Bending Wood

Hello,

I am looking at sorting out our chinchilla cages as the wood we put in over a year ago has started to bend or curve. I am presuming this is because of the moisture from them peeing on it all the time. We are training them slowly however I would like to sort out the boards so its a bit easier to clean and stop trying to scrape poo from between the boards where its curved.

I wanted to take them all out and plane them anyway as they have been sanded and when washing the pee off with a damp cloth its just not helping. I presume planning the wood will help with this given it will a nice smooth surface to wipe down?

I was thinking regarding the wood tat I would soak them in the bath for a minute or too and then clamp them all together causing them to dry straight but I am unsure if this would work? Or to speed up the process use a hair dryer or something to aid the drying process.

This is all with untreated kiln dried pine.

Any help is gratefully received.

James

 

Once timber has warped due to any kind of moisture, it's almost impossible to straighten them again with any degree of success......personally I'd replace the offending pieces.
John

 

when i make hutches or cages i make 1 or more trays with a lip from 12mm ply and a timber lip so cleaning takes seconds
the trays cover all the floor area and when rot sets in you make a replacement tray

off course i design the hutch with an outside frame so the tray comes out flat and level and covers all the floor

 

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping I could get away with straightening them as there is nothing else wrong with them.

Is there anything I can do to stop protect the wood keeping the animals in mind so that if they pee on it then it doesn't bed the wood otherwise it could get very costly very quick.

Thanks

James

 

forget flattening them they will be exactly as they are now maybe a bit more or a bit less but never flat

 

so how can I stop the wood from bending in the first place?

 

You can minimise warping by keeping the timber fixed down securely with screws, bolts etc.
Could you use a different material......plastic for example?
John

 

Thanks the issue I have is I cant use plastic as the animals would chew it and die from it and they are as secure as they can be due to them being a kind of floor for them so they are held in place at both edges.

So it looks like I cant really avoid the bending of the wood...

Would planning it help with the finish being much smoother?

Thanks

James

 

Not regarding the warping, no.
Sorry!
John

 

Can you not find some stainless steel sheets to line the bottom with?

 

have you got pictures off the area as i/we may have other ideas

 

The steel sheets maybe a good idea would I then have to bolt the wood to the steel? Or am I missing what is being suggested?

As for the pics I will see if I can get some tonight dependant on the state of the cage!

 

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