Drilled holes instead of mesh?

[Esmy]

Yes, just make sure that there is nothing around the saw that would be thicker than the blade to go through the plastic. The style I used was kind of like this, but the teeth were smaller (don't want the teeth catching on the plastic). Lowe's Home Improvement

The mesh I got was in the garden section, in a roll. It had 1/4" holes. Flush cutters are the best for cutting the wire as close to the next row as possible.

I got all my stuff at Lowes but I'm sure Home Depot has it. Are you going to secure it with nuts and bolts?

[Hekomi]

Lowes could work, but Home Depot is more prevalent up here. I figure nuts and bolts is the way to go?

[Esmy]

Yep, I think they looks nice too.

[Hekomi]

Cool, cool. I'll be looking at tutorials and stuff, but be forewarned your skype will probably be a'buzzing when we're creating.

Any other tips? What section do you find the mesh in?

[Esmy]

That's ok. I found it in the fencing area. That row should be easy to spot. To get a good start on cutting, we drilled a large hole in each corner of the template we drew (I used a large L-square) to allow for a start with the saw. If you want to reduce the sharpness of the wire pieces after cutting, a dremel will smooth it down. You may want to do that if you mesh the inside sides. You'll need to sand the edges before putting the wire on. Since you want it to look nice, think carefully about where to drill your holes for the mesh if you want conformity. Plan it out, and mark the holes with a black permanent marker. Rubbing alcohol takes it right off.

[Hekomi]

Sounds good! Likely we'll do the lid - it seems the easiest for us, but eventually maybe move towards the side. I don't think we have a dremel, but I liked the idea of using nail clippers on it... would that accomplish a similar thing? We have pliers, hammers, drill, etc. I dunno about saws, but I'm happy to pick one up.

[humfry]

Used a jigsaw to cut my panels out of the SAMLA bins. Like a knife through butter & absolutely no cracks. Start by drilling a hole at each corner big enough to insert the saw blade. Use a fine blade & don't go too slow or the cut will weld itself back together behind the blade. Easy peasy! The only panel I made a mess of was cut with a combination of craft knife & coping saw - wiggly, jagged & a couple of small cracks appeared. I think everyone finds a method that suits them best.

[Esmy]

I have no idea about the nail clippers. If they work, great! So you're not planning on stacking the bins then? I never used a hammer or plier. Well technically a flush cutter is a type of plier, but I don't know why.

Good to know the jigsaw worked Humfry! I asked my Husband be he said no way. I wanted to though!

[Hekomi]

I dunno... I'd like to be able to stack them, TBH... I think we'll have to see how it works out and go from there maybe.

If we could stack it'd save on space, though we're looking at having some custom shelving built to accommodate tanks and bins.

[Esmy]

Yeah either shelves or stacking would save on space. Personal preference I guess.