Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   Hey everybody,
   So, in Wood Shop, I am currently constructing a 3 story cat tree for my kitty, raja out of pywood. These are the dimensions.
   The base is 2ft by 2ft with 3/4 inch thickness
   The second deck is 2ft by 20 inches with 3/4 in. thickness
   the final deck is 2ft by 18 inches with 3/4 in. thickness.
   Im using 1ft diameter by 16 inch high poles to support each base. Iv drilled the holes however it seems the holes are a bit big for the poles. They poles fit and stay but they are a little lose. The poles are 15/16th of an inch and the holes are 17/16th of an inch. I need to stabalize this.

   Can someone offer ideas of how to strengthen this?

   Im currenty trying to wet the base of the poles to swell them and then jam them in the hole.

   Raja thanks you in advance!

   Posted 2 years ago by Guitarher0o7 #

2. 

   You should have drilled the holes the same size or 1/32" smaller than the poles, you may be able to cut some small wood shims and wedge them around the poles in several spots. Then I would recommend a expanding glue like Gorilla Glue. It will expand and fill the void (after it fully sets up you can trim it down. But if you want to do it right buy some larger poles if you can find them?

   Posted 2 years ago by dennishawkssales #

3. 

   Take a pic of what you have done and email it to dennishawkssales@aol.com and I may have another idea. By the way even if ytou do get them to swell they will dry back out to a 7-9% moisture content and you you be right bact to where you started.

   Posted 2 years ago by dennishawkssales #

4. 

   Hi, GH! The cat trees I've seen stabilize the posts by placing a screw through the bottom of the base board into the post. No drilling of holes in the base is involved so you don't have to worry about making a hole the size of the post. You could also drive a nail up through the base into the post, but a screw would really hold it tight to the base board. Do you have enough wood to replace the base board you drilled the holes into? :)

   Good luck. Please post a picture of the finished product when you are done!

   Posted 2 years ago by Kitten Whisperer #

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