Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so for my little caging project my boss let me use the shop to build a stack. so i had him order up 4 sheets of 3/4" melamine and 2 sheets or 1/4" melamine and i got to milling up all my parts. so...

Step 1: Mill parts and Edge Band..... done

Step 2: Assemble!!..... done

so far i have the boxes put together but this is it

there are 5 boxes that are 2' deep 4' long and 16" tall

the top is full size 2'x4' the sides run front to back and the back fits in between, the sides and back have a dato groove to recieve the 1/4" floor. i have a 2" strip top and bottom that also fit in between the sides to make up the face.

boxes #1 and #2 (bottom to top) are going to be full size. box #3 has a permanent divider to make 2 units. boxes #4 and #5 each have removable dividers (the two pieces you see sitting in box #2 in the picture) the idea behind this is for future breeding, have one snake in each side and pull the divider when it comes time to breed.

there are two "stops" in each #4 and #5 front and back the divider will snap into place against these and can be held with screws from the other side

i am excited to have this much done but i still have quite a bit to do, next up will be Step 3 Heating Wiring and Lighting

for heating i went with 4" flexwatt, that is why i used 1/4" floor. that will be controlled with a dimmer switch to be mounted on the side. each cage will also have an additional switch for lighting, this will just be a length of rope lite so i can see what going on in there.

once that is all together on to Step 4... that would be doors....

well i still dont quite know what i am going to do with the doors i am trying to keep cost down and that will affect the outcome. i have options between Glass and Acrylic but dont know which is cheaper yet so i dont know which to get

that will also determine how the doors get installed (sliding,hinged, or lift out) right now i am leaning to an Acrylic lift out door, this will keep things easy...

this is what i have thus far i appreciate any and all comments, and tips, more pictures will come when complete

thanks for looking

-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

Very nice and thanks for posting. Looks like you're doing good work.

This is five separate/stackable boxes? All edge joints except for the 1/4" floor?

And the top panel for each box is 3/4"?

Assuming I have all of the above correct, is there then a gap between the floor of one cage and the top of the cage below? If so, how big?

Just curious.
-----
Currently keeping:

5.8 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

yeah Chris you got it. 5 separate boxes the floor is 1/4" melamine all other parts are the 3/4"

also the 1/4" is datoed in and all other joints are but joints glued and screwed with Roo Glue and 1 1/2" wood screws

okay now the dato is cut into both side, the back, and the bottom face. it is 9/32" wide x 1/4" deep. the top edge of the groove is 3/4" up from the bottom, so when the floor is in place held up to the top it leaves a 1/2" gap from the bottom of the floor to the bottom of the box. i also have 3 strips 1/2" x 3" running front to back in there to prevent the floor from sagging, and i will cut notches out for wires

lol in case anyone doesnt understand my rambling there is a half inch gap for the heat tape.... sorry im bad at explaining things
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

... when the floor is in place held up to the top it leaves a 1/2" gap from the bottom of the floor to the bottom of the box. i also have 3 strips 1/2" x 3" running front to back in there to prevent the floor from sagging, and i will cut notches out for wires... there is a half inch gap for the heat tape...

Very nice and sounds like a great design. Did you get to use an edge-banding machine or did you have to do with with an iron?
-----
Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

there is an edge bander at the shop, some $60,000 machine lol i used that.

i really dont care for the iron on stuff i dont feel like it works as well so if i didnt have the bander, i most likely would have used contact cement and done each piece buy hand then use a small trim router and a file to clean the edges.... but 160 feet of edge tape is alot to do by hand lol man that added up fast
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

$60,000... so you used a cheap one? LOL. Seriously, not that long ago edge banders were much more than $60,000. I know some still are.

I agree about the iron on stuff. Have not applied it with contact cement but that would probably be the next best way to go.
-----
Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

ohh yeah lol good point i didnt mention that that bander is 12 years old.
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...