Stands that the Philadelphia Area Betta Society

PABS Show Stands
These are the second set of stands that the Philadelphia Area Betta Society has
built. The first served our purpose but were too heavy and unwieldy to move and
store. The ones we have now were designed by Clay Crawford and work well.

	This is the PABS Show Trailer owned by Clay Crawford. The stands easily fit in with all of the other stuff with room to spare. You will see later on that the Stands are made to have only four parts, a "step box", back board, 3 shelves and no screws or bolts. They can be constructed with 5/8 or 1/2 in plywood. They are very light weight and easy to handle.
These are the "step boxes" being rolled in on a cart. Facing us is three separate boxes that will make one 6' wide stand.
	Each box is very sturdy and consists of 4 pieces. A front and back and two "stepped" sides. We use 4" X 4" X 8" in plastic boxes called "beanie baby boxes. The picture shows three boxes shoved together ready to expand on the table to accept 6' shelves.. The step box is 24" deep, 4" wide, with each step being 4" deep and 8" high. Wherever we go in the US we either get 24" or 36" deep tables by 6' or 8' wide. Shown here are 36" deep tables. We would push the stands to the back and then have an extra shelf in front. With 24" tables we get 3 shelves.
To the right we have placed the "step boxes" in groups of three for set up on each table.
	Here we are placing the "back" board in slots cut into the back of the step boxes. The back is 12" X 72". The shelves are 4" x 72".
Jack is placing the shelves on the "steps". We do not screw or bolt anything as the weight of the bowls and water is more than heavy enough to hold them on. Each "step box" is wide enough to stand alone and with the back board is very stable without any fasteners.
	You can see we are using two tables back to back to set up in the center of a room. You can also use one table with it's back against the wall. Each stand has three shelves which holds 18 bowls to a shelf or 54 bowls. Each 6' table holds one stand, so one table will accommodate 54 bowls. We try to leave the bottom row on a 36" table open for moving bowls around but if you need it you have space for another 18 bowls on each table.
We add rolled plastic and staple it every couple of feet "just in case". Now just add the bowls and fill with water! Remember when taking down....REMOVE EACH STAPLE Before you remove the plastic so no one gets cut. Set up is fast but tear down is even faster. A few people can have the stands for a whole show taken down and stacked within 10 minutes.
For new clubs, if you are thinking about making stands, you should probably plan for about 300 entries. Therefore with 54 bowls to a stand you will need about 6 or 7 stands. For those of outside the USA who are on the metric system, you will have to adapt the measurements to fit the bowls and tables you use. Also don't be tempted to use thicker plywood than we did. We did it the first time and it was overkill. Way too heavy and cumbersome. This design could probably handle three times the load we put on it. The key is to measure and cut the first "Step Box" side very carefully and triple check it to fit your boards. Then just duplicate it for as many stands as you need.
All photographs taken by Paul Cipriano, President PABS