HowTo: Build your own Grow Cabinet with Cloning/Mother Area

[daihashi]

Well it is time for me to redesign my cabinet. My first design was very simple and looked like it was designed by a 5 year old. Not to mention the light leaks and how suspicious it looks.

I've decided to go ahead and rebuild/redesign my cabinet and catalog it here as a how to for all other newbies or even veterans to be able to use if they are about as bad as I am with power tools.

[daihashi]

These first steps are just preparing the materials to be used to build our cabinet. Therefore I have taken no pictures of these steps. They should be self explanitory.

Materials needed:

11 8ft 2x4 planks
9 8ft 2x2 planks
A box of 2.5" screws
2-3 hinges

Tools needed:

Power drill
Power Miter Saw (unless you want to waste hours doing it manually)
Jig Saw


Step 1:

Take 8 out of your 11 2x4's and cut them down to 72" long a piece.

Step 2:

Take each piece and cut it with your miter saw at a 45 degree angle. Be sure that the ends of 2x4's face each other.. like two slashes /____________________\ is what is should look like after you've cut both ends. Try as best as possible to not lose any of your 72" length.

If you think you might mess up then in step 1 cut your pieces to be a few inches longer. 74" or so.

Step 3:

Take your 2x4's and cut two pieces that are 32" long each

Step 4:

Cut these in 45 degree angles as in step 2.

Step 5:

Take your 2x4's and cut two pieces that are 28" long each

Step 6:

Cut ends at 45 degree angles as in step 2:

[daihashi]

Step 7:
(Picture 1) (http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/2015/dscn0252xo7.jpg)

Take two of the 2x4's that you cut into 72" lengths and place them side by side facing each other. You may want to elevate these onto something as we will be drilling and we need all the room we can get for the drill to go all the way in.

If you don't have one of those work horse things you can just elevate it with a second set of 2x4's as seen in the picture.

Step 8:
(Picture 2) (http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/7311/dscn0253vz4.jpg)

Take your two 32" pieces and mate them to fit with the two 72" pieces. Put them together so their 45 degree ends meet together and form a 90 degree angle.

Step 9:
(picture 3) (http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/959/dscn0254ta8.jpg)

Place weight on both pieces of lumber where they meet. We are going to drill multiple holes through them to make it easier to start our wood screws.

Use a drill bit that is about the same size as the tip of your screw that you're using. This makes it easy to drill the pieces together but still gives the screw enough material to bite onto.

Step 10:
(Picture 4) (http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2896/dscn0255vx8.jpg)

Screw your 2.5" screws all the way into the wood. Do not be afraid to continue screwing inward after the screw is flush with the wood. Most untreated 2x4's are soft wood and this works to our advantage. I used 3 or more screws per joint made. I used my own judgement when determining how many screws to make.

It's important to note that most of this wood is a bit warped as it is untreated (which is what you want. You don't want to buy treated wood). This is not a big deal as we bind the pieces together things will become flat/flush.

Repeat steps 7 through 10 until you have made 4 panels that look like Picture #5 (http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2641/dscn0256jz6.jpg)

[daihashi]

Step 11:
(Picture 6 (http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2149/dscn02571hg8.jpg) & Picture 7 (http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3699/dscn02581uy8.jpg))

Take a piece of 2x2 and join one of the 28" width panels with one of the 32" width panels.. We are going to do this to help us balance and stabilize the frame as we join it together.

Repeat this with another 28" or 32" panel until you have 3 pieces attacked to each other. Be sure to put the 28" panels opposite of each other.. same for the 32" panels.

Step 12:
(Picture 8) (http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9759/dscn0259sv2.jpg)

flip the pieces so one panel is resting on top of the other two panels. begin to drill 3 holes spaced about 18" apart. What we'll be doing here is joining the pieces together and straightening out the warped panels.

If you get to a point where the two ajoining panels don't meet very well then apply pressure/pull/push them together in order to make them flush. Use the screw to draw them into each other. I screwed the head of the screw about halfway into the 2x4 to make sure the panels would be mated flat and that it would hold over time.

