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Guantanamo Torture Cage Instructions

 

Above you can see the cage in action on April 29, 2006 . The instructions below detail how to build this cage and a cost estimate for the materials. Please adapt this design to suit your needs. Many, for example, will not need the cage to be so mobile. We have also designed this to break down and be portable, thus the carriage bolts and wing nuts. If your cage is stationary, you can make it taller, larger, harder to break down, etc. You could even anchor it to the ground in some fashion to make it difficult for the pesky authorities to move. This would involve some scouting, possible arrest and slight deviation on the design and materials (mainly you might want some good, strong wedge anchors). If you go for this option, be sure to wear two sets of your most stylish tight, white underwear for the jailhouse –whether it be of your construction or the more insidious institutional design.

If you have questions about this, you can contact info@witnesstorture.org . Direct the message to Gary or Mike. Happy building!

Material List:

  • 23) 2 x 3 x 96 studs $41
  • 20) 10 foot rebar (these will be cut into 40 5 foot sections) $85
  • 1) 24” x 48” Nursery Cart $80
  • 1) 4' x 6' Ondura Red Roof $15
  • 1) 7/16 OSB 4' x 8' sheet $10
  • 18) 4 ½ x ¼” carriage bolts $6
  • 4) 4 x ¼” carriage bolts $1.50
  • 22) Wing nuts $4.50
  • 1) 3/4” rigid EMT electrical conduit, 10' length $15
  • 3) 4” hinges w/ removable pins $4.50
  • 1) fence latch $10
  • 1) 1# 2 ½” screws $3.50
  • 1) wood glue $3
  • 1) U-bolt $2
  • 1) 1 gallon grey paint (try “oops” paint section) $5-20
  • 1) ½# 1 5/8” sheeting or drywall screws. $3.50
  • 1) 4' length of chain. Your choice of guage. $10
  • TOTAL COST +- $300.00

Tool List:

  • Drill
  • Hammer
  • 5/8” paddle bit (for holes for rebar)
  • ¼” drill bit (for holes for carriage bolts)
  • 3/32” drill bit (for pilot holes)
  • Screw driver (Phillips)
  • Hacksaw (or a portable band saw or abrasive saw for cutting metal)
  • Wood Chisel
  • Marking Tool (pencil)
  • Tape Measure
  • Square
  • Chalk Box
  • Cart assembly tools (refer to instructions from manufacturer)
  • Ingenuity or a pipe bender. Ingenuity is preferable.

Building Instructions:

    1. Cut rebar to 5' lengths except for (7) pieces that will need to be 58 ½” long.
    2. Cut (8) 2 x 3 studs to 60” (These will be the vertical framing members)
    3. Cut (10) 2 x 3 studs to 69” (6 of these will be the horizontal framing members for the long walls, 4 will be for floor)
    4. Cut (7) 2 x 3 studs to 40” (These will be the horizontal framing members for the short walls)
    5. Cut (1) 2 x 3 stud to 48 ¼” (This will support the top of the walls by the door)
    6. Cut (1) 2 x 3 stud to make (2) 4' lengths (This is for framing the floor)
    7. Cut 4' x 8' OSB sheet to 4' x 6'
    8. Assemble cart
    9. Stack (3) 69” horizontal framing members evenly on top of one another. Clamp together. Mark every 5” at center of board for drilling.
    10. Drill all through the three stacked 2 x 3 at same time with 5/8” paddle bit (you might want to use an extension for the bit). See photo below:

 

(Image of 5/8” paddle bit – AKA spade bit)

 

11.  Repeat steps 9 and 10 with (3) of the remaining 69” 2 x 3's. Then use same process for (6) of the remaining (7) 40” 2 x 3's – be sure that one of the 40” 2 x 3's remains undrilled. This will be necessary in the construction of the door.

12.  Assemble walls. Total length of long walls = 72”, this means that the vertical members will be capping the horizontal members. Total length of short wall and door = 43”, vertical members also cap horizontal members on short wall and door. Assemble by gluing and screwing, using (2) 2 ½ screws in every joint.

13.  Build floor. You will use the (4) remaining 69” 2 x 3's as framing along the length of the floor, and the (2) 48” 2 x 3's as cross framing. Spacing for these members will depend on the size of your cart. We built it to bolt into our cart and thus had very precise spacing for the two middle members. Attach framing together with glue and 2 ½” screws. Attach OSB sheet with 1 5/8” sheething or drywall screws.

 

14.  Mark and drill holes for connecting floor to cart.

15. Attach cart to floor with (4) 4” carriage bolts and wing nuts. It is useful to do this with two people and have the floor inverted (as shown above) and then flip the floor with the cart attached.

16. Now we start lining the walls up on the floor. Start with one of the long walls. Line it up along the edge of the floor lengthwise. Drill two 1/4” holes for carriage bolts at either end of wall to attach it to the floor. Attach to floor with 4 ½” carriage bolts and wing nuts.

17.   Attach front (short) wall in the same manner. Once it is attached, drill two ¼” holes at top and bottom of walls to join the long and short walls together. Please note in this process where the front and back of the cell will be. If it is mobile and you need steerage, the front will be the fixed wall, the back will be a door.

18.   Attach other long wall in same manner. ONE DIFFERENCE is that you will want to shift the wall ¼” outwards where it will connect with the door. (You will need this extra ¼” to accommodate door swing).

19.   Install 48 ¼” 2 x 3 cross member along the top, back of the long walls, just short of the door. This will keep the wall spacing the same on top as along the bottom for the door. Once in place, drill ¼” holes for carriage bolts.

20. Now, for door construction, the only difference between this and the front wall is that you cannot allow for the rebar to shoot out the bottom. So, you will install an undrilled plate at the bottom, but otherwise assemble it in the same way as in steps 9 & 10. You will also use that remaining cut off of OSB for a sign on the door. This also helps add strength to the door. You'll want to cut the OSB to 43 x 16”. Think stencils!

21. You are now ready to complete the initial construction of the structure by installing the door. Install hinges @ 9”, 28” and 47”. If you know what a mortise is, you will want to mortise the hinges. If you don't know what a mortise is, try and find out OR install the hinges however you can.

22. Install the fence latch (any sliding bolt that will work for keeping the door closed securely).

 

23.   Paint the drab, depressing, torturous color of your choice. (This means grey or orange)

24. Install rebar.

25.  Install roof using 1 5/8 sheething or drywall screws. Be careful that the roof does not impede the functioning of the door.

26. Install u-bolt in middle of floor for chain.

 

27. This is where it gets tricky… figure out a way of steering this thing. If you are fortunate enough to have a pipe bender on hand or a close relationship with your neighborhood electrical trade union, you can ask her/him to bend the ¾” electrical conduit for you. Either way, you want to be able to steer this thing with ease and comfort. We put two 90 degree bends in ours, one at 2 ½' , the other at 18”, together they formed a zig-zag. We then flattened out one end barely enough to drill a 5/8 hole through it to install on the cart.

28. The two following images show the final product. The first has the very inconvenient factory handle. The second has the ingenious custom design handle. Thank you for your dedication in your work against torture, only the most committed would have invested the effort this point. Please crack open long cool one and reward yourself for a job mostly well done.