LoJack's 144 Gallon Reef Build

Nice looking cabinet.

I'll be following along.

 

Really nice carpentry!!!!

 

Thanks Guys!

I have more layout photo's of the second pillar since I finally knew what I was doing after experimenting with the first.

 

And some shots of the main structure complete. Still lots of trim to add, but the main skeleton is there.

 

I applied the rail cap to the top of the stand ... this was easily the most challenging thing I've done in my shop thus far. I'm still sorta a rookie in the shop, so this was a more complex job for me than it would have been for most.

I couldn't find trim that I liked for the rail cap, so I made it myself. I used a 3/4" Roman Ogee bit to put the pattern on that I wanted. I then ripped the oak to a 2" strip so that I would have overhang over the edge, and a surface to attach my top trim to. This is the progress:

This first photo shows the pattern of the cut I made with the router onto my oak:

 

This is where the 3 dimensionality of the pillars really made things complicated. The goal was no end grain, because end grain stains so dark compared to everything else.







I then also cut a block to fill in the excess void left by the fact that the pillars protrude by several inches from the stand itself.

 

Next came the application of the trim. The only trim I was actually able to purchase was the oak baseboard I used for the bottom and the top. I had to make my own cove moulding, and I had to make my own step moulding since the junky lumber yard in my small town doesn't stock anything at all.

So I put my router to work and picked up a few bits to make the task possible. Here is a shot that shows all 3 pieces in one shot.





The purchased baseboard is on the bottom. The Cove I cut is along the top of the pillar base, and the step is inside the small 3 inch frame that forms the main pillar.

 

Nice!

 

Before Trim:



After Trim:

 

And Finally ...

With Finish. I went with a water based Red Mahogany followed by 3 coats of high gloss poly.

Here it is all done.