# New cage



## mcliff1 (Sep 20, 2008)

I stopped by Michael's craft store the other day, and saw they had Football Display cases on sale for 40% off, so I decided - why not!  I tossed the wooden/plastic "base", flipped it over, made a plexi lid with acrylic hinges and a pair of hasps, tossed in three round vents and walla - my first custom made T cage!  Our female G. rosea seems to enjoy her new place!


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## Krazy Kat (Sep 20, 2008)

very nice!!Looks really great dude..:clap: :clap:


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## gvfarns (Sep 20, 2008)

This looks great.  Amazing actually, but it doesn't really look like what you described.  

Where's the wood?  Was a football acrylic case actually made of that thick of acrylic? Looks like 3/16 at least.

Can you explain in greater detail what you did?

How much did the display case cost.

I am about to make some acrylic enclosures and if this is cheaper and easier, I'm down.


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## gvfarns (Sep 20, 2008)

Oh wait, you tossed the wooden base, not tossed a wooden base on there.  My bad.  Maybe this is what you described.  Still I'd like the other details I asked about if you have them.

Good work.  It's a wonderful enclosure.


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## gvfarns (Sep 20, 2008)

Also, how did you make the vents?  They look really great.


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## Remigius (Sep 21, 2008)

great place for a dry specie :clap: I wouldn't keep humidity dependent spiders in there, though.


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## mcliff1 (Sep 21, 2008)

gvfarns said:


> Also, how did you make the vents?  They look really great.


The walls are somewhere between 3/16 and 1/4" thick.  The top is 1/4" that I cut from a piece of sheet acrylic that I picked up at H.D.  The display case cost me $29.95 on sale.  The vents also came from H.D. - they are sold with the other soffit vents. They are 2" diameter (inside sleve section).  I used a hole saw to cut out the openings for the vents and used epoxy to bond them to the acrylic.  I cut out circles of window screen and glued them to back (inside) of the vents as well.  Thanks for the kind words - it was the first one I tried to customize, and I was happy with the way it came out.  I'm thinking some more of my Ts are going to get new homes as well!


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## mcliff1 (Sep 21, 2008)

Remigius said:


> great place for a dry specie :clap: I wouldn't keep humidity dependent spiders in there, though.



If I was going to build one for higher humidity T (i.e. Haplopelms, etc I would omit the top vent.


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## gvfarns (Sep 21, 2008)

Well it seems like a real deal at that price.  I recently built an enclosure out of 1/4" acrylic and the acrylic cost alone was pretty significant.

You did a really good job with those vents and...well...really everything.  I'll see if I can get some vents going on in my next enclosure.  Maybe I can even find this same acylic box (although I guess you did get it on sale.  Probably not as cheap if it were not).


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## gvfarns (Sep 21, 2008)

BTW what are the dimensions of that bad boy?  10x10x12 or something?  More?


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## mcliff1 (Sep 21, 2008)

That one is 7" h x 7" d x 11"l

Here is a pic of the tank I made this morning - I plan on putting some P. imperatus into it.  This one is 24" l x 10" h x 10" d.  I made this one from scratch because I could't find any display cases that big.


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## Protectyaaaneck (Sep 21, 2008)

when making an acrylic enclosure yourself, how do you mount the walls/pieces together in a seamless fashion?  I was thinking you epoxy'd them together, but how do you get it to stay together long enough in the right position until it hardens up?:?


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## mcliff1 (Sep 21, 2008)

I used two speed squares to hold the pieces at 90deg angles to each other, along with some masking tape (to hold the plexi to the squares).  I think switching to an 84 tooth table saw blade (made for cutting plastic) was the key to nice seems for me.  I have noticed that when the seems are tight, it doesn't take long for the acrylic cement (the really watery type) to set.


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## gvfarns (Sep 22, 2008)

Yeah (to elaborate more) the correct glue is really a solvent.  Weld on #4 or #3 for example.  You set up the joint and tape it in place.  Then you put just a little solvent in and it sucks into the joint by cappilary action.  It melts the two edges and they become one.  Then it dries.  This way the whole tank is one piece of acrylic.

EDIT: sorry in my first version it sounded like I was bagging on your technique.  I'm not. You are the man.


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## gvfarns (Sep 22, 2008)

Tap plastics has a howto video on gluing acrylic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT6Ow_cBTps


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## Bennett (Sep 22, 2008)

Damn that looks nice.


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## mcliff1 (Sep 22, 2008)

gvfarns said:


> Yeah (to elaborate more) the correct glue is really a solvent.  Weld on #4 or #3 for example.  You set up the joint and tape it in place.  Then you put just a little solvent in and it sucks into the joint by cappilary action.  It melts the two edges and they become one.  Then it dries.  This way the whole tank is one piece of acrylic.
> 
> EDIT: sorry in my first version it sounded like I was bagging on your technique.  I'm not. You are the man.


Yes. The solvent is what I used (from Tap actually!)  It really is cool how quickly it bonds the two pieces into one!


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