What type/brand of racks do you prefer?

[ssscales]

i have to agree with gerry, its much cheaper just to build your own. i prefer wood just because its a little easier to work with
QUOTE]

Thanks guys, actually Nevinm building a rack is the same exact thing working with Plastic or XPVC or HDPE as is working with any type of wood or melamine. You cut it and drill it the same, no special tools required. And as mentioned, if you ask the supplier you bought the Plastic from to cut it for you, 99% of the time they will gladly cut it for you on their table saw and save you the trouble. Honestly, if you can build a rack out of wood, you can build it out of Plastic.

Here are two of the suppliers I found in my area and they have other locations.

http://piedmontplastics.com/locations.asp
http://www.lairdplastics.com/content/section/4/39/

Larry you have a Laird Plastics by Orlando & Tampa for the next time you need some racks. Trust me, once you actually build one using any of these materials you'll wonder why you ever used melamine/wood in the first place and why would you pay 2-3X's as much to have someone else build and ship in 2-3-4 weeks what took you 1-2hrs to assemble at your liesure...LOL.

They have both XPVC & HDPE among some other products. I personally like the 1/2" XPVC, extremely light, easy to work with, and perfect for racks IMO! HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) is what those plastic cutting boards are made of and is SUPER strong, but also weighs as much as Melamine and cost a bit more than XPVC. XPVC is what Boaphile cages are made of and goes by various names such as Sintra, Komatex and a few others.

Here is a CB110 rack I built using 1/2" XPVC for some male Boas or sub-adult females. I plan on doing some for CB70 tubs for our growing female Ball pythons during the X-mas time off at work.

 

[MSMD]

Great racks, Nevin and Gerry! Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I am really considering building my own. As stated earlier, the melamine thing went really well, so maybe this will, too! It's just a material that I've never worked with, so it makes it a tad intimidating. After your posts, it doesn't sound so bad!

Thanks! :main_yes: :main_yes:

 

[ssscales]

Great racks, Nevin and Gerry! Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I am really considering building my own. As stated earlier, the melamine thing went really well, so maybe this will, too! It's just a material that I've never worked with, so it makes it a tad intimidating. After your posts, it doesn't sound so bad!

Thanks! :main_yes: :main_yes:

Hi Mari, thought I'd reply to your PM here to give everyone an idea on assembly.

It is super simple to work with any of these plastics, they cut and drill the same as Melamine or any wood, no special tools required. Some Plastics such as HDPE are nonporous and do not absorb any glues, but screw together without any problems.

XPVC can be screwed together or chemical welded (glued), I used both glue and screws for added strength and stability for my 1st racks since I did not know how strong the glue was. I also add a bead of black silicone for a finished look as well as even more strength. Either screws or chemical adhesives work fine and are good enough for a strong bond, but both guarantees you a rack for life.

As for glues, you can use a few, but these are the best IMO for XPVC.
http://www.rplastics.com/plac.html

I used the Weld-On #2007, along with 1" screws for the 1/2" XPVC and 1" for the 1/4" XPVC. You can search locally for the IPS Weld-On and most of the time the same supplier selling you the sheets will also sell the glues for less than they are on-line.