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Supplies for a 3'Wx3'Hx2'D cage:
Tools:Weiss metal snips.Long nose pliers.Medium rasp.J-clip pliers (optional but timesaving)Tape measure.Saw.Drill.
Supplies:J-clips (optional but timesaving)28' of pine wainscoting (I call this “chinchilla carpeting”).
16' of ½”x ½” galvanized after welding hardware cloth (2 rolls of 10’x3’)
26’ of shelving pilasters – 2 x 3’ pieces & 5 x 4’ pieces.
38 (approx.) each of #6 nuts & bolts & washers to hold bolt heads & span 1/2 inch opening. (the washers are the hard part. )
OR: I “sew” the pilasters to the hardware cloth with the galvanized wire listed below. (That way I don’t have to search for too many of these hard to find washers.)
1 x 2" hasp and hinge,1 x 2’ piano hinge, 1 roll of 16 gauge galvanized wire,1 x 37” x 25” 16 gauge unsealed galvanized tray (I get this custom manufactured at a metal fabricating shop - the most expensive part of the cage around $35 to $40,
2 x 1kg coffee cans
To begin:Cut the hardware cloth into pieces as listed.
2 - 3’Wx3’H for front and back,2 - 2’Wx3’H for the sides
2 - 6”Wx2’L for the top portions,2 - 6”Wx 23”L for the end shelves,2 - 6”Wx35”L for the front and back shelves,1 - 2’Wx2’L for the door
If you want to avoid using J-clips and J-clip pliers, cut the pieces “zig-zag”. Then there is ½” long wire “tails” to “wrap” pieces together on both of the pieces you have just cut with the long nosed pliers.
DON’T: add the “tails” into your measurements – they’ll add an extra inch to each piece, and it will mess up all your calculations.
Next:
Put the pieces together with either the “tails”, wire, or j-clips.The shelves have to be done with “tails” or “sewn” on with wire as the j-clip pliers won’t fit into flat pieces of ½”x ½” hardware cloth. I will attempt to create a diagram to show this process…until then, a picture of my own cage will have to do.
The front shelf is 1/4 of the way down the front, the side shelves go 1/2 way down the sides, and the back shelf goes 3/4 of the way down the back. The top pieces go on either side of the top, and the door goes in the middle.
Next:
-3 of the 4’ pilasters need to be cut into 2’ pieces with the Weiss metal snips, and file the rough edges smooth with the rasp. These are for the bottom edges of the sides, the sides of the doorframe, and the sides of the door.
-2 of the 4’ pilasters need to be cut for the door and frame – on the front and back of the door, the pieces will be about 23”, and the two front and back doorframe pieces will need to be about 25” inches. Also file the rough edges with the rasp.
-The two 3’ pieces get left as is. File the rough edges if there are any. These are for the bottom edges of the front and back of the cage.
Next:
Cut your wainscoting into the pieces listed below.
4 x 34” for the long shelves- 4 x 22” for the short shelves
- 4 x 24” for the top sections,the remainder can be used to put together a simple chin house.
Next:
Drill holes just over ½” apart in 2 places down the centre of the small pieces of the wainscoting, and 3 places on the longer pieces. Take pieces of the galvanized wire and “twist tie” them down. Snip the ends off, and tuck any remaining pointed edges away so that you can’t feel them. WAIT: to put the “top” pieces on until the coffee cans are put in. It’s a real pain if you forget that.
Next:
Put holes into the coffee cans, just over ½” apart, at the back, top front and one side (depending on what side the can is going on). And “twist tie” them in, just like you did the wainscoting.
Next:
Put the pilasters onto the appropriate places, on the outside of the cage. EXCEPT: the rear door and frame pieces.
Next:
Put the 2’ piano hinge and door piece of the pilaster on at the same time, with the piano hinge on the inside of the door, and the pilaster on the outside. Same goes for the frame portion of the door. With this part, 5 sets of #6 nuts and bolts would be easiest. You can “whip stitch” these on, but what a pain!
Next:
“Sew” the hinge onto the centre of the door, and the hasp onto the front of the cage where the hinge naturally is falling to.
Next:
Make a hook out of a few pieces of twisted galvanized wire to fasten the cage shut.
Last:
Pick up your tray, insert the cage into the tray. Et Voila! You are done.
Estimated time: 9 to 11 hours.
