I did mean (polyester) automotive body filler when I said Bondo. To be even more specific, I would use just a standard filler or lightweight filler. Avoid the glass-strand filler, sometimes sold as waterproof filler, as it is harder to form before cured and harder to sand once cured.

Back to resins. Polyester resin is much more brittle than epoxy resin so you either need sufficient fiberglass (cloth, mat, roving, etc.) to avoid cracking or you need to be applying it to an already stable surface.

Of the two choices, the stable surface by way of thicker plywood will be much cheaper, much easier and also provide a better insulated cage with greater thermal mass.

However, the 1/4" plywood shell with multiple fiberglass layers may offer you some advantages I have not considered.

But if you do go down that road I would consider instead using plywood to make a form that the fiberglass shell could be pulled from once cured. Quite simply the amount of resin plus cloth you would need to overcome the flexibility of the plywood would be strong enough on its own.

The original Neodesha cages (before Neodesha bought the design and went to formed ABS) were built this way.

If you really want to go the 1/4" plywood route you might look at epoxy resin simply because it is so much stronger and flexible. It could very well end up being cheaper than the multiple layers of polyester resin plus fiberglass you'll need to make for the relative lack of strength and flexibility.

Wooden kayak and canoe builders use epoxy for this reason, among others -- it ends up being cheaper in the long run over the thin plywood substrates they use.


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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

[ Hide Replies ]

• suggestions appreciated - burmguy09, Fri Jan 16 05:07:15 2009
• RE: suggestions appreciated - Chris_Harper2, Fri Jan 16 10:32:05 2009
• RE: suggestions appreciated - burmguy09, Fri Jan 16 11:58:32 2009
• RE: suggestions appreciated - Chris_Harper2, Fri Jan 16 12:20:48 2009
• RE: suggestions appreciated - Upscale, Fri Jan 16 17:21:51 2009
• Good question... - Chris_Harper2, Fri Jan 16 18:18:14 2009
• RE: Good question... - burmguy09, Sat Jan 17 04:28:56 2009
• more... - chris_harper2, Mon Jan 19 13:49:37 2009
• RE: suggestions appreciated - paul edwards, Thu Jan 22 18:09:23 2009