cutting melamine?

How do you cut it; do you just have someone @ Home Depot cut it to your specs? I was thinking it'd be hard to cut/saw it at home because of its texture..
Also, can you easily dripp holes for screwing ot together, without it splitting?
Thanks for answering my 20,000 questions people! i can't wait until this rack is built.

Yes, someone at Home Depot will cut it to your specs! Good luck.


-Andre

Edit: Yes you can drill holes with out it splitting as long as it isnt directly on the edge.

I always get them to do the cuts at home depot, that saw they have there is to die for, what I wouldnt do for one of those LOL

what kind of a saw do you have at home? you need a power saw (table saw) and drilling the holes is easy... just use an ordinary drill. this is what my hubby makes with melamine...

http://www.timelessspirit.com/enclosure.html

You can get it cut there, or you could use a circular saw. Your choice. Table saw workes too.

As for holes, take a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the screw your putting in the Mel. and make a pilot hole. And then drill the screw in the pilot hole.

Jen. You can cut it yourself if your HD does not offer the service. Be sure and have the board facing down on the side where you want a clean smooth edge. the top side might chip slighty but the bottom side will have a clean cut. For the holes, use a counter sink bit. This is like a regular bit you would use for making a pilot hole but it expands at the base to enlarge the hole for the head of the screw. I hope this help :)

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Originally Posted by cueball

Jen. You can cut it yourself if your HD does not offer the service. Be sure and have the board facing down on the side where you want a clean smooth edge. the top side might chip slighty but the bottom side will have a clean cut. For the holes, use a counter sink bit. This is like a regular bit you would use for making a pilot hole but it expands at the base to enlarge the hole for the head of the screw. I hope this help :)

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Getting fancy on us, Cue?:cool:

hey cue!

show off!!!

:D

oh one more thing gen... make sure you are wearing gloves... the edges of the melamine can be sharp. (have the cuts on my arms and hands to prove it) so wear a pair of gloves when you are handling it (at least until you've had a chance to clean up the edges) we had some cut at rona once and they didn't cut it clean like my hubby does at home. :(

And wear your eye protecion..That stuff likes to fly....Maybe get a orbital sander to just trim of the edges alittle, also dont forget your Mel. striping to cover up the sides that you cut!:carrot:

I've only used Home Depot once to make cuts, if you do plan on leaving a little leeway, since they certainly didn't make exact cuts for me. Doing it yourself with a helper and a table saw works well (assuming you're comfortable using a table saw).

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

oh one more thing gen... make sure you are wearing gloves... the edges of the melamine can be sharp. (have the cuts on my arms and hands to prove it) so wear a pair of gloves when you are handling it (at least until you've had a chance to clean up the edges) we had some cut at rona once and they didn't cut it clean like my hubby does at home. :(

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It should be noted for inexperienced woodworkers... never wear gloves when using a table saw. Assuming you want to keep your hand ;).

OK.. I am just a little worried b/c I have heard that HD refuses to cut some things now; like the splashboard that you put behind bathtubs; I was told that they said it releases some kind of toxic dust when cut.. so basically it's OK for people to take it home and release the toxins into the air, heh.
Mark has a table saw; I am sure we could do it at home. Now a question about leeway; The tub's measures about 34.5" wide; 16.5" front-back; and 5.5" deep. Now I need to have room for the UTH, but I want it to be tight too when the tubs go on.. how much leeway should be left?
One more thing; how big do the sheets of Mel. come at HD? I went to the local Valu but only saw long strips that were about a foot wide; they Do come bigger, right?
Is it really OK to use back-heat? it would make things so much easier; our house temps are always warm.

they should be either 4' x 6' or 4' x 8', they HD should have precut 2' x 4's that may be good for you if your dimentions will allow that but i have found the precuts cost more and are usually out of square. as far as cutting them yourself i used a small 3" general purpose saw blade on a batt powered saw, kept the edges clean and very minimal chipping but killed the batts fast lots of recharges to get the job done.

found a pic of my first one:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...snake_cage.jpg

oh i forgot to add i also used the drill screws, the ones with the drill tip on the screw. they didn't split the material like the other screws i tried. i believe they are the sheet metal screws???.

OK; I was wondering about that.
I am just leary about the UTH not having much vent room under the tub and atop the melamine; am I just being overly concerned here? I am debating on using back heat; saw someone else's rack that had it.

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

OK; I was wondering about that.
I am just leary about the UTH not having much vent room under the tub and atop the melamine; am I just being overly concerned here? I am debating on using back heat; saw someone else's rack that had it.

