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Unread 11/25/2004, 10:19 PM   #2
Zephrant
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Spokane, WA
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Strip the paper from one side of the top pieces, and get ready to put them on. Since this is such a long joint, you will need shims. See that PINS thread again for details.
You can do both pieces at once, if you are quick, but if this is your first tank, do one at a time and wait an hour in between them. Place a 1/2 gallon of water every two feet or so to give it a little weight. Don't go overboard.



And last, glue the bottom on, using the same pins method as before. It is important to glue the bottom on last, so the fumes have a place to escape. Reminder- The fumes are toxic, cancer causing and smell. Use appropriate ventilation and a resperator.



Again, let the tank dry over night. Setup the flush-trim router bit again, and trim all the edges flush. Next put in the 1/8" round-over bit, and round over all the exposed edges.
Next you can flame polish the edges (use MAAP), or buff them out. Remove the remaining paper before doing either.



Next up comes the mounting brackets. I wanted something that looked nice, and was sturdy. I had some 1/2" black acrylic around, so made the supports out of that. This is a 6"x6" triangle, and a 5.5"x2" and a 6"x2" piece. Cut them out with the table saw to the approximate size. Make up enough parts to put at least three brackets on each unit.
Drill two holes in the 6" piece near the top, to allow mounting screws to go though it. Counter-sink the holes.



Using the router, smooth the edges then round them over with the 1/8" radius bit. You can also use a palm sander here, but it is much slower.



Glue them up as above. Using the pins on the small parts is tough, but gives a stronger bond. We don't want these things to fail on us. Let dry overnight.
Make sure all the corners are rounded over, and flame polish as desired.



Since I wanted the mounting screws to blend in, I spray- painted the heads black. I am using a mixture of long deck screws that will go directly in to the stud, and 50# anchor bolts. The end brackets will be in to studs, the center bracket gets a pair of the 50# anchors. Since the whole thing will weigh about 65 pounds, each of the three shelves will only carry 22 pounds.

(cont)


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