New baby rack!

[BoidKeeper]

This was too easy! All you need to do if you want to build one of these is buy 16" melamine shelving. All the front edges will already be finished with the edging tape and all you'll have to do is set the fence on your table saw to match the size of your container and you're all set just a couple straight cuts and you're done.
It will hold 60 sterlites. Perfect for neonate corns, kenyans, rosys, ATBs, maybe even balls for a month or so.
To save weight I didn't put a solide one piece melamine back on it. I just used two strips of thin panelling up the back in the center of two containers to act as a jam so you can't push them out the back.
For heat I attached exo-terra heat pads to the back with some tacs and staples.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/289Baby_rack_13_06_04_2-med.jpg
Now all I need is about two more and I should be all set!
Thanks for looking,
Trevor

[CDN-Cresties]

Well done, im going to build a rack system like that for my cresties but bigger of course.

[BoidKeeper]

Thanks. I can't wait to build more. They are heavy but other than that they sure make life easy in the snake room.
Cheers,
Trevor

[sapphire_moon]

Sweet, how wide are they? Looks great! I can't wait to get moved and all settled in so we can start building racks, maybe even learn how to build an incubator or 2! lol




wait I'm getting ahead of myself! :) lol

[mykee]

Trevor, that looks like it would be a SOB to move, nice work though.

[Tim_Cranwill]

Nice work Trev, looks a lot like mine! ;)

Those containers can hold a hatchling ball for WAY longer than a month or so.... maybe 6 months or so...

[jjnnbns]

I'm lookin at racks like that for BRBs, JCPs, and BCI, think those tubs would be large enough or would I need a larger size?

[sketchy4]

well done indeed

[BoidKeeper]

I'm lookin at racks like that for BRBs, JCPs, and BCI, think those tubs would be large enough or would I need a larger size?
Jungles and Brazilians but no Colombian BCI, maybe Hog Islands though.
Mykee, it's not bad because I didn't make the back one solid piece of melamine.
Cheers,
Trevor

[TheRedDragon]

Awesome looking rack system! :)

[da_illest]

very nice man... i need me one of those... although i have a heat rack, it's just a book shelving unit made of melamine with heat wire from home depot running thru the back for heat... very very nice...

[BoidKeeper]

Well I did something I shouldn't have, I add up all the bills!
Melamine and finishing hardware= $120
Tubs= $135
Water bowls= $21
Hides=$48
Heat pads=$352
For a grand total of $676!
I don't think I'll be making another one any time soon! Oh well it is built the way I wanted it with the water bowls and hides I wanted and I'm happy with it.
Cheers,
Trevor

[BoidKeeper]

Here it is all finished and in my room.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/289Baby_rack_finished_26_06_04_2-med.jpg
Each container has the same hide boxes and ceramic water bowl. The hide boxes were .34 cents a piece and the water bowls were 3 for a dollar at the dollar store.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/289baby_rack_finished_26_06_04_1-med.jpg
I can't wait to fill it! Some of my corns are due any time.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Tim_Cranwill]

Looks great Trev. I guess you could have saved on hides buy using old KD boxes and paper towel rolls but I must admit, I really like how clean your bins look.... for now. Just wait 'til the little bugger mess it all up! ;) :p

Nice work, bro! :)

[BoidKeeper]

Thanks Tim. I do use some KD boxes and the like in other cages but for this rack I really wanted it to as standard as possible. Also I would rather clean plastic hides then stock pile cardboard ones. One I found out that chicken wing boxes fit most of my stuff very well and last a while I'm sure I put on 10lbs!
Cheers,
Trevor

[asphyxia]

Hi Trevor,

Wow that is an amazing Rack...just send the whole thing over...once its filled that is.

Take care, and get some rest you"ll be busy.

Cheers
Brian

[BoidKeeper]

So you are still alive!
Thanks Brian,
Trevor

[asphyxia]

Hey Trev,

I'm Actually busy with the herps and building another monitor enclosure and a rack, that with all the summer sports is keeping me away from the forum for a bit

Talk soon
B

[Simon]

Looking very nice Trev~~

Here are some of my opinion that I personally would put on the rack. Hope you don't mind.

1) Put them on wheels. So if you were to move them...its a lot easier... cause melamine is quite heavy.

2) This is only if you can do it. Put some handlers on the containers. So that its easier to pull the boxes out. Cause right now the ones that i am using have a little space on the top for me to pull the box/tub out so that its easy to pull out. But from your photos it looks like that the box doesn't have that there and you'll need two hands on each side to pull the box out (hey is this even making any sense to you? LOL) Cause if you have to pull out a couple of boxes those looks perfect, but if you were to pull out a couple hundred of them..you'll get tired soon.

3) Are you like 6 feet plus or something? Cause I am only 5'11" and I made a mistake in making my baby racks at 6 feet...thinking that..yeah I am just tall enough to get the top of the box....BUT!!! Because they're so tall Its now kind of hard since I have to look into the box on my tippy toes....lol...so that kind of waste my energy a lot too....and it does get a whoe lot tiring since I have around 11 of those racks and they're all at least 6 feet....(my adult racks are even worse...cause those were the first ones that I bulit..I think that they're like 8 feet....lol...too smart right?)

