How to stretch hardware cloth.

[Kgbao]

Since we not at work right now, I can’t send you a picture so I’ll try to explain.

On the open end where you sandwich the ( looks like you used 1x4 and 1x2s) wire to stretch it. Drill some holes and add lag bolts as well, three should be enough. So instead of running the wood screws in and out and having to make new holes every stretch, you can loosen 2 bolts, pivot the top board out of the way, feed wire through, put bolts in, use small impact driver, tighten it all up and stretch away.

 

[Ratchnick]

I just slowly finessed the hardware cloth with a flat head screwdriver when I was building my cages. Luckily the wire was thick enough to endure the strain from the screwdriver. If I was going to buid these cages on a regular basis, I would make a jig. It would be comprised of a clamp that attaches to a gripper through geared threaded rods. The gripper would be made out of an array of 3/8" thick spurs. There would be two threaded rods on each side and they would be on a crank assembly. Turning the crank would move the gripper forward or backwards.

Sounds like a similar idea, im not sure what a geared threaded rod is but always more then one way to do things.

 

[Ratchnick]

Since we not at work right now, I can’t send you a picture so I’ll try to explain.

On the open end where you sandwich the ( looks like you used 1x4 and 1x2s) wire to stretch it. Drill some holes and add lag bolts as well, three should be enough. So instead of running the wood screws in and out and having to make new holes every stretch, you can loosen 2 bolts, pivot the top board out of the way, feed wire through, put bolts in, use small impact driver, tighten it all up and stretch away.

I used a 1x2 and 2x4. That was my original idea but i didn't have bolts on hand. Certainly would make it stronger. To be honest the wood screws worked fine, and with a little care you can reuse the same holes. Bolts would certainly make a longer lasting cleaner jig!

 

[Kgbao]

I used a 1x2 and 2x4. That was my original idea but i didn't have bolts on hand. Certainly would make it stronger. To be honest the wood screws worked fine, and with a little care you can reuse the same holes. Bolts would certainly make a longer lasting cleaner jig!

We have belt stretchers at work, when I am ready to stretch some HC I’m pretty sure I’ll be borrowing one over the weekend lol

Ours are steel plates with the nuts welded on so you can imagine how fast and easy this would make it.

 

[mdees88]

I'm curious to see how much slant i need to get the eggs to roll out.

That will depend greatly on how tight the wire is and how much it sags over time. On my 2.0 cage the eggs rolled out fine at first but from the weight of the feeder resting unsupported on the wire caused some of them to hang up just before making it to the egg trough. On my 4.0 cage I built it on a much steeper slant. It worked for a while but I didn't get that wire on super tight and because of the weight of the water and feed the floor sagged significantly. The eggs ended up stopping within 6" of the front of the cage, which was fine. I could easily reach them and I actually never got around to adding the egg trough anyway.

Now that I have replaced that floor, got it much tighter, and supported my waterer and feeder.... I'll probably need some kind of cushion at the end of the egg trough to keep them from cracking when they hit it, lol.

It's really trial and error....

 

[702Quails]

Sounds like a similar idea, im not sure what a geared threaded rod is but always more then one way to do things.

It wouldn't have to be manually fastened down with lag bolts and screws. You also wouldn't need to manually alternate turning nuts on each side. The threaded rods on each side would be connected by gears and the whole 'gripper' part would move unilaterally. The gears would be powered by a cordless drill.

This jig would only make sense if you need to mass produce cages.

 

[702Quails]

Good point with the weight of the water, didn't even think about that. I learned a bunch from this cage. With the strecher i was flexing the wooden frame. Next time a much stiffer frame. I'm curious to see how much slant i need to get the eggs to roll out.

You need 11 - 12 degrees to make them roll. Make sure the wires that are perpendicular to the front of your cage are on top too. If the wires on top are parallel instead, the eggs will get stuck and will require a higher degree of slant for the eggs to roll all the way forward.