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Go ahead and use back heat...It wont hurt anything!

i used back heat on mine with no problems but that was with the 28 qt tubs, and used 4" flex watt. as far as clearance for uth i would say only 1/16th of an inch.

Here's what I did in my BP rack. When my step dad helped me build it we included a 1/8" gap over the tub. We used section of wood material 1/8" and each shelf was "fitted" with this and the tubs before secured. I setup my flexwat on each shelf for belly heat and then on top of that is 1/8" layer of this material...I can't honestly remember what its called but it reminds me of cardboard when I look at it. Its a pressed wood material anyway and very east to cut with a utility knife. It has worked out good for me and my heating situation. It closes the gap above the tubs and protects the flexwatt. The material is such that it spreads the nicely and I'm not losing much if any heat down through the actual shelf. If I am that's fine it helps the ambiant of the tub below it.

I'm sure you could find any number of other such materials to put over the flexwatt so you don't have to worry about sliding tubs directly over it. However I did do this for a short time when starting out and didn't notice any visible wear.

Keep in mind when building a mela. rack, you must route a 4" groove 1/4" deep for the flex watt. this groove needs to be up both sides and the bottom of every shelf. back heat just does not get it done. :)

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Originally Posted by ECLARK

Keep in mind when building a mela. rack, you must route a 4" groove 1/4" deep for the flex watt. this groove needs to be up both sides and the bottom of every shelf. back heat just does not get it done. :)

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What? I dont understand? YOu got some splainin to do.;) :D But cerealy.

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Originally Posted by stangs13

What? I dont understand? YOu got some splainin to do.;) :D But cerealy.

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drawl 2 lines 4" apart get a router and set it to 1/4" deep and remove the meterial between the lines. this way the flex watt sits in a recess.

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Originally Posted by jcaustralia

drawl 2 lines 4" apart get a router and set it to 1/4" deep and remove the meterial between the lines. this way the flex watt sits in a recess.

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I know how to do it ...silly.;)

But why do you do it?

so it don't get caught up sliding the tubs in and out, i don't do it with mel because it weakens the material taking that white covering off.

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Originally Posted by jcaustralia

so it don't get caught up sliding the tubs in and out, i don't do it with mel because it weakens the material taking that white covering off.

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Oh alright. What does it have to do with the heat?

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Originally Posted by stangs13

Oh alright. What does it have to do with the heat?

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that ed will have to answer.

Heres a pic. of one of my older mela. racks. I designed it to use the rubbermaid sweater box turned sideways. more surface area for heat and you also can use 2- med. size rubbermaid boxes in place of the sweater box ,when you have lots of hatchlings to deal with. these mela. racks hold the heat real well but are ball busters to move around. :) https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...mela.rack2.JPG

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racks hold the heat real well but are ball busters to move around

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you got that right. definitly do not want them on a weak floor. but i add casters for ease of cleaning/behind/moving.

Stangs, the reason that you need a 4" routed groove is to distribute the heat more evenly, and some people think that flex watt fires are caused by no air gap between the heat tape and the tub. and if you are going to show a rack, please make sure there is a mojave or other cool morph in the pic. :) https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../mela.rack.JPG

that stuff don't burn like wood does, that white covering and the compressed material is not fire risistant but pretty dang hard to get going. but i cam see why people would be a little worried.

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if you are going to show a rack, please make sure there is a mojave or other cool morph in the pic.

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was that directed to me ed?, if so i will have you know in that rack was water pythons, blood pythons, sawu pythons, ringed pythons, macklott pythons, and in the bottom was olive pythons. not a mojave or spiders but pretty dang neet either way, lol, i took theat pic about a year ago when i was breeding them.

JC , no not directed at anyone, but if it would make stangs burn alittle. thats cool to. :P

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Originally Posted by ECLARK

JC , no not directed at anyone, but if it would make stangs burn alittle. thats cool to. :P

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lol, i really wish there was mojave and spiders in that rack when i took that pic:D

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

what kind of a saw do you have at home? you need a power saw (table saw) and drilling the holes is easy... just use an ordinary drill. this is what my hubby makes with melamine...

http://www.timelessspirit.com/enclosure.html

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Your hubby is Timeless spirit... Cool I found those plans on a bearded dragon forum and built my own. But I Cheated and used the wicked saw at home depot its so cool. plus it makes it so much easier to transport the wood home in my 2 door grand am...