Flip this over and add the last panel. Repeat step 12 until the frame is flush together and sturdy.


(Picture 9): (http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3703/dscn0260gf6.jpg) and here is the completed frame. Well the outer frame.

Tomorrow I will have steps illustrating the construction of studs at the bottom of the frame for the flooring as well as the construction of the mother/clone chamber.

All the materials here cost under $40 and will give me a 72"x32"x31" custom cabinet perfect for growing cannabis in. :thumbsup:

[Treetops]

:greenthumb: Pulling up a chair and kickin back to take this all in...Like the looks already...never would have thought of the frame build like that...nice, real nice....

Thanks,
Treetops :jointsmile:

[daihashi]

Well crap.. it looks like there was a dns issue earlier with the server and a reboot or something occured... now steps 13 - 19/20 have been erased/roll backed.

Did anyone see this post before the server was taken offline?

If so can you post a copy of the steps listed if you have it cached?

Thx

[daihashi]

Part 2:

Materials needed

1 - 69"x26" Plywood
1 - 63"x22" Plywood (this one may vary)
2 - 69"x24" Plywood
2 - 28"x27" Plywood
1 - 32"x31" Plywood
6 - 28"L 2x2's
2 - 26"L 2x2's
1 - Box of 1.5" nails
1 - Box of 2.5" nails

Step 13:
(Picture 10 (http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/2415/dscn0261pc9.jpg) & Picture 11 (http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/5606/dscn0262ve1.jpg))

Take your 6 28" long 2x2's and this is going to become the foundation for the floor of your cabinet. It will keep our plants off the floor as well as provide rigidity and support for the cabinet as a whole.

Take a 28"x27" piece of plywood and center it on the inside bottom of the frame. Nail it to the support studs.

Step 14:
(Picture 12) (http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7947/dscn0267nf4.jpg)

Take a 69"x24" piece of plywood and nail it to the inside panel that has an inner diameter/width of 28" (two of your panels will have this inside measurement).

I used nails for this process. it was cheap and easy.

Repeat this process for the other panel that has an inside length of 28".

The panel that is not acting as your door will have an inside diameter of about 29-30". For this we will apply the 69"x26" plywood to the panel.

Now we should have 3 panels looking completed like this: (Picture 13) (http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/65/dscn0271lb7.jpg)

Step 15:
(Picture 14) (http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/2640/dscn0277fr6.jpg)

Now this part along with the making of the door I forgot to photograph. But above is an after picture of what it should look like.

Measure 15" down from the top of your cabinet and mark it with a pen or marker. Take your two 2x2 pieces that you cut to 26" length and screw them into the frame as shown in the picture. This will become the support for the flooring of our mother/clone area. There will not be much weight up top so these 2 2x2's will be fine.

In case you're wanting to make more support between these 2 2x2's then the inside diameter is 25" and you'll want to cut your support beams slightly under that, but these additional supports are not necessary.

Step 16:
(See above picture)


Notice I never put the top on the cabinet. This is because we still have to add the piece that will become the actual floor.

Take your other 28"x27" piece of plywood and lower it from the top of the cabinet onto these support beams. It's a tight fight and you may have to play with it a little.

Once you have it in there should be no nailing or screwing needed. It is such a tight fight that the pressure alone from the frame will keep it in place.

tip: Use a hammer to lightly tap this down onto the support beams.

Step 17:
(picture 15) (http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4008/dscn0275mz1.jpg)

Take your 32"x 31" piece of plywood and place it at the very top of the frame. Nail this flat to the top of the frame. If some pieces don't meet perfectly then this is fine.. We will be lightproofing from the inside of the cabinet later anyway.



More steps to come later today (I have the pictures, just have to finish the write up as well as get the door frame measurements.)

Here is a picture of what the near completed cabinet looks like

Cabinet Pic 1 (http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/5594/dscn0280ch8.jpg)

Cabinet Pic 2 (http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/1720/dscn0272no4.jpg)

Cabinet Pic 3 (http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8264/dscn0274ww5.jpg)

[daihashi]

Steps comming next:

1. Making of the door and installation
2. Light proofing.
3. WeatherStripping (for further light proofing)
4. Cutting our exhaust and intake holes.
5. Installation of intake 12x12 Louvered Grill+filter
6. bringing power to the cabinet/cable management.

