# Tool Cupboard Enclosure



## OldestMagician (Nov 4, 2013)

So I just saved this old tool cupboard at work from being chucked in the skip and instead chucked it in the boot of my car. 







It's about 4x4x1.5. I haven't measured it though, and it will either be a halfway home for my Bredli or a taller home for my Spotted, haven't decided yet. 

This'll be pretty slow going but as I don't have to rush I'm hoping it'll turn out nicely. 

The whole thing is solid wood too, no plywood backing.


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## bundy07 (Nov 4, 2013)

yeh nice, how are you thinking of doing it are u gonna put glass in the doors or get rid of the doors completly


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## OldestMagician (Nov 4, 2013)

I'll be removing the panels in the doors and replacing them with glass. They have a really nice archway look to them that I'm a fan of. 
I'll also replace the hinges and catches and put handles on the doors. I also need to close them firmly so I'm going to have to work out how I'll be doing that. 

I've just cleaned and sanded back a small bit on top (there's probably about 10 years of grease and oil on there) and the wood grain has come out really nicely so I may not stain it, just oil it on the outside. 
I'm getting my Dad's palm sander on the weekend so I'll see how it looks once it's all sanded back before I decide. 

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## Virides (Nov 4, 2013)

We have handles you can use for this if you have a snake - Morelia Black

$20ea come in left and right versions.


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## OldestMagician (Nov 9, 2013)

Cleaned, sanded back and removed the panels in the doors.




And this is after the first coat of stain. Currently waiting for the third coat to dry and then I'll hang the doors with the new hinges I bought yesterday.


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## OldestMagician (Nov 10, 2013)

Third coat dry and doors hung. I'm going to look around Bunnings tomorrow for some way of securing the doors.


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## Jackrabbit (Nov 10, 2013)

Bunnings have some magnetic locks so you don't have to have too much stuff showing on the outside. They work great too.

you can just have the handles showing and fool anyone wanting to get in.


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## Viking_Python (Nov 10, 2013)

I installed Camlocks to my python enclosures. One on the top and one at the bottom of the right door. Sliding barrel locks secure the left doors. I used a multi tool to cut the slit to accommodate the locks arm. 19mm hole speed bore drill bit for the locks barrel. I found finding one that are all keyed alike difficult at Bunnings. A mate put me onto this ebay site. http://www.*********.au/itm/5pcs-28...?pt=AU_Building_Materials&hash=item2320933945. If link doesn't work type 28mm pinball lock on ebay search. The seller is sinron tech.


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## OldestMagician (Nov 18, 2013)

Had an unexpected day off today to take the cat to the vet so got a bit done. 






In a brilliant display of luck I pulled apart an old fish tank about 6 months ago and have had the glass sitting around for a while. Turns out that it's an almost perfect fit for the doors so I've put those in. I've secured it using left overs from the renovations that are happening in the apartment block so again I've been lucky with that. Not sure exactly what it is I've used, looks like some kind of supports for gyprock but once again it fits perfectly. I used some wood to hold the glass in position side to side. 






Will grab some vents later on tonight.


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## bundy07 (Nov 18, 2013)

look really classy mate cant wait to see it finished


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## OldestMagician (Nov 18, 2013)

Thanks mate. After vents I'll be looking at getting some Styrofoam etc for the background

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## bundy07 (Nov 19, 2013)

awesome thats what Im currently doin, its been fun!!


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## congo_python (Nov 21, 2013)

Nice job mate... and the sanding back looked fantastic from the before photo - some how you got in all those corners lol.

P.S make sure you seal all the inside corners with silicon to stop liquid getting all up in there and I'd seal the inside timber with clear lacquer or similar to help with cleaning and to stop staining.


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## OldestMagician (Nov 21, 2013)

The inside was a lot cleaner than the outside haha. I actually forgot to mention I used Cabot's Deck Clean. Gave the whole thing a scrub in hot soapy water, scrubbed with Deck Clean, then soapy water again before letting it dry and sanding it. 
I bought a Ryobi sander specifically for it which probably saved me 15,000 hours of hand sanding. 
The inside has actually been painted with pond paint so it should be pretty water tight. I'll be siliconing around the background when I eventually get to it though  

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## Lawra (Nov 22, 2013)

Hawt. I like it


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## DisturbedDave (Nov 23, 2013)

Looks good mate! Good save. 
Curious, as I'm going to sand back my old corner tv cabinet this weekend, why soap it and deck clean it before sanding it back? 

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## OldestMagician (Nov 23, 2013)

It was covered in oil and dirt so it was filthy. My work produces fertiliser which makes tools rust really quickly, so people tend to coat their tools with stuff if they're irregularly used, plus the cupboard is pretty old so it had years of ingrained oil. 
I was worried it might leach out or prevent paint sticking so I just gave it a thorough clean. 

A TV cabinet will have none of that so I'd imagine you could get straight to the sanding. 

I got another cabinet that I'm turning into a guinea pig hutch that I'll just sand back. 

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## DisturbedDave (Nov 24, 2013)

OldestMagician said:


> It was covered in oil and dirt so it was filthy. My work produces fertiliser which makes tools rust really quickly, so people tend to coat their tools with stuff if they're irregularly used, plus the cupboard is pretty old so it had years of ingrained oil.
> I was worried it might leach out or prevent paint sticking so I just gave it a thorough clean.
> 
> A TV cabinet will have none of that so I'd imagine you could get straight to the sanding.
> ...



Thanks. Figured as much, but thought I'd ask anyway 

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## Jr.HerpKeeper (Nov 24, 2013)

That looks awesome!  Must of been fun building it!


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## OldestMagician (Nov 24, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies everyone  

Have had a busy couple of days looking at places for our wedding but I've just managed to finish off a couple of bits this afternoon. 

Jigsawed out a couple of holes for the vents (and forgot to take a photo with the vents screwed on. 






And I've sorted out how I'm locking this cabinet. Just a simple way, and I've screwed a strip of wood onto the back of the other door so you can't open it without unlocking the other side. I've also mounted the guard for the heat lamp which you can barely see on the right hand side. 






I'm going to buy some paint for the other cabinet I'm doing so I can sand it back a bit and paint it tomorrow whilst I'm flea-bombing inside (the persistent buggers). It'll be painted light blue as it's for my missus' nephews. I'll probably chuck up a before and after on that when it's finished. 

And a shot of where we went today. 10 e-cookies to anyone who recognises it. 






Cheers


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## OldestMagician (Dec 31, 2013)

Got some styrofoam from a bin, hacked it up and coated it in acrylic render before painting it. I've decided to repaint the sides with the same colour as the basecoat on the rocks so I've still got that to do and then I'll give it a few coats of clear Pond Sealer and start with the electrics.

I have the light to put in and I still have to get a heat cord and tile.


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## OldestMagician (Jan 5, 2014)

So this is where I am. Just need to buy the heat chord and I'll rig up a bigger tile for the enclosure. I'd like to make a decent looking water bowl too, as well as buy a hanging finch thing to use as a hide.


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## Kit_fox (Jan 5, 2014)

Wow, that looks really good oldestmagician. I wish I could make some thing like that


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