These are only my thinking only alright? Don't take it too hard~

But other than those I love it. The colorings and cleaness on it is just great!! I agree with Tim...wait until they mess it up for you...so take a lot of pics of it before they use it....or else you're going to regret it......LOL

I have to back Brain up....
I have been to his house (I think that it was just last week was it Brain? Geeze...I lost my brain already...)
His place is looking real good. And I can tell you that the enclosure that he is building....is quite large....and looking awesome!!! So I can tell you that he is surely having a nice time trying to put that thing together..thus not allowing him to get on the computer too much~~

Anyway great looking racks!!
Hope to see you finish building all of them soon~~!!!

Keep up the great work!

[BoidKeeper]

These are only my thinking only alright? Don't take it too hard~
Simon, Simon chill man. It's all about the feedback, that's why I posted them in the first place.
Now to address your points,

1) I'm going to put you on wheels!

2) I'll show you were to stick the handle!

3) I am. Too bad for you mini me.

Any other comments about my work or snakes Simon? If so please forward them to: Shut the hell up!
Cheers,
Trevor
PS
You've got a sense of humour right?

[BoidKeeper]

Noe for the real post. lol
I would like to put it on wheels but I haven't quite figured out how to mount them yet. I'm working on it though.
As for the handles. I can pull the containers out with my thumb and index. I do have a larger rack that holds 20 rubbermaid shoe boxes and that one is a lot tighter and that would work really well. I saw the perfect ones at the store the other day too.
I am 6' on the button but I think maybe the pic makes it look taller then it is because I don't have and troubel seeing into the top rack.
Thanks again for the feed back. For real this time!
Cheers,
Trevor

[Simon]

LOL
Trevor,
So you're going to put me on wheels, put a handle in me and call me mini me.......okay~~

Anyway
1) mounting wheels on them isn't too hard. But this might be a bit hard for you right now cause its not a flat platform. If I remember correctly I think that Uncle Roy has racks that are like yours with the sides sticking out and he was able to put wheels on it. So he might be able to help you on how he got his wheels on.
I do mine all flat, so all I have to do is put the wheels on the bottom and that is it~ easy enough for me. Just one advice on the wheels....make sure that you pick the right wheels....the first rack that I did, I choose the wrong wheels...and it broke while I was wheeling my adult racks from one room to the other room...and it wasn't a pretty site at all....had to take out all my herps, stack them up in the cool room and take the stupid rack apart....wasn't impressed one bit...

2) About the shoe boxes. Well another reason why I said it is better to have the handles is because you're building your rack with wood. And wood expand and contract due to the temperature fluctuation. So right now it might be easy to pull out, but later when it gets hotter it might be harder to pull out, or when it gets cool, it might be too loose. I had that problem since I am using melamine too~~ (sigh...I hate it now...lol...too heavy and not as pretty as I want it....lol)

3) Oh...okay since you're just 6 feet so I am mini you....cause you're an inch taller....
The racks isn't that tall? Man it looks taller than what I would expect....cause there seens to have quite a few number of 'floors' on the rack system...so I thought that they were taller. Anyway once you put them on wheels, wouldn't it be hard for you to see then? Remember its much easier if you are able to look down from into the top rack. Just being able to see is is good but you wont know if the snake pooped or shed or regurgitate without going on your tippy toes~~ So make sure that you're looking down into your top rack. (LOL...if the top rack is right on your for head watch out...I had a couple of times when I pulled out the tubs and the snake shot out and almost got my fore head....lol)

Cheers!!

[BoidKeeper]

All good points. I forgot about the expension thing. You're also right about the weels. Once they are on I will need a foot stool for sure.
Thanks again,
Trevor

[Simon]

Trev,

Yeah you're right. I forgot about the expansion thing before too...
until I ran into problems a couple years ago...
this is how I solved the problem with the expansion thing.
I glued a piece of wood (you know those that are thick on one end and thin on the other end...geeze..can't remember what those are called..) at the end of the tub. So when I push the shoe box i, the inner side slides in and is nice and tight so no escapes at the end. As for the front, I put another piece of those wood in but of course without the gluing part. So this acts as a little lock. Whenever I want to pull a tub out, all I had to do is to pull out the front piece of wood, and pull the shoebox out. (Of course when you're making the 'floors' you'll have to put in an extra cm on it so that the little wood piece could do their 'job' That way even if the wood expand or contract it doesn't affect the pushing or pulling of the shoe box, PLUS you're making sure that the shoe boxes are nice and tight.

Well since you said that you were going to build a few more then the next one that you do, just make it like a floor or two less.

okay...hope this makes any sense to you again...

and no problems man~
like you said: "Its all about the feedback"

[vanderkm]

Very impressive rack system Trevor and lots of good comments for those of us who are just getting rack plans done for future seasons - many thanks for sharing,

mary v.