Built a rodent rack

This was exhausting and upset me a lot! I had no help, went through four bottles of gatorade, 10 pints of sweat because it was like 90˚ outside, had to deal with a drill that couldn't run for a constant 5 seconds, had to buy a new drill which was a POS but that's what I get for buying the cheapest one possible. Took me around 10-11 hours to build the whole thing. I basically stole the design from Clay Davenports site, but made it smaller because my shed isn't tall enough for 6 levels.

All of the 2x4's and 2x2's cut
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3875.jpg

OSB cut to size
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3876.jpg

Sizes
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3877.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3878.jpg

Assembling the first frame using two 62" 2x2s, two 16 1/2" 2x2s, and one 59" 2x2
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3879.jpg

Last frame
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3881.jpg

Attached with hardware cloth. The 2x2s in the middle are where the hardware cloth is overlapped. I was low on it, so I had to be conservative with it and lay it where I would get the most cloth with the least cloth, if you get that
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3882.jpg

Attached legs. This is one of the more difficult parts. The rack was initially laid horizontally to attach the legs.
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3883.jpg

Attaching the frames using the 10" spacers.
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3884.jpg

After attaching the second frame, my drill died completely. So I went out to Target to buy a new one lol. And got the cheapest one possible

Old drill
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3885.jpg

New drill
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3886.jpg

Took like 2-5 minutes to drill a hole though a 2x2. And I still had quit a bit of drilling to go.

All frames assembled
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3887.jpg

Attaching the supports for the OSB with a 19" 2x2 and a 5 5/8" 2x2 as a spacer
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3889.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3888.jpg

After nailing in the OSB and nailing some back stops, I was FINALLY done. And after I cut like 10" off the legs to make is smaller.
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/PICT3890.jpg


If you look at the first and last pictures, you can see the difference in daylight by the garage door. I started at little before 10 A.M. And finished around 9:30 P.M.

Nice job on the rack and your right thats not a drill thats a toy.:D:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tonkatoyman

Nice job on the rack and your right thats not a drill thats a toy.:D:D

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No kidding. This thing is used for like mounting hooks in drywall or something. I seriously had to lean into the wood to get enough pressure to do anything. I probably could have chewed through the wood faster.

Trade up for a Dewalt or Makita, nice rack :)

Good job on the rack. I have build that exact rack. I have had many problems with the rats chewing on the tubs. I beleive this is caused by the tubs sagging in the front, and them sliding around. I have also had a lot of problems with the middle tubs sagging, so had to install spacers between each rack to hold the MDF up. I have thought of installing runners to hold the tubs up, but it would take a lot of work now that it is alredy built.

Good luck with yours.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by llovelace

Trade up for a Dewalt or Makita, nice rack :)

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If I had the money I would. I only had about $50 at the time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

Good job on the rack. I have build that exact rack. I have had many problems with the rats chewing on the tubs. I beleive this is caused by the tubs sagging in the front, and them sliding around. I have also had a lot of problems with the middle tubs sagging, so had to install spacers between each rack to hold the MDF up. I have thought of installing runners to hold the tubs up, but it would take a lot of work now that it is alredy built.

Good luck with yours.

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Clay mentions 4 1/2" supports to prevent sagging. I found 4 1/2" to be too big though, can't even slide in the tubs. I think like maybe 4 1/4" would fit good.

I had built that rack a while back and had the sagging problems and rats chewing on the tubs.........went back to the concrete tubs with no problems...If i build one with the cat litter pans going to hang them like other racks.

If you use solid wood, not chips glued together, you will have far less sagging.

Even a couple of 1X3s for each level would do the trick.

The first time is always the worst and not having real tools only compounds the problem.

Looks like it all worked out though. Pat yourself on the back.