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I am building a cage out of 3/4 inch oak plywood that will be 4x2x2 for an ackie monitor. I would like the cage to be furniture quality. I was thinking about using Dowels to attach the sides of the tank and the front face. Are dowels strong enough and would you reccomend this? Is there a better way to put them together without any exposed screws? I bought a dowel jig so aligning the pieces shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks

drill a pilot hole with a countersink, countersink the screw head about 1/4-1/2 inch below the surface, then put a plug in and sand it off. align the grain in the plug with the grain on the wood, and it should look really nice when finished. this is how the pros do it.

oh and to get plugs, they sell a 1/4 or 3/8 plug saw (the two most commonly used sizes) at home depot for like $5... then you just take scrap pieces of the trim wood and cut out of that.
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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

Ok thanks. For the plugs do you just saw them off after putting them in the hole? Is there a special bit for countersinking or do I just use a bigger drill bit?

>>For the plugs do you just saw them off after putting them in the hole?

Yes, or they can be trimmed down with a planer.

>>Is there a special bit for countersinking or do I just use a bigger drill bit?

I found a counter-sink bit combo that also drilled the right size hole for plugs. It worked very well. I found it at a woodworking speciality store of some sort.

To answer your original question, you can use dowels to assemble the cage. If you have the jig you might as well use it. At least on the face frame.

I actually like the look of plugged screw holes on the rest of the cage. In fact I found a stainable wood putty and now just put that in my screw holes and stain over it. It gives the exact apearance of a flush wood plug.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

>>>I actually like the look of plugged screw holes on the rest of the cage. In fact I found a stainable wood putty and now just put that in my screw holes and stain over it. It gives the exact apearance of a flush wood plug.

???
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1.1 Gargoyle geckos
0.0.1 asian golden tree frog
1.0 oriental firebelly toad
0.1 european firebelly toad
1.0 albino betta
1.0 orange tabby
0.0.1 asian painted frog
1.0 broad headed skink
0.0.1 fowlers toad
1.1 red eyed tree frog
1.1 red eared sliders
476.769.47 feeder crickets

not sure what he used, but you can get a minwax stainable wood putty at home depot. not exactly cheap but works well.
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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'll see if I have a half empty bottle lying around. I don't remember exactly.

I bought it at the recommendation of my local Diamond Vogel paint outlet store.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

go down to home depot, you will find actual countersinking bits. They have a drill bit, then a countersink at the top. Take some Titebond 2 wood glue and dab the plug in the glue, press it in so the grain matches, hammer it on in, then you can chisel the excess off before sanding, or you can just sand it down and off. Depending on the sander you use, this could take a while. (if you're just using a palm sander i'd chisel, if you have a belt sander id just sand it off.)
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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

>>go down to home depot, you will find actual countersinking bits. They have a drill bit, then a countersink at the top. Take some Titebond 2 wood glue and dab the plug in the glue, press it in so the grain matches, hammer it on in, then you can chisel the excess off before sanding, or you can just sand it down and off. Depending on the sander you use, this could take a while. (if you're just using a palm sander i'd chisel, if you have a belt sander id just sand it off.)

The traditional way to deal with plugs is to use a flexible flush-cut saw to take off the end of the plug, then sand the area just as you would the rest of the piece. Lee Valley has nice flush-cut saws for $15-18, but you can usually find a cheap one at Home Depot for around $8-10, I think. FYI, the Veritas Snug-Plug plug cutters sold by Lee Valley are pretty nice.

If you use a chisel, be careful! You don't want to gouge the surrounding wood, nor do you want to have the plug snap off below the surface of the surrounding wood! Use a very sharp chisel and take it slow...

yes, a flush cut saw is the proper way of doing it... however i learn woodworking from my g'pa and so he's pretty much a master woodcrafter so he has taught me all these somewhat challanging ways of doing stuff... but it ends up either being easier, faster, or looks better.
-----
-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

>>yes, a flush cut saw is the proper way of doing it... however i learn woodworking from my g'pa and so he's pretty much a master woodcrafter so he has taught me all these somewhat challanging ways of doing stuff... but it ends up either being easier, faster, or looks better.

