Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just an idea. But couldn't somebody make their own with a strip of wood and a table saw? If you used a fairly hard wood and correctly adjusted the depth of the blade? A little light sanding and a silicone lube and I don't think it would bind up when sliding the glass. I can't see getting the pieces any closer than 1/8" but i don't know many critters that can slip thru an 1/8" with no give. Anybody ever try it?

You absolutely could, although a router would be better.

The biggest problem with using a table saw is that you end up with a flat bottom to the track. With a router you could better get the radius on the bottom of the track that allows the glass to slide so much better. This reduces the contact patch but also allows small amounts of substrate to settle out of the way of the glass - important with reptiles.

Also, there are only a few types of readily available woods that lend themselves to sliding glass track. There is a certain hardness and grain structure that is desireable. I don't remember what they are but assume they'll be pricey.

But to answer your question, I have never tried this for a reptile enclosure.
-----
Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

I have used this method and with great success. I used pine believe it or not. I went to Lowes and bought 2x2s, the kind made for decks I think they call them deck spindles anyway you could use any 2x2 I just used those because they were pressure treated and they are about 2 bucks each. I then ripped two channels with my table saw 1/16th inch wider than the thickness of the glass. Now the drawback to pine is the glass has to be 1/4th inch apart due to the weakness of the wood. I have a couple of friends that have used oak and only left a 1/8 inch gap and have had no problems. The glass does not glide like track and rollers but it will slide just fine. Good Luck.

np
-----
Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

.

I do allot of ripping and use allot of wood for various things. I also recently bought a 4 foot set of glass track from Rockler.com. When you put the price of wood, your work time, and shopping time against purchasing the real thing, it's way easier to simply call Rockler and order the pieces you need. Mine were $20 with shipping but part of that total included 2 brass pulls for 1/4 glass. You also have the raised center as mentioned and you don't have to worry about is it thick enough. Some things are easier bought in my opinion.
-----
DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell