DIY XPVC (Expanded PVC) racks coming soon!

[Raverthug]

What glue are you using?

[Amon Ra Reptiles]

Mike is right I got a price of 116.50 per 4x8 sheet of 1/2". But when I asked what type of adhesive they used she said anytime they need to glue it (the sign shop) they just get an all purpose adhesive like liquid nails from home depot or Lowes. I'll be putting one of these racks together also soon as I'm going to be making them to trade for animals I'll keep everyone updated on my experiences with this stuff.

[cecilbturtle]

liquid nails would be good but you can use PVC pipe glue. use the primer to clean the surfaces to be glued then apply PVC glue and it chemically welds the pieces together.

i guess with liquid nails you could at some point cut the glue seams with a razor to take it apart if you had to or wanted to.

[Kingofspades]

Can you list the dimensions and numbers of all the pieces you ordered in case we wish to replicate. That sounds essentially like the Animal plastics 7/14 15/32 qt rack...but much cheaper to build yourself...so I am interested.

[mdfreak2]

Can you list the dimensions and numbers of all the pieces you ordered in case we wish to replicate. That sounds essentially like the Animal plastics 7/14 15/32 qt rack...but much cheaper to build yourself...so I am interested.

x2 please melamine is too heavy and about cost the same

[Simple Man]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ete-with-pics!

DIY thread is up! The glue you want is Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue). This melts the plastic a tiny bit and chemically bonds it for strength and durability. I wouldn't use any of that liquid nails or gorilla glue crap. PVC glue works great but I didn't want to mess with priming and using a 2 stage for a BP rack. Trust me, once built, this thing is SOLID! The dimensions and stuff are all up in the thread. I will be posting a second DIY thread on my 50 x 6qt hatchling rack shortly. This was one of the easiest projects (once I got the plastic manufacture tracked down) I've ever done! I payed $85 a sheet for the 1/2" and $50 a sheet for the 1/4".

Regards,

B

[LizardPants]

Thanks for pioneering this, and posting. Is there any other advantage to XPVC other than the fact that it's lighter than wood?

[Simple Man]

The material is plastic so it is super easy to clean and won't mold or expand if it gets wet! I would imagine it would be a lot harder to harbor bacteria on this rack because of the ultra smooth surfaces. Bacteria likes porous surfaces. This rack could literally last forever if you take basic care of it.

Regards,

B

[frenchy]

Excellent purty rack and best part is the link u gave us for xpvc show a warehouse around the corner from my house

[Amon Ra Reptiles]

I think you would be ok with liquid nails the tensile strength is 900psi edge and 1400psi lap. So I highly doubt any reptile regardless of size is going to break that. Now that being said I have no idea what the cost of super glue is in a large tube similar to a caulking gun size so if it's fairly inexpensive then it is stronger with a 4000psi lap strength. So if it's cheap then I see no issue with using it. But as far as liquid nails being crap the business that recommended it uses it in outdoor billboard applications and it is intended to withstand all weather conditions so I'm guessing it's far ahead of what we néed out of it. But that's jus my .02. Personally unless the customer wants it I doubt that I will use any adhesive as screws seem to work really well and it allows for disassembly. Again JMO. Anyway the rack turned out nice man it looks good.

@ mdfreak2 : where are you buying your melamine? Home depot here has it for 35.00 a sheet. If you're paying close to 85.00 then you really should keep shopping.