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Stand Leveling

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7 Comments
by
crvz
, 11-19-2010 at 10:57 PM (1183 Views)
I was able to steal a few hours to work on the stand today. First, I had ordered these 4" stainless steel lag bolts, so I bolted the stand to the wall.



Then, I had to level a few places. Most things were pretty good, but the right side was about a 1/8" off high. I grabbed a piece of 100 grit sand paper and started to hand sand it. Then I felt like an idiot. I had my father in-laws bench planar at the house, so I was very eager to stop sanding (as 1/8" with 100 grit paper is more than my back was willing to accomplish).



The shavings.



I also had one other thing to address. The header in the wall that the tank will rest on ended up being a little under the height of the stand as a result of me adding 2 sheets of tar paper and a few strategic shims under the stand. I had originally thought I would need to sand that header flush (with a belt sander, though), but as it turned out I needed something else. I cut a bunch of shims from 1/32" to 1/8" in thickness and got to work with the 4 foot level. When I was finished, this was the result; shims placed every 6" to support the plywood top (which is forthcoming).



So, now we have a stand that is level to within 3/64" in any direction over the 6 foot span, though I wouldnt be surprised if it's closer to 1/32" or tighter.



Next step is to glue 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood together and then paint those and the stand... then screw it all in place.

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Updated 11-19-2010 at 11:47 PM by melev

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‎ DIY projects

Comments

  1. melev's Avatar
    You are taking this leveling thing seriously. Why two sheets of plywood?
  2. crvz's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by melev
    You are taking this leveling thing seriously. Why two sheets of plywood?
    I'm nervous. I've seen one of these tanks loose a seam, and I'm not interested in having that occur for me. But even more so, the plywood is going to overhang the stand in 3 directions by 10" or so to serve as a catwalk for tank access, and I figured doubling it up would eliminate the need for any other structure support when I'm standing on it.
  3. melev's Avatar
    I see, that makes sense. I wonder how strong 1.5" of plywood is for walking on. You may want to wrap the perimeter with some 1x3 material, glued and screwed in place. That should firm up the surface and reduce bowing.
  4. marks69's Avatar
    i wouldn't walk on it. we use 3/4 ply for scaffold, but always have something to carry the edge. run a 2x4 around with a few legs. it won't take up much space and will be alot safer. or get a 2 step ladder.lol
  5. melev's Avatar
    You just need one of these.
  6. crvz's Avatar
    Well I slapped the first 3/4" plywood on the top, and after securing it I was able to stand on the edge no problem with the exception of the corners. Those bowed a little. We'll see what it's like after I add the second board, but I may end up further bolstering it.
  7. melev's Avatar
    Keep us updated. I'm curious how it holds up longterm. I used to build homes from the ground up, and I've had to walk on all kinds of stuff that made my heart skip a beat. It's just nice to know you are on solid ground, if you know what I mean.

    That being said, I'll admit that there have been times when I stood on that tiny ledge that was in front of my 280g, but I was totally thinking light thoughts so it was fine.