A new project

[Heika]

What's 12 feet long, 4 feet tall, 2 feet deep and weighs who knows how much?

My newest project..

I bought this antique display case after seeing it advertised in my local want ads. The person I bought it from found it in an office building he inherited from his grandfather. The display case was stuffed full of tax records dating back to 1915. It needs a piece of glass cut for one section, but the wood and the rest of the glass are in remarkably good condition beneath that layer of dust.

I see a HUGE chameleon enclosure...

I guess the first step will be to get it out of the back of the truck...

Heika

 

[Stuey!]

clean it is second lol

 

[Campy]

wow man... that's goin to be pretty sweet when it's done... can you please take pictures as you work on it!!!
I think the wood should be staind . A nice colour is a dark cherry wood finish . i did my poker table that i built from hand with that colour... looks amazing .

 

[Noseyambilobe22]

LUCKY! thats gonna be a sweet setup when your done

 

[MWheelock]

Fantastic piece of furniture!
Are you going to split it into two enclosure or make it into just one?
What room are you goin to put that monster? My wife would have a cow if I brought something that big home.

Anyway, it looks like there's a lot of work ahead of you...

Good luck,
Matthew

 

[wow]

nice stiker

 

[Heika]

Thanks everyone! I am pretty excited about the project, although I think it will be a slow one. I have too many things going right now to really plunge in.. maybe in a couple months I can get it set up. In the meantime, I will think about what I want to do with it.

Matthew.. it is already split into 6' sections, but I am considering taking it down to four 3' sections. Not sure yet. And, yes, one of my family members has been quite.. vocal.. about this purchase. Oh, well! It will go into the shop, a seperate building that I am currently retrofitting as a chameleon room.

Campy, I will take lots of pictures of my progress.. or lack of progress.. and post them.

And Wow.. that yellow truck was my great grandfather's, and the stickers are from when he owned it. Out here in the west, one of our biggest fears are forest fires. My family actually has an evacuation plan in case of a forest fire that includes the removal of the chameleons!

Heika

 

[Campy]

still waitin for some pics

 

[Heika]

Thanks for your interest! Sorry, not much to update on that project yet. I have been working on some other stuff...

I discovered it weighed a huge amount, too much to be moved by two people. So, I cut into it and reduced it into a 6 foot section and a 3 foot section. It is made of red mahogany, I think. If it isn't mahogany, then it is some other hardwood with a beautiful small red grain. I took out the shelf that ran through it and salvaged all the wood that I could so that I can make new ends for the two seperate cabinets it has become. I am seriously considering screening the two open ends for air flow. Otherwise, I will install a couple of small fans. I plan to read up on some of the european styled vivariums and will hopefully be able to get some ideas from there on how to get good air flow into them.

I ordered two-part marine epoxy to coat the inside of the cabinet, but that is as far as I have gotten. It has been put on the backburner while I retrofit the shop building and build rack systems for some new chameleons that I have coming in. Since I am going to house chameleons in the shop, I will probably have to wait until spring or summer to continue working on the cabinets. I don't think that applying epoxy in close vacinity to chameleons is a good idea, so I will have to do it outside or in the garage, which isn't heated.

Check back this spring!

Heika

 

[titan501x]

make a mailing list of all the people that are intersested in this thread.

Then send us pictures every once and a while.

 

[jleahl]

Heika,

What kind of marine epoxy did you order? In sealing various things for terrariums and vivariums, I've yet to find something that waterproofs and doesn't put out fumes forever! I'm always reluctant to order something, for some weird reason...Home Depot never has the right stuff, though.

 

[Campy]

Heika,

What kind of marine epoxy did you order? In sealing various things for terrariums and vivariums, I've yet to find something that waterproofs and doesn't put out fumes forever! I'm always reluctant to order something, for some weird reason...Home Depot never has the right stuff, though.

everything will have fumes.... get a waterproof sealant . let it seal and dry . wash it down . and let it air dry for a couple weeks. the smell will go away...

 

[Campy]

Hieka

Because of your idea, u have made me want to make the same type of idea.

The goal is to make a cabinet, that is nice enough to have in my living room or whatever... i want to get im goin to make a drawing . show you what I want to have done.

. i''ll post it in here . but thanks for the idea dude!!! .

 

[Campy]

This is the drawing i made of what i have a picture of .

Tell me what u think



what it says... is from top left to right...

watering system , UVB , Heat Lamp

Storage

Storage

Cricket Holder

 

[Heika]

Heika,

What kind of marine epoxy did you order? In sealing various things for terrariums and vivariums, I've yet to find something that waterproofs and doesn't put out fumes forever! I'm always reluctant to order something, for some weird reason...Home Depot never has the right stuff, though.

I bought some stuff called Pond Shield for the project. It is used to water proof koi ponds and is nontoxic after it dries. With that said, everything I have read says that epoxy coatings are nontoxic after they have hardened and dried. It is only when they are being applied that there is a problem. Since I worry about that stuff too, I bought a coating that was tried and true with animals.

Heika

 

[Heika]

This is the drawing i made of what i have a picture of .

Tell me what u think

http://imageshack.us

I think that is going to be a very interesting project. If you plan to mount your lights inside the cabinet, you will need to construct some sort of shield to keep your chameleon from climbing on them and burning himself. What are the dimensions and what type of misting system do you plan to use?

Heika