DOOR, Vertical Sliding, Gravity Closing
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
This is a simple procedure, to make an extra access or replacement Door in your existing cage. You should already have the required parts on hand.
Notes:
1. This Door is for Cages with Vertically aligned Cage Wire, and Horizontally placed support Wire. Additionally, there must be a reasonable amount of space above the proposed opening, for the Door to be lifted/slid upward. Look at the existing doors on the Cage, and pick a place which is of comparable access.
2. Cage Doors usually come in two standard widths, 2.0,” and 3.5”, however you can make the Door as wide as you want, even completely across the Cage. IF you want to hang one of the Standard insertable “T” Mount Feeders in it, then the above widths should be observed.
3. It would be best, if you removed any Birds you have in the Cage to another during this procedure, but, if you must leave them in the Cage, hang a swatch of cloth inside the Cage to protect your work, contain them, and keep them from being terrorized by it.
PARTS NEEDED:
Dowel Rod, ½” (same as your Perch Dowel)
Clothes Hanger (old) (White/Painted would be nice)
Exception:
If you intend to use the type Feeder in this new Door which has “Tabs” that hook inside the Cage, and turn up using the Door to secure it, then, substitute the Round Dowel for a ½” x ½” Square Trim piece. They come in 48” lengths, same as the Dowel.
TOOLS NEEDED:
Saw
Drill and Bits (Small 1/16-1/4” Set)
Pliers, Standard
Pliers, Needle Nose
Pliers, Diagonal (Wire Cutters)
Small Hammer (Optional)
View Drawing at:
http://www.finchforum.com/gallery/displ ... at=0&pos=0
INSTRUCTIONS:
1: Take your time:
Decide how wide you want the door to be, and where it’s best placed. It does not necessarily have to be in the Horizontal center of the Cage. Place it for convenience, rear, side, toward the side, use your imagination.
2: Cutting the Dowel Rod:
Cut two pieces of Dowel, two vertical wire spaces wider than the width you’ve decided for the Door.
3: Marking the Drill Points:
Center each of the Dowels on the proposed area, and use the existing vertical Rod spacing, to mark the places you will drill the Dowel. Mark a position for each Vertical Rod that the Dowel covers.
4: Drilling the Dowel Rods:
Check the diameter of the Clothes Hanger wire, and Vertical Wire of the Cage, and use appropriately sized Drill Bits, to allow the two sized Rods to snugly be pushed into/through the holes. It is probable that the Clothes Hanger Wire will be a larger diameter than is the Cage Wire.
Draw a straight line along the length of the Dowels, directly through the Marks you just made for the Rod spacing. On the two outside/end marks of each Dowel piece, remark them about 1/8” further outward toward the ends of the Dowel (two each on each Dowel). Drill the Dowels all the way through, for these (4) outside/end holes, and only half way through for the ones between them, on both Dowels. (see Figure A)
All drill holes should be straight in line, square to the length of the Dowel.
If you wish to Paint/Stain the Dowel, now’s the time !
5: Cutting the Vertical Rods/Wire from the Cage:
Look at Figure “B”, note the two large Red dots along the Red Line. These Dots represent the Horizontal Support Rod of the Cage.
You must cut
UNDER the upper Rod, and
ABOVE the bottom Rod, when removing the Vertical pieces. Remember how wide you want the door to be, and only cut the appropriated number of Rods out ! Cut the Rods very close to the upper and lower Horizontal Support Rods, where any rough wire ends, will be sufficiently out of the pass through opening. You may wish to Sand or File these wire ends remaining on the Cage, to smooth them down some.
Leaving the Rods at this length, will make the door a bit taller than is actually necessary, or….
If you feel confident in your ability in understanding this process, you may now cut all the Rods you just cut from the Cage, off another 3/8” or ½”, to make the upper Wire Slides, rest on the Horizontal Support Rods of the Cage the same as the lower ones. If you do not understand this, then leave the Rods as they are. This will add some height to the door, but in no way keep it from working.
6: Fitting the Rods into the Dowel Pieces:
Insert the Vertical Rods you’ve just cut from the Cage, into the holes you drilled half way through the Dowel Rods, leaving the two end holes or each Dowel Piece, open for the next step.
