help on diy canopy for a 72 bow front tank

[reef krazy]

i need some help on how to make the bow on the front, what tipe of wood to use that is flexible. etc. etc.
if of some ones set up will help alot.

[iguy]

1/4'' veneer plywood will bend to a radius or if you want to paint you could use masonite. If you want it thicker than 1/4'' you could laminate multiple pieces together using contact cement.

[Trackz]

I made the the stand and canopy for my 54 corner, and it had a ton of 'bow'. You can make it out of any plywood you choose (my stand is 1/2" and the canopy is 1/4").

Basically, cut the bow you need in a 2x4 the length of the tank. I did that at the top and bottom of the stand, on the canopy I did it with 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood with supports every 8" or so running vertically between them.

Next, on a table saw, cut the long plywood strip vertically every 1/2" through all but 1.5 plys. On 1/2", that would usualy be 4.5 plys; 1/4", 1.5 plys. That will give the wood the flexibility it needs to bend. With such a slight bend, you might try bending the 1/4" before you cut it. It may work as it does bend a little. With the bend I needed I had to cut.

Then just wrap it around the frame you made and nail.

Hope that helped.

[grim]

Since I had a pine stand, I cut two plywood arcs as a frame and used 3" slats vertically up against the two frame arcs to form the front of the bow. The slats were very thin (1/4 inch), but once painted black, match the bottom of the stand perfectly.

jb

[camz28]

does any of you guys have pictures on doing this i need to get a hood for my 72 bf thanks