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Re: DIY Hood Design
Julie E Martin asked about keeping a DIY hood on a tank without using
trim.
A very thin trim is all that is necessary if you are using a plastic
like lucite.
If you are using wood, I suggest plywood because it will tend to warp
less at the thinness you want for an aquarium hood (3/4 material adds a
lot of unnecessary weight to have to lift on/off the aquarium). With
wood, you can have the inside edge rabbitted and the "lip" that this
makes can sit on the edge of the tank and support the hood. With this
techique, the hood sits on and wraps around the tank rim. A 1/8"
rabbit is plenty if the hood is carefully constructed (i.e., nice and
square).
"Rabbit," when referring to woodworking, means a linear cut along the
edge of a panel or board so that, at the edge, the panel or board is
thinner at the edge than the rest of the panel or board. Rabbits can
be painstakingly cut with a chisel and lots of skill and patience or
very quickly and easily with a router and rabbitting (aka straight cut)
bit.
Rabbits are also a useful method for joining the sides of the hood to
each other -- much stronger than a simple butt joint or simple miter
joint.
Hope that is some help,
Scott H.
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