custom cage update

[dangles]

still chipping away at this project... i can only get in to work on it once or twice a week, and i'm a little behind financially right now, so it's kind of on hold until i can pay for the glass (which will cost around $60 for 2 tempered 1/8" pieces) and stains and such...

first one is all the pieces. the wood is all cabinet-grade oak plywood, except for the floors and back, which are baltic birch, and the drawer front and frames for the windows, which are oak planks. total cost for wood: $160

the second one is how i constructed the sides/front/back on the inside to support the floors of each enclosure. i glued/finish-nailed 1.5" x 1" pieces of oak all the way around for the floors to rest on.

the final one is all the pieces (except the doors/drawer) loosely placed together.

i still need to get hardware, locks and molding (for around the top and bottom) to spice it up a little.

i just yesterday routered the edges of the drawer-front and door frames. still have to put those together and get the glass. after that i can start finish sanding and filling in holes and such. i also adhered the linoleum to the floors.

i actually decided to change up how i'm doing the bottom drawer about halfway through the project. i decided to just make it a drop-down door that opens up to the hollow space under the bottom cage rather than actually construct a drawer to place in it. better use of space, and MUCH easier...

i've still got the sketchup files if anyone's interested... i'll keep you updated as i make progress. total cost after all supplies and final cage decor and heating will be around $400-500 (i'm spending a little more on decor than is probably necessary, but i want it to look as much like their natural habitat as possible)

final over-all dimensions will be 4x2x4 (each enclosure is about 4x2x1.5)

[dpool316]

wow wish i could build something that nice

[Kaiyudsai]

Nice man.... I'm a fan of furniture grade wood too... I just don't have any furniture that goes with colored PVC plastic..... that Oak should look great finished.... I sealed the inside of my wood cages( bottom sides and top) with fiberglass resin...... it's completely waterproof

[Stygian]

nice work! im planing a build with full sheets of hardwood birch myself. cant wait to see the final results

[Boa Amarali]

Grerat job, love the material looks wonderful !

[cian300]

Looks sweet!!!. Did you decide to use the hinged doors?

[Scott Ross]

Wow! very nice...cant wait til it's finished

[indyharleykpl]

New here, Gonna try my hands at building my own cage. Wanna build it out of plywood. Need input on what's the best wood to use thinking of all birch.
Help Please..

[Kaiyudsai]

Originally Posted by indyharleykpl

New here, Gonna try my hands at building my own cage. Wanna build it out of plywood. Need input on what's the best wood to use thinking of all birch.
Help Please..

use cabinet grade plywood, and you can buy it with birch or Oak veneer... both are great, but have very different looks to them.. I prefer Oak, but birch looks great stained as well.. you just have to use appropriate sealant for the inside and out

[dangles]

i agree... cabinet-grade plywood is the way to go if you want it to look nice, but really most plywood will work (just don't use MDF or particle board or junk like that). as far as cabinet-grade plywood you can get just about any type of wood you want. i really wanted to use cherry or walnut, but those were way too expensive. i used baltic birch for the floor of each cage and the back because it handles humidity and temperature fluctuations better than most others, and it's a little less expensive than the oak that i got for the rest of it.

you won't be able to find the cabinet-grade stuff at lowe's or home depot, though (at least the ones around me). i had to go to a specialty wood-working and cabinet store.