Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted a while ago about the cage I was building with my dad. After getting the top, bottom, and two sides together, we realized it was coming together terribly. Part of the problem was because of the bow in the stock (3/4" pine plywood.) And, since problems revolved around the joints, I suspect those played a part in it. My dad wanted rabbet or dado or whatever joints, well, here it looks like this:
I I
I I
I I
I I
I__ I
_____________ I__I
I__
________________I

Anyway, we don't have the proper tools for that (a table saw with a dado head) so we used a cheap hundred dollar table saw with a normal blade. Not good for this.

So my question is: How do you deal with the warp in stock? I see other cages people have made that look very nice from what I assume to be the same kind of material. From the looks of it at Home Depot, oak and birch have less warp than pine. Should we throw in another 40 bucks for nicer wood? We have troubles cutting big stock due to our small table saw. And we don't think the cuts Home Depot does are very accurate. So I've been wondering about getting 6" boards and making paneled sides, I guess you'd call it. What do you think of this? Another thought was to build a frame from 2 by 4s or something and putting 1/4 inch oak plywood on the sides, the logic being that with such thin wood, warp in the boards wouldn't matter much. Your thoughts? Or should I go with the cheaper idea of a sliding drawer rack system? The problem with that is I can't find any tubs the right size. Why doesn't Rubbermaid have a reptile caging line?

Okay, it's a lot of questions, but what it boils down to is that I need to build two cages for a ball python and a leopard gecko trio. The cages must be stackable and fairly decent looking. I just need some help.

Brad
"Unique like everybody else"

I said no post. Are you stupid? Oh wait, I did post. Hmm, slap me with a pancake and call me Oscar. I lied.

Brad
"Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense"

You are a fool. You have too much time on your hands to open up a post that clearly says "np", implying "no post", implying "if you read this you are a fool and you have too much time on your hands." As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Stop quoting me!" You need to find something better to do than read blank posts. Perhaps you could take up potato ranching, or nude hunting, or training seeing eye dogs for deaf children. Or you could go cuddle your snake or turtle or lizard or frog or salamander or CAECILIAN!, as it were. How do you make upside down question marks on the keyboard like they have in the spanish language? I'll tell you how, by hard work, perserverance, and a whole lot of yaggi. What's yaggi, you ask? Yaggi is the essence of us all. Yaggi is what makes us tick. Yaggi is in the spirit of every child who has ever laughed, every man who has ever pondered the nature of his existence, every bird house maker who has ever asked "What if. . .?" What if we learn to put aside our differnces and embrace one another like someone who likes to embrace people? What if we put twinkies in a blender and made some kinda of smoothie? What if, what if, what if indeed.

In conclusion, eat, drink, and be merry. But know this: The pigunkies will rise, and when they do, you better bet your bippy that they won't be happy.

Brad
"Laughs every time he sees a squirrel"

Yoo hoo, skip to my lou . . .

Rabbets and dados are nice but can add a lot of complexity to a project. Also, they are a pain without the proper tools.

I've pretty much given up on them for cages and instead use 3/4" plywood and simple edge joints supported with glue and screws. *Note* much 3/4" plywood is actually marked as 25/32" or something close.

Please scroll down and see my "Bearded Dragon Cage" and "Jungle Carpet Python Cage" in a thread below. Both of these cages were built with 3/4" plywood and edge joints only.

::How do you deal with the warp in stock?

There are tricks as how to orient the warp so that it is straightened out during the construction. I don't think I can describe it verbally, though.

::Should we throw in another 40 bucks for nicer wood?

Yes, and also consider maple. It is running cheaper than birch or oak from what I can see.

::We have troubles cutting big stock
::due to our small table saw. And we
::don't think the cuts Home Depot does
::are very accurate.

I've had mixed results with Home Depot's panel saw. In general it's fine for getting the material down to a manageable size but not the best for accurate cuts.

I no longer have a table saw so I do all of my cuts with a circular saw. I clamp a straight edge to the material and square it up with a carpenter's square. There is more math involved and it takes longer but it is so much better than even a moderately prices table saw.

::So I've been wondering about getting
::6" boards and making paneled sides...

Very difficult for the novice and much more suseptible to warping. I strongly discourage this, even if you buy the pre-glued panels.

::Another thought was to build a frame
::from 2 by 4s or something and putting
::1/4 inch oak plywood on the sides,
::the logic being that with such thin
::wood, warp in the boards wouldn't matter...

Also very difficult to do accurately, although it seems like a good idea. I do not recommend this either.

::Or should I go with the cheaper idea
:f a sliding drawer rack system?

There are boxes out there but can be hard to find. Lidless racks are great but for such a small collection I'd prefer to display the animals in a nice terrarium.

Let us know if you need any help finding boxes.

If your Ball Python is a male you could built a two tier rack with the Cambro polycarbonate boxes. The 26" x 18" x 9" would be fine for a normal sized male and great for leopard geckos. Light it up and you'd basically have a display (the cambro boxes are as clear as glass) that is easy to clean and attractive.

For a large male or female I'd want more space for the python.

Router...It made my cages look like I knew what I was doing

Opps I forgot the other word... dont buy warped stock...Lay it flat on the ground before you purchase it to check. I did the same thing. I didnt check it first and started mitering the corners by hand and after it was all beautiful and fit tight I put it up and noticed the flawed wood.

We did our best with the stock. But two questions. 1. In what ways would you employ a router to improve the appearance? I'm sorry, but I'm a visual learner, so pictures would be nice, but an explanation will do. I'm thinking that it would be used on the edges, but I don't see that looking too good, but I was thinking of doing some kind of trim around the cage. 2. Do you know if oak and birch and maple would have less warp than pine?

Brad
"Clones are people two"

>>So my question is: How do you deal with the warp in stock?

Buy better plywood to start with. The maple, oak, or birch plywood you get at Home Depot will be better than pine. The best plywood is "Baltic Birch" or "Finnish Birch". It is guaranteed not to have voids or knots in the any of the layers. Pricey, and you can't get it at Home Depot. Luckily, you really don't need it to build nice cages...

>>We have troubles cutting big stock due to our small table saw. And we don't think the cuts Home Depot does are very accurate.

Go buy the current issue of Wood magazine; it has an article with 13 tips for cutting plywood. What I would recommend is laying the plywood on top of some 2x4s or another sheet of "sacrificial" plywood out in your driveway/garage. Cut your panels to the approximate size you need, plus 1/2-inch in each dimension. You could also pay Home Depot to do this for you. You can then take these smaller panels and cut them to the exact size you need using your table saw. To get everything square, you may have to cut all four sides (e.g. trim 1/4-inch from each side). Make sure everything on your table saw is in alignment (blade, fence, etc) otherwise you won't end up with square corners on your panels. Make sure your tablesaw has a good blade, or the edges of your plywood will look like crap! Also, having a "zero clearance insert" for the tablesaw blade helps keep the cuts looking good.