IS it enough?

I have 50USD and I was woundering if i had enough Ccash to buy enough MDF/Mel. to build a rack? I wont buy the heat tape till later...because I dont need it yet. Thanks for the help!!:carrot:

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Originally Posted by stangs13

I have 50USD and I was woundering if i had enough Ccash to buy enough MDF/Mel. to build a rack? I wont buy the heat tape till later...because I dont need it yet. Thanks for the help!!:carrot:

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It depends, how many snakes do you want it to hold?

As many as possible!;) Im thinking around 5ft tall and maybe 4ft wide. But im looking for suggestions here so any size will do!

WOAH, you can't do that with melamine, it costs around 25 bucks for a 4 x 8 sheet here. MDF is around 20 bucks, so you would end up with a smaller rack then you wanted.

You could try plywood as long as you coat it with polyurthane. That's what I'm going to do and its only going to cost me around 30 bucks. And then, in a year or two, I'll go for a plastic rack....

EDIT: also, my rack is going to hold 6 snakes, and it's going to be 42" tall, and 38" wide... 5' x 4' is gonna hold ALOT of snakes...lol.

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Originally Posted by bpkid

WOAH, you can't do that with melamine, it costs around 25 bucks for a 4 x 8 sheet here. MDF is around 20 bucks, so you would end up with a smaller rack then you wanted.

You could try plywood as long as you coat it with polyurthane. That's what I'm going to do and its only going to cost me around 30 bucks. And then, in a year or two, I'll go for a plastic rack....

EDIT: also, my rack is going to hold 6 snakes, and it's going to be 42" tall, and 38" wide... 5' x 4' is gonna hold ALOT of snakes...lol.

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Here i see them way cheaper than that!! Like (I think) 10$ a 4x8 (I think) of MDF..Alittle more for the mell...im just not quite sure...I may have to run to home depot today!!

you are only about 1/2 way there mine is 4ft x 2ft and it costs around 115 to build. that is just boards of malimine and screws. and i put casters on the bottom

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Originally Posted by BALLISTIC BOAS

you are only about 1/2 way there mine is 4ft x 2ft and it costs around 115 to build. that is just boards of malimine and screws. and i put casters on the bottom

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AlrightI I will be making a trip to HD so i will check out our prices.

37.00 here for a sheet of mel that's 4' x 8'.

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Originally Posted by bpkid

You could try plywood as long as you coat it with polyurthane. That's what I'm going to do and its only going to cost me around 30 bucks. And then, in a year or two, I'll go for a plastic rack....

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In the Pythons of the world book by the Barkers, they note that they've seen deaths happen with plywood cages, something to do with the adhesive that holds the layers possibly.

To me pply-wood isnt a good choice. It will come apart. and IMO doesnt look good. Not to metion it isnt sturdy.

I think you could get a sheet of MDF and some 2x4 and some 1x2x for around $50 (I know you can here) and build a rack somewhat like the rack Tim built for Joe. Just make it larger for your size tubs.

The Lowes here only carries the 6ft long MEL for making the shelves in homes.Well its like $15 for a 6ft long peice and i come up with over $100 just for the MEL to make this rack i bought.This is the rack and its like 4ft high with shelves for 7 41qt tubs. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...trackfront.jpg

We have 4ftx 2 ft sheets of MDF...For like 3 bucks a piece!! So i will be getting alot of thoughs and I will be getting some stuff for a rat rack possibly...:carrot:

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Originally Posted by stangs13

To me pply-wood isnt a good choice. It will come apart. and IMO doesnt look good. Not to metion it isnt sturdy.

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I beg to differ on on two of those comments. There are varying types of "plywood" but my first rack is using a plywood for the shelf pieces and I have seen no deterioration whatsoever. I can't say if it would be flimsy if the hole thing was plywood since I used other wood for the actual structure and supports. I sealed the shelves with a water based sealent, if you don't and the wood able to absorb moisture then you are just asking for mold and wood will eventually break down.

Sure its not as pretty as some of the melamine setups but its not ugly...to me.

I have also read about the glue in particle board and other pressed woods killing snakes because once there heated my your flexwatt the glue creates toxic fumes.....

Sorry I lied; it is $27 at HDepot, not $37.

I thought of plywood, but it just seems like a lot of work to have to seal it, etc. The melamine was more expensive than wood, granted, but it's already nice and tough, smooth, etc. I will need to get edging for it though, since the edges are sharp and not attractive.
I underestimated the toughness of the melamine; I have since found out that people use it for inexpensive butcher blocking! I tried scratching it but it's a toughie.

The tanks that I recently built were made of 1/2" MDF and to make things easy I just got a few of the 2x4 sheets that they sell. Cost was like $22 for the MDF(about the cost of a 49x97 sheet of 3/4" MDF) but the smaller pieces just made is easoer

Sealing isn't hard at all. The longest part for me was letting it dry. I put several coats and let it dry a few days inbetween each one. I've never had any health issues due to the plywood shelf rack I have...that seems kinda fishy to me. How do folks think melamine is made and held together??

for all we know the adhesive has changed since that happened :confuzd:

I would need to see hard, firsthand evidence in print that someone had something damaging happen; otherwise it could all be hearsay.
But maybe it was an issue with plywood being treated lumber? I know that it's sometimes treated w/ chemicals that prevent the growth of mold, prevent insect infestations, etc.. I guess that could be harmful.

Your both right, there have probably been advancements or maybe it some other off the wall case that has been stretched from the truth. It is a good idea as was pointed out to consider such things though.

Hope your building is going good! (today?)