[daihashi]

Also, if anyone is interested. Total material cost to build this cabinet is under $50. Before I had said under $40 but this was before I bought the plywood. I bought 3 4ftx8ft pieces of plywood for a little over $3 a piece at a local lumber yard. Putting my material cost slightly under $50.

I don't think you could buy a nicer pre-made grow cabinet/tent for that price.

[maxsuperdanks]

A very nice grow cab I must say!


I'm building one of these bad boys pretty soon.

[daihashi]

feeling a bit lazy right now and don't feel like typing out the rest of the howto: at the moment, but here's a picture with some of toys placed inside the cabinet.

Cabinet Pic1 (http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4304/dscn0313na7.jpg)
Cabinet Pic2 (http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3853/dscn0314jm4.jpg)
Cabinet Pic 3 (http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1623/dscn0311hb2.jpg)

[daihashi]

Tested it:

400 watt hps
6" cool tube
6" inline fan (424 CFM)
12x12 passive intake with air filter

House is set at 75 degrees.

The cabinet is running at 76 degrees.

:thumbsup:

I am only exhausting the cool tube, it is drawing air from inside the cabinet, I did not give it it's own passive intake due to space limitations I did not think of previously. (cool tube was too wide for the dimensions I planned. So remember everyone design your cabinet around your reflector).

[keeko]

fuggin excellent, good job.

[daihashi]

Again.. feeling lazy. Worked on the cabinet a little bit more.

Here are some pictures of it 97% complete.

Cabinet Closed (http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4992/dscn0317na6.jpg)
Cabinet open and in operation (http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/5994/dscn0319zm6.jpg)
Current temperatures 2" away from cool tube (http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/8878/dscn0321wn5.jpg)



Note: The box fan is not attached to this cabinet. It is attached to the cabinet to the left of this one; which is going to be decomissioned throughout this coming week :thumbsup:

[Wert]

looks great! looking forward to seeing the final steps

[daihashi]

looks great! looking forward to seeing the final steps

yeah.. I need to get off my arse and update this thread. Probably saturday or so.

Keep your eyes peeled. The cabinet has been complete for a while now.

[Treetops]

yeah.. I need to get off my arse and update this thread. Probably saturday or so.

Keep your eyes peeled. The cabinet has been complete for a while now.

daihashi,
How'd you make out with your cab....would like to see how it turned out...

Thanks,
Peace,
Treetops :thumbsup:

[daihashi]

daihashi,
How'd you make out with your cab....would like to see how it turned out...

Thanks,
Peace,
Treetops :thumbsup:

I have to wait for my last plant to finish before I can really write up the final steps.

I really needed to use the cab and had to occupy it before it was 100%.

Essentially it's just like it is in the pictures right now.

The mother/clone area still needs some cfls.. the entire inside needs to be painted white.

I want to remove the seals I used and go back over with spray foam and cut it with an exacto knife to create a better seal than what I have right now.

Just all minor things. The picture above is very close to the finished product.

[jabezus]

Very nice work. Thank you for reviewing my plans. Questions for you please:
Where/how is odor control located?
Also is the exhaust fan in a seperate area or is it sitting on a shelf?
Does the filter block 100% light from entering/escaping?

[daihashi]

Very nice work. Thank you for reviewing my plans. Questions for you please:
Where/how is odor control located?
Also is the exhaust fan in a seperate area or is it sitting on a shelf?
Does the filter block 100% light from entering/escaping?

There is no odor control located here as this will be a vegging cab. However if there was a carbon filter I would have placed it between the cool tube and the inline fan.

The exhaust is both in a seperate area that sits on a shelf. That seperate area is essentially a shelf that is a perfect fit. Creating a seperate upper area from the lower.

I don't have a light meter so I can't say for certain. All I know is that I can't see any light coming out of the exhaust hole and I can't see any light coming in from the inside of the cabinet with the door closed.