# melamine enclosure difficulty



## D.E.L.E.T.E (Sep 10, 2011)

hey guys has anyone built their own melamine snake cage before. im pretty handy on the tools but got no idea when it comes to laminate and where to source it from. how do you cut it with out cracking and chipping it how do you laminate cut edges ect ect all info will help greatly


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## maddog-1979 (Sep 10, 2011)

i ask bunnings to pre cut it for me, so it's just a quick screw together and bang enclosure done. exposed edges can be covered with iron on laminate strips. they come in rolls also available from bunnings


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## r3ptilian (Sep 10, 2011)

Bunnings sells Melamine reasonably cheap. If you buy a full sheet you can ask them to cut it to your required sizes and save a bit of dosh. you can also buy the edge tape from there as well and apply it with an iron. or you can buy the pre sized pieces from them and make your enclosure according to the sheets available. Hope this helps out.

Maddog you must type quicker than me haha


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## D.E.L.E.T.E (Sep 10, 2011)

cheers never thought it would be that easy. im off to bunnings tomorrow 
thanks guys


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## r3ptilian (Sep 10, 2011)

Not sure how you're gonna set it up, but they also sell the tracks for sliding glass doors, wiring, vents, lights etc.


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## jham66 (Sep 10, 2011)

If you are making a few of them it may be worth your time looking at local cabinet makers and asking if they can cut and edge for you. The cutting will cost you labour charges which will be more than Bunnings $1 per cut, but the end result will be 100% better. Bunnings do not use a scribe saw, so you will still have chips. The edging is the most time consuming part of the enclosure build, the cabinet makers will run it through a machine. I was getting my sheets cut and edged for $55/enclosure.


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## Octane (Sep 10, 2011)

I have a kitchen cabinet maker fairly local to me. I leave a cutting list with him then he cuts the boards to my size and has a machine that puts on the edging. White is the cheapest but you can get pretty much any colour.

All I have to do is screw them together and fit them out.

Cheers
Octane


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## maddog-1979 (Sep 10, 2011)

lol r3ptilian. magic fingers, haha

bunnings are great, i think i spend too much time there tho  if only they had some tubs bigger than 71L tho , i wanna build a rack but have to shop around online to get some decent sized tubs


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## nasool (Sep 10, 2011)

I just finished a new enclosure and got the Melamine from Sizewise/Readycut, ordered the size i wanted and had the laminate on the edges i asked. Pre drilled holes for the screws before assembling and had no cracking issues.


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## D.E.L.E.T.E (Sep 10, 2011)

good ****, its gonna be a display cage for my albino darwin hoping to get black melamine sheets so she stands out. just gonna get the main fraim built than see the old man (glass company owner) and brother (sparkie) to set up the rest of the gear for me, im a landscaper so ill have no probs knocking up some fake rocks and hides for her just had no idea or ever delt with melamine before cheers for the advice


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## Serpentess (Sep 10, 2011)

Nice and clean looking job.


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## D.E.L.E.T.E (Sep 10, 2011)

thats wicked looks like the job of a pro


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## nasool (Sep 10, 2011)

Thanks heaps, It is the same as one my mate had built so was easy to get the measurements and he helped assemble it, very happy with the outcome


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## r3ptilian (Sep 10, 2011)

Sounds like you have all your bases covered 1st-stoney. Make sure you post some pics of the final result with ya alby in its new abode..

Nice bank of enclosures Nasool


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## scott_nevill90 (Sep 12, 2011)

if you want to cut the malamine yourself turn the face of the board you want to keep nice and not chipped down so the saw base is on the other side. this will give you a perfect cut everytime.


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## slide (Sep 24, 2011)

I agree with Scott, just got one thing to add to it. Set up the blade so it only pokes thru the bottom of the melamine by 5-10mm. This both helps to keep the edge from chipping and reduses the chance of the saw kicking back. 

I recently got some melamine from my local bunnings and it seems that they have changed suppliers. The melamine was absolute rubbish, it chipped sooooo easily. Sorry bunnings but never again! Now dealing with local cabinet makers. More expensive but 100% professional result. Cut within a fraction of a mm when cut on the cnc machine and the melamine is high moisture resistant unlike bunnings much lower moisture resistance also edging done for me... save so much precious time


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## DazTopEndPythons (Sep 24, 2011)

You can also order cut to size and edged from mr ply ,very cheap and no chipped edges ,have done 18 cabinets this way


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## BigWillieStyles (Sep 24, 2011)

I find that I really need some precision cutting tools or take them to a cabinet maker. Home cutting tools and bunnings ones just never seem to be spot on enough for me. They are always out by a millimeter or so somewhere, which can make the final product less then perfect which really irratates me.


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## thren (Sep 25, 2011)

We cut it on a table saw at my work wich has a "scouring blade" before tha main blade
it cuts the surface before the blade that cuts the wood.

With this suff it helps to get it cut by people with the right gear if you want a good finish.
ask them to sell you some edging while your there.. you can use an iron to put it on.

Tell them your building a snake enclosure...
I allways find tradies are good at charging bugger all if your doing sonething interesting.


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## Choco (Sep 25, 2011)

If you want black melamine, DMK forest products were by far the cheapest when I got quoted. Not sure if they have depot's near you but they were $57 per 2400x1200 sheet. Roll of 1 or 2mm PVC edging was about $25 and they were going to only charge me $100 to cut, edge and pre-drill 6 sheets, which would make 6 enclosures roughly 4ftx2ftx2ft ready to be screwed together for under $500 just add glass/doors. Google Black melamine for other suppliers, There's another starting with 'N' (nova kitchens maybe) I think.

I found Mr Ply quite a bit more expensive.

Cheers,
Allan


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