29 Biocube Mesh Top Project

[jimsflies]

Thought I would share some info from making the top for my 29 biocube (bowfront tank).


First I traced the outline of the front of the stock glass top on a scrap piece of plywood. Then I used the thickness of the frame to trace a line inside the outside trace of the top. Next I placed screws along the inside trace. This was to make sure the top would fit "inside" the rimstock. Next I put a strip of duck tape around the screw to keep it from scratching the frame.




Then with the jig made, I used a long piece of frame material so that I could get enough leverage to bend it. I then carefully started bending the frame into position so it fit the path of the screws. After it was bent accordingly, I cut it roughly to length but was careful to keep it a little long for final fitting. Then I started working on the corners...probably the trickiest part of the project. As you can see from the photo on the right, the angle was off (of course) after bending the top.



I used a propane torch to gently heat the corners so they could be bent and repositioned. Atter a couple tries, I finally decided the best approach was to super heat the frame then put the corner in place....this would have enough residual heat to allow the corner to be maleable.



Its hard to tell, but if you look at the photo on the left below, you'll notice how the plastic corner "kicks out" after being bent. This was going to be a problem for a good fit. I ended up adjusting my final cuts in the bowed part of the frame so that the angle of the plastic corner piece kept inline with the curvature of the bow. This was still going to be a problem for the corner to fit in the edge of the rimstock, but it made the front bow flow like it should...then I used a bandsaw and rounded the plastic corner pieces so they fit perfectly in the rimstock. I was able to do this by eyeballing the frame on the tank and then cutting a small amount off and trying again (trial and error). I then fit the mesh in like I normally would using the spline material and spline tool.



As you can see from the final pictures, the frame turned out pretty well....almost like it was made in a factory. There are a few stress marks in the bow from being bent...that straight aluminum really doesn't like to be bent like that. This project wasn't too hard, but having the right tools and the tank right with me to do the fit made it doable.