# new shelf full of enclosures



## evilebe (Sep 11, 2013)

i've had the tall beverage dispensers around for a while but never made all of them into enclosures until today. i ordered a bunch of two inch vents the other day and bought six more shoe boxes from the container store. i made them all into enclosures this afternoon. i have eight arboreal with four in use and eight terrestrial with four in use. i've got a pair of Aphonopelma species and a pair of giant desert hairy scorpions coming tomorrow but i may keep the scorps in something different and keep my shelf all tarantulas.
now the fun part,... filling them up.

cliff


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## pperrotta03 (Sep 11, 2013)

Looks great! Except those flowerpot hides aren't going to serve much of a purpose. What are you going to put in those?

And also is that a gorilla rack?


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## evilebe (Sep 11, 2013)

pperrotta03 said:


> Looks great! Except those flowerpot hides aren't going to serve much of a purpose. What are you going to put in those?
> 
> And also is that a gorilla rack?


i have g. roseas in them. why not much of a purpose? 

no... it's a tarantula rack.

Reactions: Like 2


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## EightLeggedFreaks (Sep 12, 2013)

evilebe said:


> no... it's a tarantula rack.


LAWLS!! Hilarious


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## pperrotta03 (Sep 12, 2013)

Lol well I have my stuff on that same rack

tappy tappa taparoo


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## edgeofthefreak (Sep 12, 2013)

Uhhhh, nice rack? 


I love those shoe boxes, but the store I get them from doesn't have the tall, high-heeled boxes. I'd like to get a few of those, but also, where did those tall beverage containers come from? I've seen them turned into terrariums before (not 8 of them in a row, but still) and I think they're quite nice looking. Are yours the ones with a 'landing' section about 1/3 from the bottom?


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## evilebe (Sep 12, 2013)

edgeofthefreak said:


> Uhhhh, nice rack?
> 
> 
> I love those shoe boxes, but the store I get them from doesn't have the tall, high-heeled boxes. I'd like to get a few of those, but also, where did those tall beverage containers come from? I've seen them turned into terrariums before (not 8 of them in a row, but still) and I think they're quite nice looking. Are yours the ones with a 'landing' section about 1/3 from the bottom?


the beverage dispensers are from wal mart but i haven't been able to find any in a while and i think they have been discontinued. i leave the "landing" area in on most of them but i have cut two out all of the way.

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pperrotta03 said:


> Lol well I have my stuff on that same rack
> 
> tappy tappa taparoo


i looked on homedepot.com and i believe it is an edsal but i bought it around a year ago and i can't remember for sure.


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## Ivan M (Sep 17, 2013)

Looks very nice and neat, easy to feed and service the T'S. Good job with this.


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## tarantulagirl10 (Sep 18, 2013)

Looks great!


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## sugarsandz (Nov 5, 2013)

Very nice rack, I have the same one! I covered the shelves with fabric that looked cool under my tanks just to add some color.


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## viper69 (Nov 5, 2013)

Where did you get clear boxes? Those are cool!

2. How did you cut a hole in the plastic w/out cracking it? What tools did you use?

3. I like the setup, looks cool!


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## hibiscusmile (Nov 5, 2013)

I think they look great, nice setup, he prob used a hole saw! good work.


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## Boatman (Nov 5, 2013)

Efficient use of space.


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## evilebe (Nov 5, 2013)

thanks. the clear boxes on bottom are men's shoe boxes from the container store. they are about 10.00. to cut a hole in the thin acrylic i use a hole saw. the trick is to cut the hole very fast while not applying much pressure. i've cracked a couple.


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## viper69 (Nov 5, 2013)

Oh, THIS sucks, I checked online and I can't order them online. The nearest store is 2 hrs away...Sucks!

Thanks! a hole saw, sounds like a job for my Dremel to drill holes. I don't own a hole saw, just a drill.


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## edgeofthefreak (Nov 8, 2013)

viper69 said:


> ...I don't own a hole saw, just a drill.


Hole saw is just a fancy term for "hole cutting drill bit." It's a round bit that fits any standard drill. For years I called them door-knob-makers. When I use one, I cut very slow and let the bit cool down. Faster speed cutting works as well too, but I find the bit will heat up quicker as well. I'm terribly impatient sometimes, so err on the side of caution is good for me.

For cutting a 2" hole through 3/8" acrylic, it takes about 20 minutes. If I take less time than that, I'll crack the edges around the hole.

Get some discard piece and practice, to find your ideal speed. Working with acrylic can be an art form.


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## viper69 (Nov 8, 2013)

edgeofthefreak said:


> Hole saw is just a fancy term for "hole cutting drill bit." It's a round bit that fits any standard drill. For years I called them door-knob-makers. When I use one, I cut very slow and let the bit cool down. Faster speed cutting works as well too, but I find the bit will heat up quicker as well. I'm terribly impatient sometimes, so err on the side of caution is good for me.
> 
> For cutting a 2" hole through 3/8" acrylic, it takes about 20 minutes. If I take less time than that, I'll crack the edges around the hole.
> 
> Get some discard piece and practice, to find your ideal speed. Working with acrylic can be an art form.


OHHHHH hahahah, that makes a lot more sense, thanks for the link. 20" just to go through 3/8", wow.


