Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What do you consider to be the essential (bare minimum) tools for building a plywood cage, in 2 halves, that can be assembled/disassembled easily but still be strong, sturdy?

Of course, it would be nice to have a special tool for everything but I'm already spending more on cage materials than intended. I'll probably get a cabinet shop to cut the main plywood pieces because I only have a small table saw.

I have a jig saw, circular saw, scroll saw, belt & vibrating sanders, drill, rotary tool (Dremel) & screw gun.

The one thing I think I'll need is a router for making support joints. I've never made biscuits, dadoes, rabbets, etc..., before and I've yet to read up on them. I'm in the process of trying to gather all materials & tools before I even begin to buy materials.

What are some of the simplest, but strong enough for my application, type of joints to make and tools required?

I posted a pic of a diagram (below) to give you an idea of what I'm trying to do. I can't remember if I enabled "hot-linking" on my website so if the image doesn't show, I apologize and will try to take care of it later. Here's the link: www.happyhillbilly.com/cage/

Thanks a bunch!
HH

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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Circular saw with a high quality blade. I have an el-cheap saw with a $40 blade that has cut 100's of feet of plywood and melamine and still going strong.

An edge-guide of some sort, whether it be a high dollor Festool item or a straight strip of plywood. I have a $20 version I bought about 15 years ago.

Two clamps to hold the edge guide in place.

A carpenter's square to help square up the edge guide.

A tape measure.

A cordless drill with a decent pre-drill/counter-sink bit plus a square drive driver bit (I only use square drive screws out of personal preference). Honestly, though, the cordless drill is not absolutely necessary.

Any cage or rack I have ever pictured was or could be built with these tools. I have even cut dados and rabbets with my cirucular saw, although I highly recommend against it (lot's and lots of repeated runs with the saw, bumping the edge-guide over a bit each time - yuck!).
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

Thanks Chris!

For cutting 3/4in. oak plywood should a 40-tooth carbide blade do the job? Should cuts be made in one pass or set blade depth to about halfway & cut from both sides?

I'm thinking of using the mitered rabbet joint for all plywood joints to hide the ends. Would a router be good to do that with?

HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Set the blade to go all the way through, but to reduce chipping and splintering set it to just cut through the thickness of the ply in this case about 13/16" for 3/4".

To further reduce chipping you can tape the area with masking tape prior to cutting the ply.

To go even further you can use a higher numbered blade for fine cuts, this would be my first step.

As I am not familiar with CS blades I assume 40 is a high numbered blade. So long as the blade is designed for fine or finishing cuts. I would also set the blade shallow like I previously mentioned in the first paragraph.

They make plywood cutting blades for CS that do finishing cuts but I have never used any, I stick to my TS for most of my cuts.

Hitachi makes a good blade and I have used Oldham's signature woodseries blades for a few years on my TS to give you some ideas.

Good Luck
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.10 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.2 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child -coming soon-

There's a 140-tooth blade for 7 1/4 CS that's supposed to be for plywood/paneling.

A few years ago I was working on a project with 1/4in. luan (I think it was) and I found that using the 40T, with 2in. masking tape produced cleaner cuts. I know the 40T makes cleaner cuts on interior doors (hollow core), too.

My theory is that given the plywood's 3/4in. compositon, a meatier tooth would be better than the skinny (thin) 140T. If I'm wrong, it wouldn't be the first time, nor the last. As always, feed/cut rate is always a factor.

Thanks!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I have never used a plywood blade so you are on your own. I prefer to use 80T finishing blades on my TS. I never tape the joint but I also have never had exposed ends, I dado my joints.

You are correct feed rate is a big factor.

Good Luck
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.10 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.2 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child -coming soon-

Got it!

Found a 7 1/4 Oldham 60T that states "Ultra finishing". The "teeth per radius" equals what you're using if your's is a 10in.

That oughta do it!

Thanks!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I think that will work best, and is the most versital. A ply blade is really only good for ply where as the ultra finishing blade can be used for both ply and solid wood.

Good Luck
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.10 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.2 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child -coming soon-

I have had good luck cutting plywood with a 40 tooth carbide blade, but again it's a high end version. Very glad I spent the money. It has given me some trouble with cheaper oak plywood. That stuff splinters pretty bad, even with a taped joint. A higher tooth count would probably be a good idea.

Cut the plywood like Jeremy said.

I don't know what a mitered rabbet joint is. I can tell you that a mitered joint in plywood is very difficult to cut well enough to get a nice, tight joint. I would go with a non-mitered joint of some sort and cover the cut edges some other way.

But maybe there something about a mitered rabbet joint that I don't understand.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

I didn't know what a mitered rabbet joint was until I ran across it on the Internet the other day. Click the link below, half-way down the page, the 2nd paragraph in "Step #2" section.

www.acehardware.com/sm-making-stronger-wood-joints--bg-1285342.html

What one person calls a "mitered rabbet joint" someone else may call by a different name, including: "pain in the butt joint". I'll have a few scrap pieces left after cutting what I need so I'll experiment with it to see if I can get it down pat within a reasonable amount of time & effort, and if I think the joints will be strong enough for the cage. I'll take it from there.

Thanks, ya'll!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I had a picture in my head of what a mitered rabbet joint would look like and that pretty much turns out to be it. Jeremy also sent me a picture. You certainly would have cut that with a router or shaper and a special bit. I'm still concerned about the laminate of oak plywood to hold up to such a cut. If you practice with it make sure to make some 4' scrap strips of the plywood you'll be using. Then dry fit the joint to see if it looks acceptable to you.

