Cat Tree With Wave-Shaped Platforms

I just needed a new cat tree.

Some of these can be substituted with other materials*

4" x 4" x 10' fence post (you'll be cutting it into smaller sizes)*

.5" plywood

.75" plywood

Sisal Rope

At least 40" x 40" of carpet (or a mat, doesn't matter)

Paint

Some kind of finish or lacquer

For this step, I decided to look into (relatively) simple cat tree designs as well as designs that I thought would be cool.

I also established requirements for the cat tree, which included:

1. Has to be able to withstand weight
2. Has to balance

Simple enough.

The photos above include my first prototype.

For this step, I first made a CAD file to convert into an NC program to be used on the CNC Router. There should be a file of them below. I wanted these to be thick enough to carry a decent amount of weight, but also small enough so they wouldn't be too cumbersome to manage.

For use on the router, you should:

1. Finish CAD model and NC program on Fusion 360 and make sure that it works.
2. Nail sheet of .5” plywood to router bed using plastic nail gun
3. Run program on router, using 1/8" end mill
4. Detach from bed and sand using sand paper

The NC program settings are listed in the images above.

After cutting them out, I sanded down the edges using sand paper and started painting them. I'd recommend blocking out the general shapes at first, and then adding finer details later on. I used semi-gloss paint along with a white primer to start, but any kind of paint that works on wood should be good.

This specific design took around 5 coats total.

The last step should be applying some kind of clear coating, like lacquer. They should be ready for attachment now, and at this moment, you can put them aside.

For this step, I sawed down a 10' post into three pieces: 4ft, 5ft, and 1ft (we won't be using the 1", that was just excess). I used a horizontal band saw. You might need someone else to help you secure the post.

Sand down edges as desired.

Pretty much the same as cutting out the platforms, but this time the thickness of the stock material will be .75" instead of .5".

Sand if needed.

For this step, I used a vice and a hammer to bend these brackets at a 90 degree angle.

Afterwards, screw the brackets onto the base only for now, and make sure they can reach the side of the post (image posted)

For this step, I used sisal rope and hot glue. Carefully wrap the sisal rope around the post, making sure that the glue is fully adhered.

I would have applied it on both gaps on the post, but unfortunately I ran out of time. I would have applied the rope over the brackets after securing them to the base, so they wouldn't be as visible.

For this step, I sliced the carpet to make room for the fence posts and brackets. A 3' x 5' mat is more than enough material and you should have a decent amount that you can wrap around the edges.

For application, you should use hot glue first and then after it has dried, use staples to fully secure it to the base.

I was not able to complete this step. Here were my plans:

1. Use ~1/2" wood nails to drill into the platforms from below (bottom platform first)
2. Depending on how secure it was, or depending on what kind of nails I had, I would have used 2 - 4 brackets on the bottom sides of the platform

I was not able to complete this project, but here's what I would do for the final test:

1. See how much force it could take by figuring how much force it takes to tip over (if it wasn't heavy enough, I would have attached weights to the base to make it more steady)
2. Bring it home and see how much Snapdragon (my cat) likes it