6 Tub DIY Rat Rack

[Gabe Rienzo]

hey everyone, i decided to start breeding rats a few weeks ago, have done hours of research to prepare myself, although i dont NEED to breed them. i wanted to haha. also i was unable to find a decent walkthrough of building a rat rack using 2x3 and 1x4s. well here is what i built and how to build it.
sorry for the picture quality they were taking with my cell phone

Materials:
6-2x3x96
5-1x4x96
4-2x2x96
3'x10' of 1/2" hardware cloth
6-home depot small mixing tubs
lots of 2" and 1 5/8" screws
1/2" staples

tools:
12" miter saw (my best friend when doing projects in my appartment)
drill with philips head bit
small drill bit for pilot holes
large drill bit for counter sinking (i used a 1/2" bit)
staple gun
wire snips
tape measure and pen
clamps

alot of these things i already owned so it kept my cost down to just under $100 and a few hrs of my time.
remember to save all of your scraps! you never know when you will need a small something and not have it because you tossed it.

first step is to cut your wood, take your time with this, make sure all your cuts are square and clean. measure twice and cut once. firstly what you will want to do is take your first 2x3, and measure out 25 1/2" and make your cut, again measure out 25 1/2" and make your cut, then, measure out 20 1/4" and make that cut, do this 1 more time with a grand total of 2-25 1/2" and 2-20 1/4" per 2x3. do this with all of your 2x3s and you will end up with 12 of each.

now take your 2x2" and measure out 28 1/2" and make your cut. do this 3 times for each 2x2 after your done you will have 12-28 1/2" boards for sliding rails using your scraps make 4 2x2x10" (you will see why later)

next take you 1x4s for legs and cut each one to 75", how i got this measurement was i wanted a 10" gap between each tub. counting the 6 2.5" covers for each tub. because in wood terms 2x3 really means 1.5x2.5"

congratulations your still with me! next comes the fun part. take your 12-25 1/2" and 12-20 1/4" rails and line up the longer ones inside of the shorter pieces. using corner clamps this should be a breeze, but because i have none i made my self a jig like this

drill 2 pilot holes in each corner and counter sink them. how i did this was i did it 1 screw at a time. i held my corner together, made my pilot hole, then i counter sunk the pilot hole, then i drilled the screw in, than again for the second screw underneath the first. using this method i did NOT split any wood at all(hoorah) while doing this be sure to hold your corners carefully as to not make a mistake as this will jeopardize the entire look of your rack. this is also the longest part of the build.

then next thing you want to do is cut your hardware cloth (i hate hardware cloth with a fire burning passion) this is the most agonizing... tedious and stressful part IMO. i found it best to cut each sheet to 19 1/2"x 27 1/2" but feel free to make changes. the best way to make your sheets is width wise, using this method i was able to use 9.5' rather than like 14' [] [] [] [] [] [] <-- like that. after you have cut your six sheets its time to line everything up. lay your square down and line up 1 corner with the hardware cloth, leave about 1/4" gap between the edge of the wood and your cloth. staple 1 corner down and about every 4-6" staple all the way around so the cloth is centered all the way around and there are no "bubbles".

next you will need an extra set of hands, which i did not so i used lead weights and clamps
sorry no picture on this first step as i was stressing out that the screws might strip.
laying 2 of your covers on its side with the screen facing down, line your top shelf up with the legs. and put in 2 screws in each leg, do this on the other side. next carefully flip the rack over and do the same on the other side, now stand your rack up with the legs sticking up in the air, using your 2x2x10" guides lay each on in a corner.



take another cover and lay this on the guides with the screen facing up, line up and clamp each leg to the screen and make your pilot holes and drive in 2 screws per corner. doing this all the way to the sixth level.

now with your setup still upside down its time to install your guide rails, for this i used a sheet of cardboard to act as a spacer and layed each tub upside down ontop of the cardboard on their on levels and wedged the 2x2x28.5" on either side, clamped it down and screwed it into each leg. this may seem confusing but once you get to this step it comes easy. doing this i have no play in the tubs. they are a tight fit and will not pop out like some have issues with.


your almost done!!! lay your rack face down, and center up your fifth 1x4 on the back of your rack and screw it into place, this not only stabalizes it but also acts as a stopper for your tubs!.

stand your rack up, insert tubs, add rodents and you are ready to roll with the best of them!!! you can also add casters if you wanted to, i did not.


if anything in this is confusing please don't hesitate to ask questions. i will do my best to explain everything in better detail upon request.
i have no plans to add a watering system atm, i live in an apartment where you arent even supposed to own pets so the possibility of a flood is out of the question. also if i am missing anything please let me know, i had to make this before girlfriend got home... i guess i dont spend enough time with her >.>
thanks guys, questions, comments, rants or raves would be appreciated