It’s ok if they’re not all the same length exactly, if you need to drill one of the holes a little deeper, do that now, but don’t drill all the way through the Dowel. This captures the vertical rods in the Door. See Figure “C”.
You may use a Rubber Band or cord, to contain this assembly, while you are handling it. To make sure the Dowels are compressed down on the captured Rods as best they can, you might now set the Door squarely upright on your bench, and tap down on the upper Dowel lightly with a hammer. Don’t over do this, or you’ll bend the Rods !
7: Cutting and Installing the Clothes Hanger Rods (Slider Rods):
Lay the partially assembled Door down, and measure it’s height (see Figure “C”).
Then with your Wire Cutters, cut two pieces of the Clothes Hanger, of equal length, making them at least THREE inches longer, than the height of the Door. We’ll be cutting off the extra length later.
Now with your Pliers, bend one end of each of the Clothes Hanger Rods 90° about 1 ½” from the end, and slip them into the end/outside holes, that you drilled completely through the Dowels (upper and lower Dowel). Using your Pliers again, bend the other ends of the Clothes Hanger Wires to 90° in the
SAME DIRECTION, that you bent them the first time.
Try to make these second bends, as close to the Dowels as possible. If you do not get the Angles bent where the top and bottom bends are exactly parallel to each other in the same direction, you may twist the wire now, to align them.
8: Forming the Wire Sliders:
At this time, take a look at an existing Vertically Sliding Door on a Cage. Note that the Sliders are NOT formed tightly around the vertical Wires. This is to enable the Door to drop and close on it’s own, and about the same clearances should be formed, on this Door. Figure “D”, shows the final shape of the Sliders.
Now, place the Door against the Cage, centered in the opening you have created. Allow the Clothes Hanger Rods to go
outside of the two existing Vertical Wires on the left and right of the opening, and into the inside of the Cage.
With both of the Clothes Hanger wire ends pointing directly to the opposite side of the Cage, mark those ends
INSIDE the Cage, at the point where they are just passed the Vertical Cage Wire.
Remove the Door, and using your standard Pliers to hold the Clothes Hanger Rod, with the jaws of the Pliers slightly covering the marks you just made, and ,
HORIZONTALLY bend the upper, then lower, “Slider” wires inward toward each other 90°.
Now, using your Needle Nose Pliers, hold each Slider near the angle you just bent, making sure that about 3/16” of the Wire is captured by the Pliers, and bend the outer end of the Wire
HORIZONTALLY forward toward the front of the Door about 45°. You may now cut off the ends of the Slider about ½” from the bend you just made. You should see that the “V” bends of the top
and bottom Sliders, are bent toward the center of the Door.
I know it will seem easy to just go on and bend these wires around in a “U” shape now, but don’t !
9. Attaching the Door:
Center and place the Door against the Cage, where it is raised about half the way up/open. This will place the Sliders, above the Horizontal Rods of the Cage. You may have to reach inside the Cage, using your Needle Nose Pliers, to pull the ends of them around the vertical wire of the Cage.
Having done this, hold the Door against the Cage lightly, moving it up and down to see that the clearances of the Sliders are NOT too tight. If you need to re-bend the angles to increase the clearance, do this now. LOOSE IS BETTER than tight !
If you have determined that these clearances are adequate, then from outside the Cage, reach into and around the “V” shaped bends of the four Sliders with your standard Pliers, and close them from the “V” they are now in, to a “U” shape. DO NOT allow this closure to capture/tighten up on the Vertical Wire of the Cage. You may have to reach inside the Cage with your Needle Nose Pliers, placing them between the 90° and 45° bends, to maintain the spacing between those bends, as you close the Sliders to the “U” shape.
You’re done !
Figures “E” & “F”, show the finished Door.
Reasons why:
1. To place oversized objects into Cage.
2. Easier access for Cleaning and Adjusting.
3. Quick access to join two Cages together.
4. Existing doors to small for me to get my hand in ! (personal reason)
5. Bored, and just did it ! (maybe this one too)
S. W. Houston
Have a good Day !