Construction a rat rack from plywood

I see alot of people building rat/mice/ASF racks out of 2 bys and 1 bys. I find plywood is just as sturdy and in my case costs WAY less. I can get 2 racks out of one sheet of plywood and still have some left over. Heres a list of what you need for (1) 4 level rack,IF you use the shallow concrete tubs from Lowes.
The width of the wood works for me because these are the common drop offs I have from building cabinets.

2- 6"w x 48"h (rear legs back)
2- 3"w x 48"h (rear legs sides)
2- 3"w x 48"h (front legs)

8- 2"w x 22 1/4" long (frame front & rear)
8- 2"w x 25 1/2" long (frame left & right)
4- 2"w x 20 7/8" long (food hopper)
8- 1 3/16"w x 26 3/4 (tub rail side)
8- 2"w x 26 3/4 (tub rail bottom)

I begin by nailing a 3" piece to a 6" piece to form a big "L". After both "L"s are made I make my frames for the screen by nailing (2) 2" x 25 1/2" in between (2) 2" x 22 1/4" For the food hopper/brace i nail (1) 2"w x 20 7/8, 6 inches from the narrow side. This now differenciates the from from the back now.

After the frames are made I cut my screen just shy of the width and length of my frames and staple it to the face of the frames.

Next take (1) 2"w x 26 3/4 and face nail it to the edge of (1) 1 3/16w x 26 3/4. These will form small "L"s that will be used to slide the tubs on.

I assemble the rack by screwing my frames with the screen attached to my rear "L" legs and front legs remembering that the food hoppers should be away from the rear legs. Start at the top and I space mine 12" apart = 4 tubs in 4 foot.

After the screen frames are assembled, screw the small "L"s to the legs butting the 1 3/16 up against the screen. The 1 3/16" side will be used to space the tub up against the bottom of the screen.

The rack should now be complete. Sometimes i have to unscrew the small "L" if the tub slides too tight otherwise your rack is done.

I have included some pics of a completed rack. On my next rack I will take step by step pics.

Rear leg assembly. NOTE 3" piece is facing the SIDE and the 6" piece is facing the REAR
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...s/e1f90d28.jpg

Close up of the small "L" showing how the 1 3/16 board acts as a spacer for the lowere 2" piece. NOTE I use 1/2 thick for my bottom slide only because again thats drop offs from my cabinet jobs.
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...s/6121615d.jpg

Finished TOP
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...s/d58d0681.jpg

Finished FRONT
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...s/923b1cf4.jpg

Finished SIDE front on left and rear on right
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...s/0edefba5.jpg

Finished REAR
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...s/bdd13aca.jpg

Very nice.

That's a clean looking rack! Great job.

What kind of plywood? I looks like you're using cabinet grade stuff whic could get expensive.

Thanks

I used a prefinished asian birch for these but they were drop offs. Usually I use a regular grade birch which costs me apx 25 bucks. As long as its 3/4" thick you could use a sheet of CDX and those only run 15 - 18 bucks

I would have to check the prices at lumber yards. At Home Depot plywood = pine if you want $25-30 a sheet. Hardwood is $45 which still isn't bad if you get two racks out of one sheet.

Thanks for posting.

This is great. This should be a sticky. I do have a question though if you would since you seem to know more about wood products.
On this home depot page, which sheet of 4x8 would you say is the absolute lowest quality I could go and be ok. I am on a very tight budget and I don't care about looks that much as I do about price and function. I will be building about 7 of these.
Also how did you break down a 4x8 sheet?

I would use this one

http://www.homedepot.com/Lumber-Comp...atalogId=10053

I use a table saw to cut it up if thats what you mean by breaking down

By breaking it down, if you were to draw the pieces on the 4x8 how would they fit.

it dont matter what order you rip the wood, everytning is ripped length ways (8' long) then cut to the size needed.

The only reason that I am asking is because I am trying to do the math and lay it all out and the numbers just aren't adding up. If what posted is everything I need for 1 rack. And I can get 2 out of a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I just cant seem to figure out how to get that many pieces out of a sheet. I really like this design and I want to use it.

My math isnt working out right either. I might have grabbed a piece or two of scraps and figured that into the sheet of plywood. :confused:

After putting a little more planing into it. I can get 4 racks out of 2 sheets of plywood. I would have to do all the legs on one sheet, and all the other cuts on another sheet. It works out the same since I am doing more than 2 anyways.

After building a few more I have found i get better results making them 47" high that way i can square up the factory cuts

Just finished another today

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...s/4467aa3e.jpg

I like the idea but I can't help but think of the added work involved in ripping a sheet of plywood into strips compared to just cross cutting 2x2s. I have a table saw and a panel saw but even with the panel saw its still a lot more work to mess with the 4x8 sheet when I can just cross cut the 2x stuff.

I have all the tools to rip and cut the wood. But I'm gonna buy mine at homedepot or lowes. They will cut it for you. Some charge some don't just depends on who you get.

Again, why bother? Also Just be careful home depot and lowes panel saws arent usually accurate. Probably not an issue with a rat rack but something to keep in mind.

I do it because its cheaper,sturdier and if you have alot of racks it saves LOTS of space. The way i see most people build them with 2x's, on 1 cage mine are 3" less in width. For me the added work involved with ripping takes all of 5 minutes maybe.

FYI...

If you are using these dimensions make sure you already have the tubs. Lowes changed their supplier for the 7 gal mixing tubs (Item #: 19251). The older ones were from MacCourt 26" x 20". The new ones are from Scepter 19" x 27". Also the rim is much smaller, around 1/2" or so.

Thanks for the info. Sterlite just changed on me too :(