Well it has been around a month and a half since my last post. As I am typing this, I only have 4 more weekends until I am a married man so stuff is getting mad crazy right now.
This is the third installment in my custom cage build.............and let's just say, I had some snags today. So while the finished product may not be ideal, I was still able to save all my materials and to improvise a solution that i believe will still be able to maintain a perfect environment for my little dude/dudette. That's the thing that I want to get across to everyone. I have no plans, no diagrams, and no pictures to go off of; yet I still believe that I have made something which I can stand back and admire. That is the fun part, and I encourage everyone to give it a shot and learn a new skill.....OK OK enough soapboxing
Here we go....First off, I attached the sides to the bottom.
Then I traced out where I would need to cut out holes for my fluorescent ballast and for my dome light.
Then I started to use the Roto-Zip to cut out the hole for the ballast.
The plan was to only have a hole there for the light, but my dad decided that we should use the skil saw because then we could cut in a nice straight line.....
Except while we were cutting it out, we pushed too hard and snapped off the entire back of the top of the cage. These are the perils of working with composite materials. Next custom one will be wood.
So we had no way to secure the light tightly, because the entire back of the top piece was now missing, I decided to use L shaped brackets that I would measure and cut to fit.
This would effectively replace the back piece with these, which then become weight bearing brackets for the support of the ballast.
Before the cut
After the cut
And mounted
I then cut the hole for the dome light. I cut it 1/4 inch smaller then the actual dome fixture. This way, i could use the lip of the dome to screw into the melamine and have a nice flush with the interior surface.
After that was done, we got to work on wiring the light bar.
First, I cut the female end off of a 6 ft. extension cord, and stripped about 1.5 inches down the wire so that the copper was exposed.
I did the same thing to the red and black wires coming out of the lighting ballast.
Then after all wires were joined, I added electrical screw caps to the connections and tucked all the wires into the ballast case.
I used an electrical coupler, and put the new cord i made through it so that it exits out the top off the light.
The coupler was made for a larger cord, so I wrapped electrical tape around it, in order to increase the circumference for a tighter fit.
I used finishing nails to nail it all together. It is extremely solid. But, for further reinforcement, I decided that I wanted a central support bar, so I put one in. I allowed just enough room in the front of the bar, to install my aluminum C-channel for my plexiglass sliders. You can see the C-channel in the third picture.
That's all I did today. I still have to cut and install the aluminum for the sliding front doors, as well as seal off every single seam on the interior of the enclosure. I also have rigged up a wire mesh piece, to go over the rear of the light and attach to the back. It is a small enough mesh that no live food items will be able to escape, yet breathable enough to essentially be another vent.
That's it. It was 91 degrees Fahrenheit here today so that was enough for two and a half hours.
I know that all the pros are laughing at this sad sack attempt, and I am totally cool with that.....................but hey we all started somewhere.
Peace.
~Aaron~
