re-screening aluminum cage frames
- Thread starter Fate X
- Start date
gonzalez6115
New Member
if its not all cracked i wouldnt see a problem. maybe wash it but that would be about it.
Fate X
New Member
i screened splinters cage today ,all day it takes forever to screen these cages but i got it figured out so it dont take 2 hrs to screen one frame.
i did the whole cage accept the front door. it took 5 1/2 hrs.
these cages are worse then i thought ,the bottom of the frames were corroded with rust and its really bad.and the mesh is in fact made of steel.
im gonna take a picture of the re-screened cage's it looks really good and it seems brighter inside the cage.
on the top frame were the mist nozzle was connected it was corroded so bad when i went to take apart the nozzle it broke away from the screen and peices of wet rust fell onto my hands.some of the fasteners are so rusty they have no threads left.
the good news is that these cages can be repaired ,its not to difficult to fix them. the bad news is that i got a feeling something else is gonna go bad like maybe the frames paint peeling off.
splinter really colored up nice when i moved her into another cage.
i did the whole cage accept the front door. it took 5 1/2 hrs.
these cages are worse then i thought ,the bottom of the frames were corroded with rust and its really bad.and the mesh is in fact made of steel.
im gonna take a picture of the re-screened cage's it looks really good and it seems brighter inside the cage.
on the top frame were the mist nozzle was connected it was corroded so bad when i went to take apart the nozzle it broke away from the screen and peices of wet rust fell onto my hands.some of the fasteners are so rusty they have no threads left.
the good news is that these cages can be repaired ,its not to difficult to fix them. the bad news is that i got a feeling something else is gonna go bad like maybe the frames paint peeling off.
splinter really colored up nice when i moved her into another cage.
Fate X
New Member
finished sonics cage this afternoon,i got 2 done already i gotta pickup another roll of screen and finish the last 2.the second cage really got nice and went faster.i was able to trim the screen much faster because i cut most of it on the first pass with the utility knife.im using a fresh blade for each cage.
Jordan
New Member
Have you thought about siliconing them. I did this with my new Jackson's cage. The bottom was loose and I did not water to run out the sides so I siliconed the base to the framing.
I have noticed when I was fooling around with this thing that where they miter cut the corners it seems that water can get in there in some cases. Depending on the rust it may or may not be to late. I would think that getting some silicone into these grooves would eliminate water entering. You can paint the framing back to normal.
They will have to have time to dry after painting. All rust must be removed before painting. It will spread under the paint and pop it back off eventually. Any metal specific paint will be fine once it is dried (avoid anodized, enamel or ceramic will work but doubt it will last). Follow directions if you decide to purchase any and do it. A good place to look for paint like this would be the auto parts store.
I have noticed when I was fooling around with this thing that where they miter cut the corners it seems that water can get in there in some cases. Depending on the rust it may or may not be to late. I would think that getting some silicone into these grooves would eliminate water entering. You can paint the framing back to normal.
They will have to have time to dry after painting. All rust must be removed before painting. It will spread under the paint and pop it back off eventually. Any metal specific paint will be fine once it is dried (avoid anodized, enamel or ceramic will work but doubt it will last). Follow directions if you decide to purchase any and do it. A good place to look for paint like this would be the auto parts store.
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Fate X
New Member
i sealed the bottom of the cages back when i set them up on the table .the bottom has a pvc panel that i think is riveted onto the frame with 12 rivets and it will leak water all over so me and my brother got aquarium sealer and sealed where the pvc meets the frame and its been doing a good job at keeping the table dry under the cage.
actually screening a frame aint that difficult especially after you already screened 15 frames. the only screen i cut and messed up was the first one i did after that i got better and better at screening aluminum frames,i am so confident now that i beleive i could build my own 2x2x4 screen cages i just have to find where to get those plastic latches and some brass hinges .
for the most part the most expensive parts are the frame peices and the pvc. i could still biuld 4 2x2x4 cages for close to half what it would cost to buy them. and since im in no rush i could take my time and screen one of the 2x4 screens and a smaller one a day and in 4 days i would have all the screen panels done.
on sonics cage the screen panels got so good they look like they were done at a factory.
there were 2 areas where i ran the spline tool over to far and it left a indentation on the screen not much though.when you spline the screen you dont gotta pull it tight it gets tight on its own.
i will be definatly be posting pics as soon as i get new batteries.
actually screening a frame aint that difficult especially after you already screened 15 frames. the only screen i cut and messed up was the first one i did after that i got better and better at screening aluminum frames,i am so confident now that i beleive i could build my own 2x2x4 screen cages i just have to find where to get those plastic latches and some brass hinges .
for the most part the most expensive parts are the frame peices and the pvc. i could still biuld 4 2x2x4 cages for close to half what it would cost to buy them. and since im in no rush i could take my time and screen one of the 2x4 screens and a smaller one a day and in 4 days i would have all the screen panels done.
on sonics cage the screen panels got so good they look like they were done at a factory.
there were 2 areas where i ran the spline tool over to far and it left a indentation on the screen not much though.when you spline the screen you dont gotta pull it tight it gets tight on its own.
i will be definatly be posting pics as soon as i get new batteries.
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bg77
New Member
I think it really depends on what you use. I was going to build 2 that 2x2x4. Went a bought the screen. But the wife decided to buy one allready built, so I ordered 1 this week from Bluebeast. She just wanted to stay away from wood, and also I like the look of the pre-made ones. But anyway my price was $135.00 total for both, if I made them myself.
Fate X
New Member
it depends on what kind of screen you use and framing.i estimated about 68ft of framing for a 2x2x4 aluminum cage depends on how you make the front.lowes sells the framing peices for 3.89$ each they were either 8-10ft.the framing i want is not painted its just brushed aluminum so at 8ft each x 8 peices =64ft. so it could cost about 32$ just for the framing ,the screening i can get a roll 36"x100' for about 70$ and that roll could be enough for 4 2x2x4 cages, im looking into where i can get the frame peices cheaper i believe i can find them in the 3.00$ range each.im gonna need about 34 of the to biuld 4 2x2x4 cages so im buying a box of them when i find them.
something to think about is if you only need 1 cage your better off just buying one already made ,but if your gonna need 4 or maybe even 6 it might save you some money but you gotta know what your doing because because screening the frames is one thing , biulding the frames ,screening them and putting it all together is alot different,i plan on making jigs for the 2 sizes of frames the 2x2 and the 2x4's that way each peice of frame i cut is the exact same length.
then when i put the 2x4 frames together im using a jig so my aluminum frames dont warp when i screen them.
something to think about is if you only need 1 cage your better off just buying one already made ,but if your gonna need 4 or maybe even 6 it might save you some money but you gotta know what your doing because because screening the frames is one thing , biulding the frames ,screening them and putting it all together is alot different,i plan on making jigs for the 2 sizes of frames the 2x2 and the 2x4's that way each peice of frame i cut is the exact same length.
then when i put the 2x4 frames together im using a jig so my aluminum frames dont warp when i screen them.
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