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My grandfather and I were discussing the sliding tracks we were going to make out of wood, and we decided that eventually over years the glass would be gouging into the track, and i'd have to make a new one...or 3 new ones. I orered one plastic track for the chondros cage, which i'm going to use there...but his plan is to build a wood frame and have two swinging doors on the cage - since it will need a center support anyway; i can use that for the clasps as well. My question falls here. I'm going to use 1/4" tempered glass for the sliding doors on the chondro enclosure, but that stuff is very expensive. I was wondering could i use 1/8" either lexan or crystalite for those doors? I don't really want to use a 1/8" non-tempered glass there (all that home depot or lowe's sells), i'm afraid if broken it will splinter and cause harm to my snakes. I also don't want to invest in 1/4" glass - I dont really think its that necessary when inserted into a solid oak frame...set 5/8" into the frame.

Thanks,
Chris
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

I would use the lexan it won't break. I have used sliding doors for years I don't like them I much perfer the drop down door used by boaphile plastics and some others.
Just a thought

>>My grandfather and I were discussing the sliding tracks we were going to make out of wood, and we decided that eventually over years the glass would be gouging into the track, and i'd have to make a new one...or 3 new ones.

This is not as big of an issues as you might suspect. However, I always encourage people to use whatever provides peace of mind.

>>I orered one plastic track for the chondros cage, which i'm going to use there... I'm going to use 1/4" tempered glass for the sliding doors on the chondro enclosure, but that stuff is very expensive.

Using tempered glass with sliding glass track is not the best idea. It's much harder to get a smooth, polished edge on tempered glass and you will eat into the plastic much more quickly. It's one of those ideas that sounds good but has practical problems.

>>but his plan is to build a wood frame and have two swinging doors on the cage - since it will need a center support anyway; i can use that for the clasps as well. My question falls here. I was wondering could i use 1/8" either lexan or crystalite for those doors?

With a wooden frame either of these products would work but there are cheaper choices. That seems to be important to you so I'm confused why you would go with a more expensive 1/8" product.

>>I don't really want to use a 1/8" non-tempered glass there (all that home depot or lowe's sells), i'm afraid if broken it will splinter and cause harm to my snakes.

Is the 1/8" glass at Home Depot really regular glass or is it double-strength? If it really is regular glass I'd avoid it. But most 1/8" glass sold is double strength, in fact the two terms have become synonymous.

I would not hesitate to use 1/8", double strength glass. But you may not be comfortable with it.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

If you opt for the sliding 1/8th inch, Taking off the sharp edge is pretty easy and only takes a few minutes. Use a sharpening stone; get it wet and the glass wet (to keep the dust down)(glass dust in the lungs kinda sucks). I also wore a cheap painters mask. Lay the glass on a flat surface where only a 1/4-inch is over the side. Rub the stone back and forth on the edge of the glass. When your done with one side, flip the glass over and work the other edge. It works pretty well, it doesn’t dig up my plastic tracks.... it might even last a long time in wood tracks (?) You can even rub down the corners doing this.
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Mark
Our Site

1/8 plexi will work great in your swing doors. The doors will stabilize their want to flex.

I just can't honestly get into spending $50 on tracks...when I have all this oak lumber at my disposal for free. My grandfather has a few oak trees that he had rough sawn in the attic of his workshop, and we just planed them down and used it for all of the trim and will use it for the door frames. I'm just to be conservative with my money...still a college student working part time at home depot doesnt leave me too too much to play with. I'm looking for something that will be durable...hopefully for the lifespan of my snakes; and something that wont cost me way too much money. I just ordered 4 RHP's from pro-products... ~$400.

You also said that there are cheaper choices with the wood frame....what are these cheaper choices? I'm really not aware of them...i'd appreciate it if you could tell me though

-Chris
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

>>I just can't honestly get into spending $50 on tracks...when I have all this oak lumber at my disposal for free.

I can understand that. I'm sure you could get enough track for three cages for well under $50.

You might see what the minimum order is at Outwater.com. I believe they sell the 1/8" track for 55 cents per foot. That's for BOTH the upper and lower track, so you'd only need about 12'.

>>You also said that there are cheaper choices with the wood frame....what are these cheaper choices?

I'm saying that Lexan inserted into a wooden frame does not make sense for someone putting a premium on saving $$. Plexiglass, double-strength glass, and 1/4" glass should all be cheaper.

Lexan is great stuff but probably overkill. Unless it has dropped in price since I last priced it.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)