E-mail to a friend
PrintAviary Cage Construction Tools
As with any job, good tools make the job a lot easier and produces a better end product. These are "special tools" that we use in cage construction.
Electric Wire Cutters: A tremendous time saver! They make a smooth cut for better assembly. They pay for themselves by reducing the man hours required and also saves the hand blisters for the assembling phase. (Not worth the investment if you aren't making many cages.)
Flush Cut Pliers: Required for cutting and trimming wire. These give a cut closer to the weld which allows the wire panels to join closer. It also reduces the many scratches that working with wire will generate.
J-Clip Pliers: We use J-Clips to secure the wire edges together. Usually spaced every two to three inches apart, it takes a lot of clips for a big cage. J-Clips provide a tighter fit than Hog Rings do. There will always be some birds that can open them though.
Hog Ring Pliers: It is good to have a pair of hog ring pliers and hog rings around to secure cage wire also. There always has to be one bird in the flock that can undo the J-clips and make things challenging for you.
J-Clip Remover Pliers: Those darn J-Clips can be tough to take off when you make a mistake and having the remover pliers on hand helps to keep my frustration level down.
Wire Break (or 2" x 4" x 8' piece of wood with a rubber mallet): You can save assembly time by having a wire break on hand to bend the wire on the weld. Good square corners make the assembly process go much smoother and produces a nicer, stronger product. (A 2" x 4" x 8' piece of wood works fine for making the bend also. We used to lay the wire on the driveway, butt the 2" x 4" on the bend mark and then stand on the wood while pulling up and hammering the wire with a mallet. Not a pretty sight to see, but it worked.)