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## MagicalLobster (Nov 8, 2013)

viper69 said:


> Oh, THIS sucks, I checked online and I can't order them online. The nearest store is 2 hrs away...Sucks!
> 
> Thanks! a hole saw, sounds like a job for my Dremel to drill holes. I don't own a hole saw, just a drill.


Viper, you can order varying kinds of these boxes. I found that I couldn't order the big men's shoe boxes also and so I ordered some for high heeled shoes that I'm assuming will work well. Here is the link: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10023923&N=&Ntt=clear+shoe+box


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## viper69 (Nov 8, 2013)

MagicalLobster said:


> Viper, you can order varying kinds of these boxes. I found that I couldn't order the big men's shoe boxes also and so I ordered some for high heeled shoes that I'm assuming will work well. Here is the link: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10023923&N=&Ntt=clear+shoe+box


Let me know how they work for you! I need something like that, or maybe those long Kritter Keepers for some terrestrials (I just don't like how little room there is from the top to the substrate floor, it's enough for an active terrestrial to walk about or RUN out when the lid opens. I have a Pumpkin Patch and a GBB, and I can't have those guys running out haha. That's why I like those acrylic setups because there's enough space in height.  Ultimately I'm going to get some acrylic enclosures.


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## edgeofthefreak (Nov 9, 2013)

MagicalLobster said:


> Viper, you can order varying kinds of these boxes. I found that I couldn't order the big men's shoe boxes also and so I ordered some for high heeled shoes that I'm assuming will work well. Here is the link: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10023923&N=&Ntt=clear+shoe+box


You mean this container? 

I bought this acrylic container on sale for about $15. They didn't have the taller high-heeled model, so I gave this one a try. I personally think it's too short, so I'm on the lookout for the taller one soon.
I didn't modify the sides at all, since they have 10 small hole pre-drilled.
Specs: 1 and 1/2" hole saw for three 1 and 5/8" vents. The hole saw will cut slightly larger than intended, so a 1  and 1/2" vent passes right through. The vents I found had cute bender tabs, making this build a breeze.


Also, you may note that my vent holes weren't drilled very well, but it's okay... the vents can cover those easily!        ^


Oh, and just an example of what I meant by slow and steady wins the race. Holes 1-3 were done in about 5 minutes. Number 4 was done in just under 20 minutes. Number 5 took the entire length of an episode of The Big Bang Theory (minus commercials) which is just about 22-25 minutes. Up close, 5 looks photoshopped.

Reactions: Like 1


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## viper69 (Nov 9, 2013)

edgeofthefreak said:


> You mean this container?
> 
> I bought this acrylic container on sale for about $15. They didn't have the taller high-heeled model, so I gave this one a try. I personally think it's too short, so I'm on the lookout for the taller one soon.
> I didn't modify the sides at all, since they have 10 small hole pre-drilled.
> ...


THANKS for those pics. I like hole #5, that's clean. Did you use Brad Point style drill bits? Damn that takes a while, certainly not like wood! SO when you drill w/the hole saw bit (never used one) is it something you are continually drilling or can you stop? I suspect if you stop that would make the inner diameter maybe less uniform.
Do you use any lubricants while drilling?
Did you use a drill press, or just hand held?



What do you keep in there? It looks nice. Looks like you are using some short of bungee-like cord to keep the lid in place. I haven't figured out what the best "locking" system would be for the lid. See the thing is, I like how Kritter Kreeper style lids truly lock down, BUT, as a result how they lock down, when you open them it always puts your Ts on edge a bit because of the vibrations at times. In my DREAM world, I'd have a 4 walled box of some type, with a lid that was hydraulically lifted up and down hahah

If those were taller, I'd feel more secure with keeping my GBB or Columbian Pumpkin Patch in them when it comes to opening the lid (and worrying they will run out). I like their length and width for those 2 species.


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## edgeofthefreak (Nov 9, 2013)

All five of those example holes were with standard regular wood drill bits, no lubricant. And for hole saw, I stop, move the bit, brush away any bits from bit and hole, continue. If you feel the bit, you can tell how hot it'll start getting. I'm sure with lubricants, fast and steady is the key. Add in a drill press and your hole will come out actually straight, unlike #3 up there, lol.

That cute enclosure with bungees is too short for anything, I think... but as I haven't modded the bottom part, I'll look for the taller one and sub it out.


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## viper69 (Nov 10, 2013)

edgeofthefreak said:


> All five of those example holes were with standard regular wood drill bits, no lubricant. And for hole saw, I stop, move the bit, brush away any bits from bit and hole, continue. If you feel the bit, you can tell how hot it'll start getting. I'm sure with lubricants, fast and steady is the key. Add in a drill press and your hole will come out actually straight, unlike #3 up there, lol.
> 
> That cute enclosure with bungees is too short for anything, I think... but as I haven't modded the bottom part, I'll look for the taller one and sub it out.


Thanks again! Those would be perfect size for my young emilia, a bit taller and perfect for my Columbian Pumpkin Patch.
Hmm I wonder if Dremel makes a hole saw bit, I need to check because they have a drill press set up for like $50. I have a real drills, I wonder if those would be more, I need to look into this.


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