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Adjustable cabinet feet for DIY stand

Epiphyte

Member
Joined
15 Dec 2020
Messages
187
Location
Hemel Hempstead
I build all of my cabinets these days and whilst I'm confident at how strong they are, they get sat on an incredibly uneven Victorian floor which can be up to 10mm out from one end of the tank to the other, meaning having a flat bottom of a tank stand on the floor isn't possible. Normally I mount 50mm TPVC feet (half way between rubber and slidey plastic feet) at the bottom, then level the cabinet by wedging ply of various thicknesses under the feet until it's level. This has worked for the 5+ tank stands I've either bought or built so far, but it's hardly an elegant solution.

For my next cabinet I'm planning on adding levelling feet. I've got two options, either using adjustable feet with an M10 thread (rated at 1000kg each, and I'll have 8 of them) into either a D type threaded insert or a T nut, threaded directly into 36mm of plywood (which I am less confident about their load bearing abilities), or these which I have never used before, but expect that they are designed for kitchen cabinets. They're rated for 500kg per leg, so with 8 of them I'm laughing at 4 tons of load capability.

Has anyone used any of these methods before? I am comfortable with the first method but would the latter potentially be a better method due to the larger surface area of the leg attachment plate, rather than relying upon a threaded insert?

The tank will be a 90p tank, so expecting around 180kg of water and glass, maybe 30-40kg of hardscape, soil and plants.
 
Hello, I built a stand for my 90P, and used 7 feet as you can see in the picture. IKEA made, cheap and efficient. Just drill a hole in the bottom wood on the rear feet to have access to the screw. So that you can adjust the feet from inside the cabinet. Much easier to adjust :)
The great advantage for these feet is that they support the weight with a large surface on the wood. I would not rely on small inserts :)


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Depending on how you make the stand but assuming you use wood for the legs. If you make the legs longer than you want, place the stand in the location you want it, then level the stand using scraps of wood etc. Next scribe off of the floor the difference in height at each leg. Then cut the leg to the scribed mark. That should give you a level stand for that location but it'll be useless if you decide to move it.
 
I’ve used the articulated feet on mine and another cabinet with a heavy load and they’re great. Cheap and effective solution.
 
Interesting, I did look into these but wasn't confident about the sheer ability of wood screws into plywood with the sideways mounting. Something I'll look into maybe on another tank in the future.

I ended up going for the adjustable feet mentioned above and I'm impressed with them, standing a single one easily handles my 100kg bulk, so I'll be confident to use them on the tank.
 
Hi, maybe you should think about adjusting the feet from inside the cabinet, otherwise it could be tricky for the back side feet 😊
 
Adjustable feet work, they are feet with a threaded bar. The ones I have seen are a foot with a long thread, you would put a lower nut on then a mudguard washer ( big washer) or maybe a plate then your bottom piece of wood, and use the nut to lift / lower. A web search - cotel.co.uk lots of feet
 
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