- 1). Select material that will block the electric field you're worried about. If you are trying to block microwaves, for example, you need to protect against waves that are about 12 cm long, so any conductive material with spaces less than one-tenth of 12 cm, or 1.2 cm (about half an inch), will work. For example, wire mesh, such as hardware cloth with a 1/4" spacing, would provide a little safety factor.
- 2). Cut the material into a cross-shaped pattern, such that it can be folded into a cube.
- 3). Fold the sides and wrap the edges together with some strands of bare wire. Make sure the gaps at the edges are no larger than the gap size of the material itself. For the microwave-protective enclosure, this would mean that no gap is larger than the 1/4" spacing of the hardware cloth. Build the enclosure so one side is held by just a few strands of wire, allowing you to open and close the cage.
- 4). Connect a ground wire to your enclosure. This step is not essential, particularly if you're just looking to protect something inside your cage from the fields outside. But if you want to protect objects outside the cage from the fields inside -- as you might if a microwave generator was inside -- then the enclosure must be grounded.
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