The Quest on how to get the curve on a bowfront canopy...

So mi madre is wanting me to build her a nice canopy for the tank. It looks like it'd be an easy build. Much easier, if it wasn't for the curve of the bowfront. I have an idea that I think I like the best, so I'm going to run it past you guys first.

What I'm thinking is to construct the canopy as normal, and for the front I would simply bend a piece of 1/4" ply around the whole front. It'd install some blocking coming from the top to act as a guide and support for the curve, so in effect the ply would have 4 vertical positions I can staple it to (nails and 1/4" ply aren't very nice with each other...and we've always used a staple gun at school)

The ply piece would be about 40x7 3/8, so I'm thinking it would be long enough, and thin enough to bend around the curve rather easily. anyone have any better ideas?

For that faithful bunch of guys who got me into SketchUp, here ya go. The proposed ply is in straight black, and the red blocks on the inside is the blocking I was talking about. It's missing too pieces from the sides of the canopy to each vertical piece...but I was too lazy to draw them. Getting that curved front was a pain in the butt alone.

46 bowfront plywood mystery piece by =Jwin= - Google 3D Warehouse

Ideas?

 

That should work.

I know a guy that had a 92 g corner, and a 72 bow, and he used tongue and groove carsiding to get the curve right.

Just use the carsiding the tall way, and the tongue and groove will be able to match the tank's bow.

 

Sounds fool proof.

This sounds like a good idea too

 

What about tracing the bow onto a piece of cardboard and then transferring that to a piece of lumber (1X6, or 2X6 or whatever width is needed to cut out the matching curve to the bow), you could make two pieces one for top and one for bottom and that would make a solid backing for the 1/4" ply, less risk of somebody bumping the canopy and breaking it. Just an idea.

Good luck,
Jake

 

The best way to do this will be to build a form out of two by fours or anything you have laying around. Basically the same thing as the skeleton you were talking about building to staple the 1/4" to. Now take 3 peices of that 1/4 inch cut over sized. Put a good amount of wood glue between each of the three and clamp them into the form. After the glue drys you can unclamp them and they will hold there shape and be just as strong as 3/4 plywood.

 

you could suspend the boards between 2 chairs and ask me to sit on them for an hour or 2

if they did not snap, they would be nicely bowed

Steve " the fat man" Wright

 

I like the further improvement on the idea I had. I like the curved lumber frame idea for the ply, I could do that easily with just a 2x4 because the actual bow is less than 4 inches. And then clamping the ply to the frame sounds great, because then I won't have to fill in all those holes.
All nail holes will be filled up and the whole thing will be painted black to match the stand it's on.

 

this sounds like a good plan could even use the same type of wood he builds the rest of the hood out of and plain it down thin and layer it the same way,
some use a steam box to soften the would to bend it.

 

Except I don't have a steam box haha. I'm probably just going to cut my wood using a table saw, and if I go with the curved frame idea (i probably will) I'll have to use a jig/saber saw for that, because I don't have a band saw or anything. I sure wish I did...

 

+1

If you wanted to do it with real wood (easy with a bandsaw or table saw), send me a PM and I can send you some instructions on how to make a form to bend the slices and you'd have something solid.

-Gavin