Can't imagine that a chisel is easier, faster, or looks better than using a flush-cut saw, but then again I haven't tried it.

I'd use a flush-cut saw because I know myself: if I tried to do it with a chisel I'd eventually get bored or loose my concentration and end up doing something stupid (e.g. gouging the wood or snapping off a plug) that was difficult to repair. For me, the flush cut saw is pretty bullet-proof. The worst thing you might do is scratch the wood if you're really careless, and that can be taken care of with some sanding.

My other reason for recommending a flush-cut saw is this: it seems like there are many people who don't know how to sharpen tools properly. If you go out to Home Depot and buy a chisel, it's not sharp. Not even close, in my experience. If you take your newly purchased chisel out of the package and start trying to cut plugs, you'll probably get poor results.

Now I have sharp chisels, and you have sharp chisels, but does the guy asking this question have sharp chisels? If not, he may have more success with a flush-cut saw, which is ready to go right out of the box...

>>I am building a cage out of 3/4 inch oak plywood that will be 4x2x2 for an ackie monitor. I would like the cage to be furniture quality. I was thinking about using Dowels to attach the sides of the tank and the front face. Are dowels strong enough and would you reccomend this? Is there a better way to put them together without any exposed screws? I bought a dowel jig so aligning the pieces shouldn't be a problem.

Does the doweling jig allow you to make 90-degree joints? Many of the cheaper jigs assume that the pieces will lie flat (e.g. like a cabinet face frame). If your jig doesn't have built-in support for 90-degree corner joints, you may find that getting the dowels lined up is more trouble than it's worth.

As others have suggsted, I'd probably just use screws. You can use traditional plugs or there are a number of alternatives. McFeely's sells plastic screw caps in a number of different colors that might be acceptable. They also sell peel-and-stick caps. Some are pre-finished, others are unfinished.

Plugs are probably the best way to go, but they will take a bit more time. FWIW, if your plugs are spaced at regular intervals you can use contrasting color wood for a nice design detail. For example, if you're using oak plywood you might use walnut plugs at the four corners of a piece and oak plugs everywhere else.

Thank you everybody for your help. I am going to go with the plugs using a flush cut saw. I don't trust my self with a chisel since I have never used one. I will practice with it on my spare wood to make sure I get it right. DO you think a 4" lip in the front is enough to hold the substrate for an ackie? I did buy a good dowel jig so I will use that for the front face. By the one the bottom of the cage is melamine. The rest is 3/4 inch oak.

>>DO you think a 4" lip in the front is enough to hold the substrate for an ackie?

I would not go any lower than that since they're such avid diggers. I suppose the better question is how much substrate do you plan to provide? Probably best asked over on the monitor forum. That place is a pretty good source of cage building in general.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

Another way to plug the screw holes...
after countersinking use buttons. Gives a nice look as well.
A sort of early American furniture look.

And just to answer your question about dowling a cage. I have thought of that idea as well...along with using bisquits.
And I actually thought about attaching all the joints using a dovetail.
Just proves I have too much time on my hands.
However, you wont be taking a cage apart easily using either of these methods.

I don't know how well a biscuit will work on plywood...and dovetailing.... you just have too much free time on your hands man. lol. i considered it... until i actually thought about how many other things i could be doing with my time instead of making dovetails lol.
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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 used strictly biscuits/glue and butt jointed everything - no dovetails or anything else. My cage is 6x3x2 for Dumeril Boa and it is solid as a rock - survived all sorts of moving up/down stairs, etc. Screws are great going through plywood but aren't the best going into the side/end. Does that make sense?

If you got the jig use it. structurally it will be fine just make sure you use quality glue and go with recommended spacing from your jig.

chris