Second Attempt at building enclosure

[Gods Spartan]

Second Attempt at building my own enclosure. Definitely an improvement over my first enclosure but there is room to improve for sure. Any thoughts or comments are very much appreciated.

 

[Gods Spartan]

A few more details:

I used cork board to pre plan a pattern that I wanted to drill. Then I clamped the acrylic and board together and drilled the holes. Looking back, I think I rushed just a tad too much and there was cracking on some of the holes. In the future, I will go a little slower.

I built a square block to keep my sides square during the adhesion process, but I took it for granted. It isn't perfectly square. Still, I feel this will work for my T.

Used two locks instead of one for extra security. Might entertain a thicker cut of acrylic next time around.

 

[viper69]

Looks decent visually, nice job.

When you are writing subjective words like "thicker" etc, those are meaningless w/out knowing knowing what thickness you have

So given it's not square, what would you do in future to solve that issue for another build?

Questions to help people who will read this in the future:

What was the cost of materials?
What material is that?
~Time to complete
What product did you use to chemically weld the sides together, the hasps?
Source of hasps (they are easy to find, but you'd be surprised how many people ask us this)

Keep up the good work, you'll only get better!

 

[Gods Spartan]

Looks decent visually, nice job.

When you are writing subjective words like "thicker" etc, those are meaningless w/out knowing knowing what thickness you have

So given it's not square, what would you do in future to solve that issue for another build?

Questions to help people who will read this in the future:

What was the cost of materials?
What material is that?
~Time to complete
What product did you use to chemically weld the sides together, the hasps?
Source of hasps (they are easy to find, but you'd be surprised how many people ask us this)

Keep up the good work, you'll only get better!

Thanks for the input.

The acrylic was from Tap plastics and the grand total ran just under 50 including shipping.

Looks decent visually, nice job.

When you are writing subjective words like "thicker" etc, those are meaningless w/out knowing knowing what thickness you have

So given it's not square, what would you do in future to solve that issue for another build?

Questions to help people who will read this in the future:

What was the cost of materials?
What material is that?
~Time to complete
What product did you use to chemically weld the sides together, the hasps?
Source of hasps (they are easy to find, but you'd be surprised how many people ask us this)

Keep up the good work, you'll only get better!

Thanks for the input.

At 16x10x10 I feel like the acrylic sways in a little too much at 1/8 inch. It would work for a smaller cage, but next one I build will be 1/4 thick.

The acrylic is from Tap Plastics and I paid just under $50 for it.. including shipping.

The plastic hinges and clasps can be purchased online at Amazon.com Just search for the items. They are fairly cheap.

I used a Weld On adhesive which basically welds the acrylic together into one piece.

Finally, I think my undoing on the enclosure was not double checking my work and rushing a little too much on the drilling. Take your time, double check. Better twice checked than once sorry.

 

[Red Eunice]

Impressive for your second build.
Size of the enclosure dictates acrylic thickness for structural stability, IME.
Note: when drilling holes I use a tabletop drill press at highest speed and have a piece of plywood underneath. If possible use a 3 flute bit, carries the shavings out quicker and eliminates potential cracking. If you can't locate 3 flute bits, brad point bits work equally well, but need to go slow and lighter pressure applied. HSS bits should be avoided, they're for use on metal and result in chipping the acrylic.
I've built many arboreal enclosures and the size yours is, would personally use .180" thickness. Thickest I have ever used was .220" and only on 2 sides, more of a weight factor than structural integrity.
I would use Weld On bonding agent but given how I cut my acrylic pieces, use a 2 part epoxy instead.
All in all, as viper69 stated, the more you build the better you become. Keep up the good work. Kudos to you.

 

[Gods Spartan]

Impressive for your second build.
Size of the enclosure dictates acrylic thickness for structural stability, IME.
Note: when drilling holes I use a tabletop drill press at highest speed and have a piece of plywood underneath. If possible use a 3 flute bit, carries the shavings out quicker and eliminates potential cracking. If you can't locate 3 flute bits, brad point bits work equally well, but need to go slow and lighter pressure applied. HSS bits should be avoided, they're for use on metal and result in chipping the acrylic.
I've built many arboreal enclosures and the size yours is, would personally use .180" thickness. Thickest I have ever used was .220" and only on 2 sides, more of a weight factor than structural integrity.
I would use Weld On bonding agent but given how I cut my acrylic pieces, use a 2 part epoxy instead.
All in all, as viper69 stated, the more you build the better you become. Keep up the good work. Kudos to you.

Thanks for the input man! Always up for a little education so I can make improvements!

 

[bryverine]

Impressive for your second build.
Size of the enclosure dictates acrylic thickness for structural stability, IME.
Note: when drilling holes I use a tabletop drill press at highest speed and have a piece of plywood underneath. If possible use a 3 flute bit, carries the shavings out quicker and eliminates potential cracking. If you can't locate 3 flute bits, brad point bits work equally well, but need to go slow and lighter pressure applied. HSS bits should be avoided, they're for use on metal and result in chipping the acrylic.
I've built many arboreal enclosures and the size yours is, would personally use .180" thickness. Thickest I have ever used was .220" and only on 2 sides, more of a weight factor than structural integrity.
I would use Weld On bonding agent but given how I cut my acrylic pieces, use a 2 part epoxy instead.
All in all, as viper69 stated, the more you build the better you become. Keep up the good work. Kudos to you.

How do your two part epoxy bonds look? I figure they won't make what a routered edge abd acrylic solvent will, but if I don't have to router edges to make a decent looking enclosure...

Which epoxy do you use?