Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Housing

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-02-2019, 08:45 AM   #1
Bella1827
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 32
Default DIY cage

Hi, so I’ve just order all of the materials I’m going to need for my new hamster cage. I’ve decided to make an acrylic one which measures just under 150cm x 60cm, and it will have around 1400 square inches of floor space. It was very hard to find acrylic sheets long enough, so for the 150cm sides, I had to order 2 75cm ones. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on attaching acrylic sheets together, would hot glue work or would it be best to order some acrylic glue? This is my first DIY cage so hopefully it turns out alright
Bella1827 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2019, 02:22 AM   #2
rudegyaltam
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 4
Default Re: DIY cage

Ive never made a DIY cage myself, but from the videos i’ve watched on youtube I’ve gathered that many people use aquarium sealant silicone to connect either acrylic to wood or acrylic to acrylic.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=FSA_VX5iZ4E whilst the cage they’ve made is too small, they do show how they’ve connected the acrylic sheets together. Hope this helps.
rudegyaltam is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2019, 07:12 AM   #3
Bella1827
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 32
Default Re: DIY cage

Quote:
Originally Posted by rudegyaltam View Post
Ive never made a DIY cage myself, but from the videos i’ve watched on youtube I’ve gathered that many people use aquarium sealant silicone to connect either acrylic to wood or acrylic to acrylic.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=FSA_VX5iZ4E whilst the cage they’ve made is too small, they do show how they’ve connected the acrylic sheets together. Hope this helps.
Thank you, I’ll check it out
Bella1827 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2019, 08:04 AM   #4
sushi_78
Hamster Overlord
 
sushi_78's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: London
Posts: 763
Default Re: DIY cage

A wooden frame in the middle of the cage might be necessary to prevent the acrylic bowing, especially since the longest panels will be formed out of 2 sheets. The image below shows sort of what I mean, but the frame would have to continue down the front and back of the cage as well.

sushi_78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2019, 09:39 AM   #5
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: DIY cage

Aquarium sealant is not going to work long term with acrylic. Acrylic does not get properly sealed with the silicon sealants and over time the cage will inevitably weaken and you could have a potential escape or an expensive cage falling apart which is obviously not good! Aquarium sealant is perfect for glass, but it is completely incompatible with any sort of acrylic.

Acrylic being adhered together is a much more complicated process compared to glass, but just like glass and curing silicon based sealant you'll have to do the curing in a well ventilated area outside of your house.

Some videos that can help on what you actually must do to attach acrylic together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rsUbzVwaUo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSIVa_TzN8w

Essentially, you cannot use aquarium sealant as I've stated before. To attach acrylic to acrylic, you have to use something called Weld on 4 which actually chemically bonds acrylic together(which is what creates the seal and unlike sealant will never come undone or anything like that). Most people unfortunately do not know that you cannot and should not use aquarium silicon sealant on acrylic, but it is a crucial aspect of cage building to keep in mind. Apparently in the EU Weld-on 4 is replaced by the product "Scigrip 4-SC" which could also potentially be found in the UK, but regardless it is crucial to use a proper chemically bonding product rather than a weak and incompatible sealant like aquarium sealant.
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2019, 11:49 PM   #6
Bella1827
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 32
Default Re: DIY cage

Quote:
Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams View Post
Aquarium sealant is not going to work long term with acrylic. Acrylic does not get properly sealed with the silicon sealants and over time the cage will inevitably weaken and you could have a potential escape or an expensive cage falling apart which is obviously not good! Aquarium sealant is perfect for glass, but it is completely incompatible with any sort of acrylic.

Acrylic being adhered together is a much more complicated process compared to glass, but just like glass and curing silicon based sealant you'll have to do the curing in a well ventilated area outside of your house.

Some videos that can help on what you actually must do to attach acrylic together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rsUbzVwaUo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSIVa_TzN8w

Essentially, you cannot use aquarium sealant as I've stated before. To attach acrylic to acrylic, you have to use something called Weld on 4 which actually chemically bonds acrylic together(which is what creates the seal and unlike sealant will never come undone or anything like that). Most people unfortunately do not know that you cannot and should not use aquarium silicon sealant on acrylic, but it is a crucial aspect of cage building to keep in mind. Apparently in the EU Weld-on 4 is replaced by the product "Scigrip 4-SC" which could also potentially be found in the UK, but regardless it is crucial to use a proper chemically bonding product rather than a weak and incompatible sealant like aquarium sealant.
Thankyou for telling me, definitely don’t want it falling apart after awhile. I’ll see if I can find it )
Bella1827 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
acrylic, order, cage, 150cm, sheets, diy, glue, i’ve, wondering, advice, 75cm, sides, turns, work, alright, attaching, hot, inches, decided, hamster, make, materials, i’m, measures, floor

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:32 AM.