# DIY questions ????



## AussieBen (Mar 2, 2014)

Ok ladies and gentlemen & all the DIY kings and queens. 

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to these things, and I did enquire about getting one built and somehow jumped from a reasonable price to a plain ridiculous price, and that was taking things away rather than adding them.

My permit has been signed, sealed and delivered, I am stoked to say the least. And now I am thinking it's time to build a new enclosure for my Coastal. 

I have been stalking these threads for so long now and been seeing all these cracking enclosures that people have made, weather it be converted tv units or from the ground up and I really want one.

Now, I feel pretty confident that i could build this

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...97/building-enclosure-darren-whittaker-76861/.

But for my coastal i would rather vertical than horizontal.

I would like to make a 6ft high enclosure, so my questions are....

1) With a melamine box, can a face frame be attached? if so, how, and what material would I use to make it? how would I go securing a framed glass door to it? Would it hold Ok, or would it be to heavy and just rip out.

2) Is a enclosure that is made from ply or whatever it may be, need to have a frame? I have seen some built with framing and some without. If a frame is a better choice what size and type of timber is a recommended choice. And are nails from a nail gun Ok to use rather than screws?.

I think they are my main concerns at the moment, I have seen a lot of threads on here and all I can think is " Holy cow, I love that " and some of the threads are very detailed, it is just those little bits where i get lost in it all.

There are some nice colors of melamine out other than the white or the black, and it would be good to have a enclosure that could use a bit of both ( melamine board / pine trim ) not only do I think it would look Ok, but it could be a cost effective way of doing it to, especially if you have a couple to do or planning on adding some new members.

If I can pull it off, It would be good to make a thread like one above but for a taller enclosure.

Any ideas would be great. 

Ben.


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## Lawra (Mar 2, 2014)

Probably a noob question but... What do you mean by a face frame for it?

Regarding nails/screws I'd definitely go with screws... The timber pro guys can give more info but if using melamine I tend to knock up with both: nail gun to tack together, drill holes then screw together.


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## 86JAP (Mar 2, 2014)

I'm not sure how you would go about question 1.

Question 2 however as long as what ever you end up using is a decent thickness then no frame is needed. If you build a frame to the size you want then you can use fairly thin panelling to close it in as it's not supporting anything. The pine panels I am building mine out of are 18mm thick and it is very sturdy!

It also depends on where the enclosure is going to be kept and what your preference is. For example mine is going into my lounge room as pretty much a piece of furniture and I personally don't like the look of melamine so I chose pine...

Hope that helps

Sam

Oh and deffinatly pre drill, glue and screw the joins...


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## AussieBen (Mar 2, 2014)

[MENTION=37955]Lawra[/MENTION] - The best way i could descibe it is Face Frame cabinetry made easy! - YouTube. I'm still trying to work it out, I know what it does but don't know how to explain, lol. 
[MENTION=22560]86JAP[/MENTION] - I been following your thread really close, but i got lost on how the heck you done the door. Although your door was a sliding door, i got lost on it, it just turned out excellent. I was thinking of using the tibetan oak colour in the melamine and that is 16mm thick, and then adding a stained trim but i don't know if i would trust a 6ft door hanging off it. I would like to use pine, but then there is the sanding and staining. But if that is the better option then I will go for that. The melamine and that timber you are using isn't much difference in price anyway really.


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## 86JAP (Mar 3, 2014)

The door wasn't that hard to do as long as you have a compound mitre saw ($70 from bunnings) to cut the 45deg angles. Although if I do another one I will more the likey use butt joins for the door as they are stronger and easier. The sanding and staining isn't too bad hey all I did was put the whole enclosure together with just screws then pulled it apart again and gave everything a light sand with 240grit paper on a mouse sander, if you get a stain and varnish in one then it's only 3 coats once you have glued and screwed it all back together.


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## AussieBen (May 28, 2014)

This is a older thread that i started that I hope is ok to revive instead of starting a new one.

I am really close to starting my projects and i now know what i want to do. Plans have changed due to a growing collection and I now have to utilize space a bit better. I was wondering if anyone out there can shed some light on some questions I have. I have been looking everywhere and haven't really found the answer.

1) Painting Melamine - With the appropriate primer and paints can anyone tell me how durable this is and would these paints be ok to use on the inside of a enclosure?
2) If I would like to cut out a square piece from the middle of a melamine sheet what is the best tool to get the corners nice and sharp on the inside, I heard jigsaws aren't the best, I was thinking of routing it out but is there a certain file, chisel or something that would be good enough to square the corners without ruining the sheet.

That's all I can think of for now, just waiting for the rest of my stuff to arrive and then I am going to get started.

Cheers,
Ben


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## Lawra (May 28, 2014)

Painting Melamine: It can be done and there are various primers and paints out there. However, through my experience with it (painting my parents' kitchen doors and edges of bench tops), I've found that it needs to be in very thin layers and can easily chip through wear. I'd suggest painting and sealing raw timber instead - siliconing around all edges after installing in the cabinet.

Using a jigsaw is perfectly fine if you are confident/competent. Stick masking tape down to avoid chipping the melamine and make sure you have a VERY sharp, new blade. 

Alternatively you could router it (rounded corners) and iron on some 1mm edge strip, using a cylindrical rod to press the tape into the rounded corners.


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## AussieBen (May 28, 2014)

[MENTION=37955]Lawra[/MENTION] - Thanks for the reply. I was thinking of having the painted surface in on the inside of the enclosure, I was originally trying to hunt down some formica but that is proving to be difficult in this state. The router would have been ideal except for the rounded edges. I can't wait to get these things started, last couple of months I have been getting all my stuff together and I am so close.

View attachment 310136


I hope the picture turns out, but this is somewhat close to what I want to replicate but with a white inside instead of black. but having the trim a little bit different.


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## Lawra (May 28, 2014)

[MENTION=39184]AussieBen[/MENTION] pic didn't work.


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## AussieBen (May 28, 2014)

View attachment 310138


If this doesn't work I'm all out of options. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.


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## Lawra (May 28, 2014)

Posting pics for [MENTION=39184]AussieBen[/MENTION]





Ben, do you think you necessarily need to cut a 'frame' as such? With the enclosures I've made, it's just been a basic box with a litter guard and top rail screwed on (no extra on the vertical sides).

Also, if you want to frame it like in the first pic, you don't need to worry about the neatness of your cuts - it'll be covered by the edging.


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## AussieBen (May 28, 2014)

[MENTION=37955]Lawra[/MENTION] - I think the cutout bit / frame will more be for some side trim to attach to a bit nicer. But I am thinking that it coulsd also be covered by the trim edge if I go all the way around.


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