paint or laminate? Thanks again, Ill post a picture once its done.

Yeah the final coat is rustoleum for everything. No difference in how any area was finished.

I was calling it laminated because it is two sheets of 3/4” plywood glued and screwed together to make the 1.5” thick pieces. I suppose that might not be the right term

 

[K7BMG]

Nice build.

Lumber these days is so bad. I have found that even kiln dried premium lumber is never straight, well maybe if all you need is lengts of 18 inches.

Laminated plywood is for sure the way to go.

One thing I do is I use weather sealant on all of my wood.
I use a tank sprayer and go to town.
If I could I would fill a tank and dip the stand and let it soak for a couple of hours LoL.
I have found this to be absolutely the best way to prevent any kind of wood rot due to moisture. Any water just beads up and runs off.
Then I will apply my paint finish.

 

[Cell]

If I want to build a wood stand and have neither table saw nor miter saw and can only buy one, I should go with a miter saw right? Sacrifice long rips for versatility?

 

[TheHarold]

If I want to build a wood stand and have neither table saw nor miter saw and can only buy one, I should go with a miter saw right? Sacrifice long rips for versatility?

Sure, yeah. But then you couldn’t do this same plywood design- would need to work with lumber that is your final width.

 

[K7BMG]

If I want to build a wood stand and have neither table saw nor miter saw and can only buy one, I should go with a miter saw right? Sacrifice long rips for versatility?

I would agree with you.

There is always a but.
Depending on your wood 2x4 2x6 what ever you use.
Even the high price kiln dryed lumber is not straight anymore.
So a jig can be made and used on the table saw to trim the curved boards into straight and flat pieces.

This may not be necessary depending on your tank.
Size first of all, 48 inch or smaller I think would be ok, any longer you could have a problem.
If the tank has molded plastic rims you could be ok.

 

[K7BMG]

Can I add I am dumb.
I forgot that this is the thread on plywood built stand.
This construction requires both tools, no way around that.

 

[Cell]

Yeah, I kind of hijacked with a general question, not necessarily restricted to plywood. This is a great build though and one I'd like to emulate, but dont have the tools yet.

I suppose I could rip with a circular saw and get to planing/sanding?

 

[thatsruff]

If I want to build a wood stand and have neither table saw nor miter saw and can only buy one, I should go with a miter saw right? Sacrifice long rips for versatility?

May I suggest the opposite?

I only have a table saw, but table saws typically come with a miter gauge which can act like a miter saw. It is not the same as having a miter saw but it can get the job done. I think that a table saw plus a circular saw is a much more flexible combination. Obviously, if you are able to have a table saw and a miter saw that is ideal.

I am currently building a one-sheet plywood stand myself. I also recently built an entire bed frame with just a table saw, circular saw, and hand-held router.

 

[thatsruff]

I should say that obviously my tank is very small and that design wouldn't work for a large tank. Just that the tools for the job are the same/similar.

 

[TheHarold]

Can I add I am dumb.
I forgot that this is the thread on plywood built stand.
This construction requires both tools, no way around that.

I don’t have a miter saw- did everything on the table saw. You can still cut things to length safely using a miter gauge, though its not as easy.

 

[K7BMG]

I don’t have a miter saw- did everything on the table saw. You can still cut things to length safely using a miter gauge, though its not as easy.

Yes I agree it can all be done on a table saw.

If I could only purchase one tool I would buy a worm drive skill saw.
You would need to also buy straight edge guides, clamps, and 3 or 4 sawhorses.
I have built many projects this way.

My other advice would be do research and buy the absolute best tool you can.

 

[thatsruff]

My other advice would be do research and buy the absolute best tool you can.

This is very good advice. Cheap/bad tools are not worth it - you end up needing to be more skilled or excellent at planning/designing if you use worse equipment because you need to overcome their inadequacy. And your results will probably still suffer.

For a novice, I probably wouldn't advise going the worm drive skill saw route though - personally, and with an excellent work table/sawhorse set-up, though, yes.

 

[Cell]

Was planning on buying a Dewalt DWS780 on Black Friday but now might evaluate table saw options.

 

[mikee002]

Nice build, gave me some good ideas. Did you use edge banding for the exposed plywood edges, or did enough sanding, primer, sanding and paint cover the grain?

Any detail of how you added the side panels?

Thanks!

 

[TheHarold]

Nice build, gave me some good ideas. Did you use edge banding for the exposed plywood edges, or did enough sanding, primer, sanding and paint cover the grain?

Any detail of how you added the side panels?

Thanks!

I just did enough priming/sanding to cover the grain.

The side panels are just attached with a screw in each corner going into the leg post, nothing fancy. Easily removed if I want to change them out.

Think you can see the screw in my “Final Layout” photo on the 1st post.