Wood Bending

[jhale]

you crack me up.

 

[bad coffee]

I've thought about the same thing. I haven't steamed wood before, but I know I will have to for my next tank.

I'm probably going to get a big piece of PVC and put the wood in there. Then just modify a clothes steamer to fit the pipe.

Or if I decide to go with non-hardwood, I'll probably just buy polyurethane trim from home depot and use it. It's pretty bendable.

B

 

[House of Laughter]

Doood - I could have saved you a ton of time and heartache -

Only industrial shops are set up to bend wood like that - I tried the scoring method with 1/4" and it shattered. I tried soaking it in the tub with hot water - that didn't work either - the only thing I was able to bend properly was the masonite (what I used) So, BUT, I agree with you on the current stand method - I have seen (and have plans for) many bowfronts that use the metho of planking wood verically to make the round of the tank.

Anyhow, for what it's worth, if you want the info let me know.

House

 

[NYPDFrogman]

I've tried bending hardwood to make snare drums. it's definitly an art!
if it's not doen properly the wood checks, warps. definitly not easy to do.
I think the best way to tackle your problem would be to:

make template to the tank out of 3/4 plywood simply put the plywood on top of the tank and trace it. cut a few of them. once you have that cut some blocks of wood alternately stacking and screw this all togther creating some height example: trace, block trace, block till you have the height needed.

start off with 3/8 plywood coat the side away from the mold with waterproof wood glue. take the next piece do the same make a sandwich and clamp the the 2 pieces to the mold clamp it tight and as much as possible let it sit overnight.
once dry it will retian the shape and you can now trim.


I've used this method with hardwood to make chair backs

 

[herman]

Doood - I could have saved you a ton of time and heartache -

Anyhow, for what it's worth, if you want the info let me know.

House

House any info would be appreciated. I need to remake the canopy cause I want to house the lumenarc in there.

Heartache.....Not when my fridge is full. I just look at it as a learning experiance. Trial and error. Screwing up is fun at times. But the mess I have in the basement is unreal.

I am just going to try everything until I get a canopy that looks right.

 

[FRY]

first you use 1/4 inch birch plywood make it 2 inches that you need i made my doors 3/4 inch thick, you make the a form of the curve you need so you can clamp the plywood to ,wet the plywood both sides then clamp them togeter to the form and let dry next day glue the sheets togeter and let dry then just trim the plywood to the size
you need.

 

[FRY]

doors pic.

 

[FRY]

more tank pic.

 

[jhale]

thanks Fry I thought I remembered a way to use plywood for bending.
that was it.

Herman can you make the molds for the bending?

 

[House of Laughter]

Some PIcs

Here are some pipcs to start off

Looks like a household shop to me

House

 

[herman]

Thats a lot of clamps I need to buy. Will that setup work for bending a 54"x18" piece into a 90 degree arc? I did not have a problem bending wood to a certain angle as long as it was not extreme. With the current tank, a 92gcorner, I can get the angle for the most part, but its the ends that I am having problems with.

Every time the ends stick out a little I cant use it. I tried to force it but it just does fit right. But I will keep trying. I guess I will try to get a couple more clamps. That seems to be the secret.....

Thanks for all the pics and advice guys!!!!

 

[jhale]

how's it going herman?

that's a really tight radious to bend the plywood into.
I don't think a turn that tight is possible.

that's more of a solid wood bend, like for a chair rail.

where are you at in the project? can you move in the basement?

 

[herman]

I could not do it with plywood as it would crack and bending an 18 high piece of wood is out of the question for me. I decided just to copy the stand style altogether.

Canopy arc doors: Staining Process

Canopy Frame: Test Fit

 

[jhale]

looks good.

if you wanted to paint the stand you could fill the gaps with bondo and have a perfect curve with some sanding work.

 

[herman]

I ended up using pine like on the base. Lucky for me someone threw out a futon. Exact material and size that I needed.

Rather than bending the wood I decided to just cut out the shape out of plywood for both the top and the bottom. Even that was hell due to the 90 degree arc. Every bit that was uneven was visible because it resta on a perfectly shaped tank.

As for the doors of the canopy, I also cut the brackets out of 2x4 and following Johnathans advice I glued and screwed everything on rather than nail it on. Turned out ok.

The stand is almost black so trying to match the color was hell. I went with minwax ebony stain which comes very close! So far I am happy.

I will be sanding and staining for the next couple of days.

Any advice anyone can give to prevent me from making more mistakes would be appreciated greatly.

So far the greatest cost by far are the beers of frustration/enjoyment

 

[herman]

Bondo? I have that. So far I have been using wood filler for the screwholes etc and I had to use it especially for the back of the doors to avoid light spillage. Is bondo better? Cause the minwax stuff is a real PITA to use.

 

[jhale]

well bondo is better for shaping and forming, but it's not good for staining.

it won't match the wood at all, that's why I asked if you would paint rather than stain. what if you painted the whole thing a black semi-gloss?

the bondo will allow you to achive a nice curve, wood filler is decent but it won't hold up the same as bondo.

by the way if you paint with black semi-gloss make sure you don't like the clothes your wearing, and use latex gloves. that's the best advice I can give


also a big clump of wood filler will not match the wood either, if you do stain.

 

[herman]

If I dont like the outcome I will try that. I dont know if you remember the stand. It looks like a barrel. right now I am replicating that exact look for the top. The face has three levels which makes it a particular PITA.

Since I scewed the front plates on I used the woodfiller to hide them (sortof) Also I used the filler on the back groves of the door so that the halides will not spill through.

I just finished the first round of staining and so far I am quite happy with the way it looks. When the grains are not as visible the entire thing just looks so much smoother.

I will do a sanding session letter and hopefully I can squeeze in another staining tonight. Will post pics later today.

I decided to stain it so that if I scratch it in the future, it will not show. Depending how the staining turns out colorwise, I may paint over it.

 

[herman]

Well after a night of staining here is the canopy test fitted. All I have to do is sanding put on the side panels, electricals etc. The reason the canopy is so tall is because it will house the lumenarc reflector and a grotech phyto reactor and doser.

A couple of days to build and 10x that to finish!

 

[Tonyscoots84]

u can fit massive lighting in there. lolz did someone say MH lights and some vho's hehe. great job on that.... my father is a carpenter so when i build my stand for my 75 gallon its going to be a piece of cake.. will post a thread when i start it...