alli713
..has a fleece addiction
I see this posted a lot on the forums, so I thought I'd make an explanation along with photos of how I make my shelves, so that perhaps some others can understand the process.
Okay, first you'll need:
Wood, pine or poplar boards work best
Wing nuts (sized to match your hanger bolts, 1/4" is most popular)
Washers
Hanger Bolts (1/4" size is most popular)
Pliers
Some people use other means to attach their shelves to their cage, but I've found that hanger bolts work well. Some people also just use hex nuts, but for hand tightening against the cage bars, wing nuts work best. Also, if you use pine, it's so soft of a wood that you don't need to drill pilot holes for the bolts. You can, but it's not necessary, so even if you don't have a drill, you can make your own shelves.
My piece of wood measures roughly 6" x 6". You can use any size, and many lumber stores will cut them for you. Or else ask for their area of seconds, as sometimes they have shorter, left over portions in those bins or racks.
First, picture of supplies:
Close up of hanger bolts. Note that one side looks like a screw, the other half is a bolt for the wing nut to screw onto.
Here in this photo, I've hand-screwed the bolt into the wood to start it off. Note that I've put the wing nut onto the screw, and then the washer, it just takes steps off of my process, but you could skip putting the washer on at this point.
So what you'll do is hold onto the wing nut portion with your hand and while pushing into the wood, twist the wing nut/bolt combo. This will push it into the wood if using pine since it's so soft
After I've started it off so that it sticks into the wood and doesn't fall out, I take my pliers and twist it the rest of the way into the wood. I hold the wing nut part with my pliers and then twist the board with my left hand.
So you will continue twisting the board or pliers until the bolt is all the way into the wood, up to the point so that the wing nut (or washer if you've put it on) is tight up against the wood. You should then be able to twist the wing nut the opposite way to loosen it.
And here's a final close up of the board. I put two bolts in this to make it more stable
I hope this helps and hopefully I didn't make it sound more confusing than it actually is!
Okay, first you'll need:
Wood, pine or poplar boards work best
Wing nuts (sized to match your hanger bolts, 1/4" is most popular)
Washers
Hanger Bolts (1/4" size is most popular)
Pliers
Some people use other means to attach their shelves to their cage, but I've found that hanger bolts work well. Some people also just use hex nuts, but for hand tightening against the cage bars, wing nuts work best. Also, if you use pine, it's so soft of a wood that you don't need to drill pilot holes for the bolts. You can, but it's not necessary, so even if you don't have a drill, you can make your own shelves.
My piece of wood measures roughly 6" x 6". You can use any size, and many lumber stores will cut them for you. Or else ask for their area of seconds, as sometimes they have shorter, left over portions in those bins or racks.
First, picture of supplies:
![IMG_2912.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/6fc/6fca20fa29756846890a30e04d23190d.jpg)
Close up of hanger bolts. Note that one side looks like a screw, the other half is a bolt for the wing nut to screw onto.
![IMG_2913.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/ebd/ebdc9887fb9d6663475bbe24d8f3feb8.jpg)
Here in this photo, I've hand-screwed the bolt into the wood to start it off. Note that I've put the wing nut onto the screw, and then the washer, it just takes steps off of my process, but you could skip putting the washer on at this point.
So what you'll do is hold onto the wing nut portion with your hand and while pushing into the wood, twist the wing nut/bolt combo. This will push it into the wood if using pine since it's so soft
![IMG_2914.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/4a8/4a8e905689f372d984ab09783a5effbd.jpg)
After I've started it off so that it sticks into the wood and doesn't fall out, I take my pliers and twist it the rest of the way into the wood. I hold the wing nut part with my pliers and then twist the board with my left hand.
![IMG_2915.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/236/23672dec92b3eeda33c1de268ad3fd8f.jpg)
So you will continue twisting the board or pliers until the bolt is all the way into the wood, up to the point so that the wing nut (or washer if you've put it on) is tight up against the wood. You should then be able to twist the wing nut the opposite way to loosen it.
And here's a final close up of the board. I put two bolts in this to make it more stable
![IMG_2921.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/fc6/fc62c351cbdd5b25fefe54b829ce6d6c.jpg)
I hope this helps and hopefully I didn't make it sound more confusing than it actually is!