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How to Make a Faraday Cage

Protect your cellphones, mp3 players and other electronics by placing them in a Faraday cage. A Faraday cage is a box that has a wood frame covered with copper wire mesh. These boxes protect your electronics from electromagnetic pulses (EMP) that can be caused by large explosions. If any of these electromagnetic waves pass through your electronic devices, they will be destroyed. The copper wire mesh on a Faraday cage absorbs the electromagnetic waves and protects the devices from being harmed.

Things You'll Need

Tape measure
6 pine boards, 1 by 1 by 14 inches
6 pine boards, 1 by 1 by 6 inches
4 pine boards, 1 by 1 by 7 inches
Screw gun
20 2-inch wood screws
Staple gun and staples
2 copper mesh sheets, 8 by 14 inches
2 copper mesh sheets, 9 by 14 inches
2 copper mesh sheets, 8 by 9 inches
2 1-inch hinges with screws

Instructions

- 1
  Lay two 14-inch boards flat, parallel and spaced 6 inches apart. Set two 6-inch boards between them at right angles and space them 12 inches apart so they are flush with the ends of the 14-inch boards. Screw through the 14-inch boards and into the ends of the 6-inch boards. This frame is the bottom of your Faraday cage. Repeat this step two more times to create the top side of the frame and the door frame.
- 2
  Set two frames from the last step on the edge of the 14-inch boards so the frames are parallel and 7 inches apart. Lay two 7-inch boards between them at right angles, spaced 12 inches apart so they are flush with the ends of the 14-inch boards. Screw through the 14-inch boards and into the ends of the 7-inch boards. Turn the two frames over and repeat this step so you have a rectangular box frame. This is the frame to your cage.
- 3
  Staple one 8-by-14-inch mesh sheet to one 8-by-14-inch side of the Faraday cage frame so the edges are flush with the sides of the frame and staple the other 8-by-14-inch sheet to the door frame so the edges are flush. Use one staple for every inch of coverage. Staple two 9-by-14-inch sheets to the two 9-by-14-inch sides on the frame and staple the 8-by-9-inch sheets to the ends of the frame.
- 4
  Position two half-hinges spaced 12 inches apart on the 14-inch board that makes up the door frame, opposite the side with the mesh. The hinges must be able to fold around the outside of the door. Screw the other half-hinges to the 14-inch board on the cage frame so when the door closes it is flush with the sides of the frame.

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