# Enclosure help



## andrew_kka (Sep 16, 2011)

Hi guys, 

ive recently just bought a tv cabinet that im wanting to turn into an enclosure. im not all that great with wood work and dont want to destroy the cabinet in the process. 
my question is how would i remove the shelf circled in the pic? any help would be greatly welcomed




thanks guys.


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## saximus (Sep 16, 2011)

Can you see if there are little wood plugs on the side covering screws or something? You could give it a couple of taps with a mallet to see if that loosens anything and makes it obvious how it's held in place.


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## BigWillieStyles (Sep 16, 2011)

I agree with Sax, I would look for any screws hold it in place. Could you cut it in half and just give it a couple of pulls?


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## Em1986 (Sep 17, 2011)

Another possibility is that it may be held in by dowels and wood glue as well as screws. I recently bought a low line entertainment unit to convert and took the vertical dividers out (a little easier for me because i took the top off first) and then i sprayed the joins with some plain water for ages and took the screws out and the dividers were fairly easily taken out. Maybe your shelf is held with glue and dowels if ne screw holes are found so i would be cutting it in half and the spraying the joins with water and see if you can loosen them.
Please keep us updated on your conversion as well and good luck


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## Snake_Whisperer (Sep 17, 2011)

If you'd like, take some better quality photos, email them to me, and I can make some notes, drawings, and design ideas for you! I agree, it would be a shame to butcher that unit! I'll PM you my email addy.

Cheers,
A.


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## andrew_kka (Sep 17, 2011)

@ em1986 i think it might be held in as you said by dowels, i had a look at the cabinet just then and i cant find any screw holes, nail, staples or putty to cover any screws over. So in your opinion its best to cut that self in half first then pull the shelf off as 2 seperate sides?

@snake whisperer yeah sure mate ill takes some snaps this arvo after the gym wouod be good to get some ideas of what i could do with the cabinet.

thanks guys for the quick replies cheers.


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## striker321 (Sep 17, 2011)

haha, i was watching that on eBay, im going soon to pick mine up as well...good luck with the conversion


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## Defective (Sep 17, 2011)

you may not need to get rid of it...use it for all the cables and make a cover for it that ***** down or something...use it for cable storage and just drill a hole in the back for them to come out of to plug in.


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## andrew_kka (Sep 17, 2011)

might of had a few to many beers last night i took another look at it with a light shined on it. it does in fact have putty, i dug out the putty from one of them there seems to be a piece of metal about -- that long and it dosnt look round. its looks straight.


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## Snake_Whisperer (Sep 17, 2011)

andrew_kka said:


> might of had a few to many beers last night i took another look at it with a light shined on it. it does in fact have putty, i dug out the putty from one of them there seems to be a piece of metal about -- that long and it dosnt look round. its looks straight.



That sounds like the head of brad nail.


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## Em1986 (Sep 17, 2011)

lol, staples may be easier to remove. Have you tried softening any glue with water yet?
Unless you take the whole side off the i suggest having to cut the shelf to get it out or leave it in like suggested above and mount your lights etc there and hide all the cords and crap.


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## andrew_kka (Sep 19, 2011)

Hey guys, ive finally had time to work on the conversion today after the weekend.

i was able to get the shelf off, although i dont really have any tools apart from a few things lying round the shed out back.
i took the blade off a hack saw and pushed it up through the crack to the nails then sawed them off, i went thought 12 nails and it only took about 10 mins. but i do appreciate everyones help and ideas.

got another question though. 
i want to either cut out that part on the side where i drew the square so theres more room length ways. or should i leave it and cut out where i drew the circle so there is more room for climbimg.


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## slide (Sep 21, 2011)

good that you got it sorted out. Another way that you could remove a shelf held by brad nails is to punch them right through the vertical panels so that the nail is entirely in the shelf. If you dont have a nail punch you can use a nail with a head slightly bigger than the head of the brad nail to punch it through. Just turn the punching nail so the head faces the wood and hit the pointy end with the hammer -> poor man's nail punch, works a treat!
Good luck with the project, looks like fun, enjoy!
Aaron d/-<


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## andrew_kka (Sep 27, 2011)

just some updates on my work over the weekend. ive put a door on and installed 10 white led deck lights with 15 leds in each light and use a combined wattage of 11. the pics dont really do it justice but its actually pretty bright. also i put in a heat panel from pro herp, a thermostat, and wheels on the bottom. my next thing to do is put in some bamboo or wooden poles for climbing nd for the basking spot. i might also get some more green leds to give it a more greenish jungle look when im done decorating it.

the last pic is what i want to do with the bamboo or wooden poles you can get from bunnings. there is no wall in the middle of the enclosure which is why the basking pole needs to go straight across and the 2 upright poles will be for support. any ideas on how i can do that is welcomed as im not quite sure and i dont want to wreck it at this point

no replys yet.. bump!


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## DeadCricket (Sep 28, 2011)

Just an idea but have you thought of growing the bamboo? It grows pretty quick and with some training it might come out just the shape you want.

Or any other shape that would suit what your thinking really. I've seen little bamboo plants with full 360° curls in them


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## Virides (Sep 29, 2011)

Excellent enclosure!

Our Stainless Steel Handles would contrast very well on the doors of this enclosure.

Virides - Stylish Enclosure Enhancements

These have changed from the mirror finish to a brushed finish, which will allow them to stand out more in low light and make finger prints far less obvious.


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## mattyg (Sep 29, 2011)

sledge hammer!


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## andrew_kka (Oct 27, 2011)

Finally finished the enclosure.. only a few more things to do now.. gonna get the fake turf from bunnings then build a hide box.

ive got 3 heating options in there and the temps in the cage are perfect.

1. the heat panel i got from pro herp. i put in 2 perches that go across the enitre enclosure at diff hights so the snake can choose which one it would like to rest on or even use both as they are close together.

2. i used the heat perch idea and suspended a heat cored inside a pvc pipe with the thermostate also inside it making sure not to let it touch the pipe.. i tested it till i finally got the right temp on the outside of the pipe, which i had to use the thermostat on/off fuction to get. tested with the fake vines on to make sure they wudnt melt or let off a chemical odor 

3. i used a heat cord sandwitched between wood on the bottom routed out and another thin piece wood on top.

the light also have 3 options. i can switch between green.. green/blue.. or use just plain white. or all 3.


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## DeadCricket (Oct 27, 2011)

Looks unreal mate!


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## viciousred (Oct 27, 2011)

Looks awesome!


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## JungleManSam (Oct 27, 2011)

I am making my own enclosure at the moment and because I am at school I cant do it when ever I have free time(REALLY FRUSTRATING)! But I think I might steal the closed off box so its dark and lights are excluded from here. Good idea I think. Yea and it looks really good, just how did you make an enterence for the different sides of the tank? Holes in the wood? 

Sam


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