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View Full Version : I really hate working with plastic tubs....


Tegan
04-12-2002, 09:46 AM
Jeff you can say "I told you so" now. I should have just bought one of your rack systems like I was going to. (And will probably do in the future, can you say birthday present?) Some one please kick me.

So I decide unstead of haveing the tubs lined up on the floor, why not cut a hole in them and just attach a plexiglass hinged door? Then I can stack them! What a great idea! So I buy some plexiglass, and a hinge and some bolts and get to work. Well after I realized I bought the wrong size plexi, and tried to cut it myself, which didnt work at all, I inlisted the help of my husband.

So we get a new peice of plexi (the correct size this time) and my husband lines it up on the tub, traces around it, then traces a line about an inch and a half in from that. Picks up the power drill, (and this next part is totally my fault for not telling him) starts to drill on the tub like it's wood and puts a six inch long crack into the tub out into where there didn't need to be a crack lol. I slap myself on the forhead and take the drill away from him. (I've worked on tubs a lot before and should have known better then to let him do it lol, guys are all about forceing powertools to work harder, at least my guy is.)

So we decide this will be a good tub to practice on. We grab the jigsaw and start to make our cut (ok he's the one cutting, nother bad move lol) he gets to the corner and CRANKS the jig around the corner, "Crack! SNAP!" The lip of the tub splits from the rest of the tub. (Slaping forhead again here.)

Flip the tub over and draw out the lines again....then he comes up with a pretty good idea. Duct tape the lines to cut along so that the plastic maybe wont crack. (At this point I mumble under my breath about just not forceing it lol.) So we duct tape the lines...I drill the hole....he starts cutting....and we acctually get the hole cut with only minor (tiny tiny) cracks, that are takeing out easily with a razor blade. We repeat all steps on a "good" tub.

And this is where we're at so far. One compleatly ruined tub, one ruined peice of plexi and one tub with a big hole in it lol.

So, we've learned. 1. When working with plastic tubs you need to let the power tools do the work (I allready knew this but it helps to tell the person working on the tub this.) 2. Allways make sure you buy plexi of the right size, and if you cant find it in the right size, have a professional cut it.

I'm sure there will be many more lessons added to this as the project continues. (and hopefully pictures)

So far the major thing I'm learning though is: I should have just bought the dang rack system from Jeff!!!

Tegan

surfimp
04-13-2002, 10:49 PM
This brings up a possibly salient point regarding building your own cage vs. buying a prebuilt cage: the hypothetical materials cost for a home-made cage is difficult to measure, because in addition to whatever wasteage you have from cutoff, unusable scrap, you'll also have waste from the "uh oh, bummer" mistakes and whatnot. Depending upon how much you screw up, that cost can become fairly significant vs. the "fixed" cost of a prebuilt cage :)

Good luck with that rack system, Tegan! As the saying goes, "You can do it!"

Tegan
04-14-2002, 07:40 AM
I know I can do it LOL...all I have to do now is convince my husband he doesn't need to help and then I'll stop messing it up LOL. ;D

Tegan

The_Boaphile
05-28-2002, 07:26 PM
I just read that! LOL That is a great story! Plastic is a whole different animal isn't it? Believe me I wasted a lot of material before I started getting anywhere. I was determined to figure it out. I not only had to build stuff that was functional but product that people would be proud to show off. It had to look good. It took me a while to get there but we finally made it. It's great fun now that I figured out some of the tricks! Anytime you want to share those kinds of "experiences" have at it!

Thanks,

Jeff

Tegan
06-06-2002, 05:16 PM
Well....we did finally finish the project....but I must say...after a month of keeping my cornsnake in it (as a test) four days of a cornsnake running free in my house...and then moving the corn back into it's original container, I think my design is bad lol. It's way too easy to escape from this...so....back to the drawing board!

Tegan

The_Boaphile
07-02-2002, 05:09 PM
Back to the drawing board huh?  cwm4.gif I hope you have your checkbook near that drawing board. cwm1.gif LOL I'm so funny.  cwm32.gif But seriously you DO know where to find me.  cwm33.gif Nobody escapes from "Boaphile Plastics" racks.  cwm11.gif Nobody.  cwm11.gif

;D Oh, one more thing. I never say I told you so.  ;D

Tegan
07-03-2002, 07:15 AM
Hehehe You should see the monsterous creations I've come up with (And then pitched.) Well....I have a birthday coming up...LOL Perhaps my husband will be nice and accutally buy me something I want this year! LOL.

Tegan