In general any sort of long mitered joint is supposed to not work well with plywood.

Regarding strength, modern adhesives are pretty darn strong. It amazed me at how simple modern cabinetry is nowadays and how it still holds up under the weight of countertops made from stone, conrete, etc.

Not exactly and apples to apples comparison since your cages will need to be moved around and all that, but I would say don't obcess over it too much.

On the other hand, the locked miter joint (I think I knew the joint be that name) would be pretty darn slick if it worked.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

I thought that locked mitered joint would be a dandy, too. However, I think that's way out of my league. The MRJ may be, too. I'm going to try to do it with a router. I've been wanting one for a long time so this gives me a good excuse to get one. My wife requires good excuses and since the new cage gets the snakes out of her living room, its all the better.

In general any sort of long mitered joint is supposed to not work well with plywood.

Good point. I didn't think of that. I could see how the stress of the joint would be pushing/pulling on the individual layers of the plywood versus a solid piece, making a potential weak point. I might be willing to sacrifice interior looks & space by using corner supports/braces in order to keep the crisp outer edge. But then again, an easier joint and trim may be the way to go. Strength & durability will definitely come first.

...but I would say don't obsess over it too much.

LOL! You know me too well already.

Thanks!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

HH,

If you are looking at the locked miter to cover up the ugly end grain of the ply, there may be other better solutions.

You could infact make the front face out of soid wood, than rabbet the sides top and bottom into that. This would cover up all ply end grain visable to the front. To make the sides nice an neat simple run the side panels from the top to the bottom and either rabbet the top and bottom pieces into that or use a simple butt joint.

Of course that leaves visable end grain on top but most people stack cages so its little concern, same goes as the back no one sees it either.

There are of course sircumstances in which the top and back are visable and there for have to be kept as clean and neat as the rest of teh cage. If this is the case like I said there are options but ply miter joints are not the best solution.

If you have a router or are buying a router I recommend one with a 1/2" collet. With that size collet you will never run into something you won't be able to router as far as bits go. Unless you get into heavy wood working and need the power of a shaper.

Good Luck
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.10 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.2 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child -coming soon-

In all honesty, using the MRJ could be considered an overkill in my case. 10 - 15 people, max., might see the cage. It's not going to be placed in the Smithsonian, that's for sure. I'm just a stickler for details. Minor details add up to make a "nice" job. Goes back to my perfectionism.

I may end up using rabbets instead, like you suggested. I'm not going to get hung up on using MRJs. If it's too much for me to handle, doesn't look and/or fit good, or, isn't sturdy enough, I'll scratch the idea. I could use butt joints and nobody that will see the cage would think anything about it, except me, that is.

Thanks a million for the tip about getting a router with a 1/2in. collet. I've just started looking at 'em and haven't even considered that, yet.

Thanks!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

been there done that, ANY kind of miter joint in ply is difficult at best and is likely to chip. If not now then later as something bumps edge of cabinet.

To dress up plywood edges, get plywood edge banding to match your species. If I remember correctly, you are using oak and edge banding is readliy available. Spend the few bucks for a banding trimmer, basically a razor blade recessed into a wood block with a slot on the other side, really speeds up the edge banding process.

Like Jeremy stated, most cages get stacked so I run full vertical sides and edge band top edge of both sides.

NOTE: when edge banding any piece it will slightly increase the overall dimension. to compensate, you can make edge banded pieces first then cut mating pieces to fit, or cut the same and edge band both pieces to match.

I have even used edge banding to "fix" or shim a slight
difference between two pieces.

All these melamine racks were made with 4' X 8' sheets and I edge banded the exposed raw edges for a cleaner look. That's right, every white end you see was edge banded, really easy to do and really cleans up the project. The oak is basically the same to work with, but unlike melamine, it will need stain/finish but you have to stain/finish the cage anyways.

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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
13.26 BRB
11.16 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

"...likely to chip. If not now then later as something bumps edge of cabinet."

Good point. Now that you mentioned it I remember seeing oak edging in one of the big diy stores.

Mighty fine job on the racks, Dave! Are there any support braces on the bottom of the rack with the wood-grain top or is it supported by casters? What's the length on it? Any sagging? Just curious as to how strong that melamine is.

Thanks!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

It's actually two seperate racks with a small space in the middle for wiring, full back on each with reflectix and added support braces between each pair of tubs. The casters are on a seperate roller base that's screwed to the bottom shelf. No sagging whatsoever!! Overall it's about 4' long

Each shelf is individually powered so I can turn off the ones not needed and each side has it's own stat so I can house different species.

Definately the centerpeice of my snakeroom!!

>>"...likely to chip. If not now then later as something bumps edge of cabinet."
>>
>>Good point. Now that you mentioned it I remember seeing oak edging in one of the big diy stores.
>>
>>Mighty fine job on the racks, Dave! Are there any support braces on the bottom of the rack with the wood-grain top or is it supported by casters? What's the length on it? Any sagging? Just curious as to how strong that melamine is.
>>
>>Thanks!
>>HH
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>>It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
13.26 BRB
11.16 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

"Definately the centerpeice of my snakeroom!!"

I see why! It's a dandy! Very professional looking.

Thanks for filling me in on my questions.

BTW, nice collection on your website. Made me think of my first exotic, a 4ft. RTB named Seargant. That was 31 years ago. Dang, I'm getting old.

Thanks!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.