Djplus1 March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 So I finally got sick of the Frankenstein part glass, part screen and part egg crate top I had going on and I decided to use the thread I saw a while back on R2R about making a nice screen top for my 72g bow. Some parts were a little tricky, but in all it came out pretty awesome, especially with the tiny cicada netting! Before This is how you bend the frame and melt the corner pieces to fit properly. Freshly screened with Cicada netting I got on clearance from HD for like $5 for enough to do probably 50-100 of these! As you can see, the fit is pretty spot on, but it's hard to match the curve of the actual glass. And the FTS shows a much cleaner look on top and less weird shadowing from the Frankentop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkonen March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Looks good! I really like how you were able to bend it and shape it to match the edges like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Agreed, that's pretty fetch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makai531 March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Nice! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Looks good! I really like how you were able to bend it and shape it to match the edges like that. The heat gun (and gloves) are key to bending the metal. It's really tricky to get it to bend and not just crumple, that's why I set up so many nail contact points. I had to nail some on the other side (inside of curve) of frame to hold the bend in place while I heated the metal. Then just let it cool down. I considered throwing it out in the snow to see if that would make it sizzle like a fresh made sword! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Very nice, especially the bending! Bravo on the FTS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 That's awesome! How exactly did you learn to do this? My inquiring 46 bow wants to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 That's awesome! How exactly did you learn to do this? My inquiring 46 bow wants to know Honestly, I saw this a while back. http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/equipment-lighting-hardware-aquarium-filtration/24559-top-screen-73-gallon-bowfront.html I really only needed a heat gun, which I had in my shop for some reason today. I didn't follow those directions at all though. I just traced the outside line curve on one glass top (one is a mirror image of the other) placed a bunch of nails on said line. Got my screen frame and my heat gun and slowly pressed in to the nails. As the metal starts touching nails, I quickly place a nail on the inside curve and move on down the line. Eventually you get to an end point and cut the metal. The only tricky part is the outside curved corners, as I had to literally melt those plastic inserts to the angle I needed them (inside the metal of course). Then I just set nails on each side of the straight piece to hold the straight line in place. The rest is screen making 101. I also had notches for returns that I had to make, which is tricky because those corner pieces only fit one way, but nothing a band saw couldn't make quick work out of. I just had to hot glue all of the joints together to be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 How rigid is it once you got done? It looks really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 How rigid is it once you got done? It looks really nice. I can play badminton with these things. If it wasn't for the cutouts, TENNIS! Hot glue and tight netting=some kind of comical racket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Dude, you should install some glowing Telefunken tubes in there and sell them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Looks great! Tank and all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Dude, you should install some glowing Telefunken tubes in there and sell them. Me thinks, hot vacuum tubes and water don't mix.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Looks great! Tank and all... Thanks Ron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2nhle March 26, 2014 Share March 26, 2014 Thank you for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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