Help with Aquarium stand made of Aluminium

[m246337]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and I don't have much experience building stuff on my own either. Circumstances have forced me to get into this however, and I have a lot of interest in continuing with a DIY hobby. Now to my question.

What I am trying to make is an aquarium stand using aluminium square tubes. The tubes are 1.7" by 1.7" with 1/8 of an inch thick walls. The stand will have to hold an aquarium of weight 300kg. The finished stand will look like this in the image below. By the way, the tubes are nothing like that in the design below. Its just normal square tubes.



The problem is connecting the tubes. I am thinking of using L or T brackets. But How do I fasten the brackets? Do I use bolts or rivets? Here is a picture of what I am talking about...



Any suggestions?

[Cake of Doom]

I go with bolts (probably coach bolts) and a pretty stiff bracket. that way, at least you can easily disassemble and reassemble if necessary. just bear in mind that if the bracket is too thin you'll end up with a bit of sway as all your joints will effectively become a hinge.

[m246337]

I go with bolts (probably coach bolts) and a pretty stiff bracket. that way, at least you can easily disassemble and reassemble if necessary. just bear in mind that if the bracket is too thin you'll end up with a bit of sway as all your joints will effectively become a hinge.

Thanks Cake of Doom. I hadn't given much thought to the bracket strength but you have a good point. Thanks a lot!

[m246337]

Oh and what size bolt would be good?

[Cake of Doom]

Just on gut feeling, probably an 8 mm (0.32"). I'd add a washer to the nut side too, to prevent the section from pinching; just in case it gets over tightened a bit.

[Kelly_Bramble]

See:

Bolt or Pin in Single Shear Loading Equation and Calculator

Bolt or Pin in Double Shear Loading Equation and Calculator

[jboggs]

m0jc4QdxOcMrWp3Q6LNwaZQ.jpguniversity-fastening-options-img10.pngJoint stiffness is going to be your BIGGEST issue. Once the load is even just a little bit off center due to whatever cause, its coming down. I would not use bent metal brackets at all. I would use triangle shaped plate brackets bolted in two directions at each outside corner top and bottom.

[Cake of Doom]

^ Those were along the lines I was thinking of, or at the very least, something like these:-

big11629_f_en.jpg

I suppose that'll come down the finishes. Whether or not it's going to remain open or be covered with some sort of facia.