Any woodworking geniuses here?

[bryanthompson]

I'm drawing up some plans for an aviary for my two cockatiels. Right now they are in one of those cheap little cages. They will be upgrading to my girlfriend's Parrot cage when she starts college up here. So, we'll have three cockatiels living in a parrot cage. It will definitely be large enough, however it won't look all that great in my house.

So, I want to draw up some plans for a medium oak & glass aviary that my grandpa and I could build over a weekend. Attached is the basic shape I want. I'd like to build cabinets underneath, and I want glass on the front and back. The sides can be that high-quality PVC-coated mesh, so the birds can climb around. I'm not sure what to do about a door on this thing, though. If I went glass all around, I would be able to build a glass door in one of the sides.

Anyway, here's the shape (from above):


The whole shebang should be six feet high (Four feet of glass / bird area, two feet of cabinet space underneath).

He has all of the tools we'll need, so we won't have any problems there at all. I wouldn't say my grandpa half-assses things, but if I don't have it planned to every last detail, it won't get done right

Anyone have tips for things like getting the glass set in the wood framing correctly? In what order should we build the pieces? I'm thinking it would be easier to build some sort of frame for the inner part of the bird cage, then build the base, and then join the two using the real nice trim wood.

And, how about my angled sides... How should the glass attach to the wood trim? Birds will chew on wood if they can, so I need some way to have the wood there, but hide it or make it inaccessable to them in some way.

[bryanthompson]

Here is a style I really really like, however I need the sides to be angled and I want a cabinet underneath:

[88BlueTSiQuest]

There are 2 ways you can go about the glass, maybe more when others chime in.

The quick and easy way would be to route a channel on the back of the wood frame, 1/4" to 1/2". Set the glass in the channel, and use staples or finish nails to hold the glass in place, much like a picture frame. There are other available options for keeping the glass in place, like twist tabs that would make removal and cleaning easier(look at some china cabinets at a furniture store for some ideas along these lines).

The other, nicer, way to go would be to still route the channel, but have an 'inner frame' that would sandwich the glass to the outer frame. This would make your structure heavier, but would also make the glass more secure. The bad thing is the glass wouldn't be easily removeable for cleaning or replacement.


I guess a 3rd way I just thought of is to do the same as my 'quick and easy way' but instead of using nails or anything else to keep the glass inplace, you can merely use silicone to glue the glass into the channel.

[928ram]

I'd use Lexan unless you think they'll scratch it up.

Here's an idea of how to fasten; dado landings in each corner trim the thickness of the glass, fasten the glass in with some metal trim/screws and maybe a bit of silicone or RTV.

Something like this pathetic picture:

[stomachmonkey]

That's a large piece of glass, use some foam or padding against the glass so it does not rattle and buzz.

[bryanthompson]

procon, that scratch resistent lexan sounds good for the front and back. if you could find out the name of it, or whatever I'd need to say to my glass company friends to make sure I get the right stuff, that'd be great.

928, I like the idea of using the metal trim piece on the inside like you showed there. That looks like the perfect way, plus I can sandwich the mesh between the wood and the metal on the sides.

I need to do a little more research... Does silicone leave lingering fumes that might harm the birds? I know they make those little felt pieces that will fit between the glass and wood/metal, so that might be an okay way to keep some air circulation through the edges while still keeping it from rattling...

[bryanthompson]

Ok, here's how those corners will work. The orange piece is what all four pieces for the two front corners will be made of, I figured that'd be the easiest way to build the corner pieces all at once.

[88BlueTSiQuest]

Originally posted by bryanthompson
Does silicone leave lingering fumes that might harm the birds?

No silicone is non-toxic and safe once it's totally dry.