Purrock! Hammock for Your Purring Friend

Cats are awesome! They are cute, they purr and they sleep almost 20 hours a day.

So why not give them a comfortable place to do all that. This sparked the idea for building a bed for our cat.

About a week ago we built a hanging cat bed ( https://www.instructables.com/id/Hanging-cat-bed/ )

But there is always a way to improve!

The thought was to make something more elegant and compact.The acessories for pets are really pricey. DIY is a good way to save lots of money and the end result will be something with more personal touch.

Let`s begin!

Step 1: Plans

Before building something it is good to have plans. Classical approach would be a paper and a pen. Better way to do it is with 3D modeling program.

The preffered choice for me is Sketchup.

It helped me figure out the exact lenght and angles for the pieces.

Feel free to use my plans!

Step 2: Materials and Tools

List of tools is long:



• Pliers x2
• Stapler
• Hammer
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Sandpaper
• Wood glue
• Finish such as linseed oil
• Table saw
• Miter saw
• Jig saw
• Cordless drill with drillbits


I know that everyone does not have access to such power tools. This project could also be done using pre-cut wood, miter box and coping saw. Some sort of drill would still be needed.

Materials:



• Fabric - the fluffier the better :)
• Veneer ( should be thicker than 12 mm)
• Regular wood ( 19 mm thick birch in my case)
• Small chain ( about 15 cm)
• Small nails and screws


Caution:

Power tools are dangerous. Please use safety equipment whenever working with them!



• Earplugs
• Goggles
• Respirator

Step 3: Prepare the Pieces

Rip your wood to width of 2,5 cm.

To get the perfect circle you could use the table saw.

Here is a good instructable on how to make one. https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Cut-Perfect...

I had one already pre-made from the time I was experimenting with disc sanders.

Once again, be really careful when using these tools. You might be wondering why am I so keen on safety. Well, I learned the hard way about the dangers. About a month ago I almost lost thumb and index finger while cutting firewood with cordwood saw. I got really lucky!

If you are not really sure of what you are doing or you do not have table saw, then a pretty decent circle can also be made using jig saw. This is a much safer way. And jig saw is used to cut the inside anyway.

Mark the inside circle with compass and cut it out. Use blade that has small teeth. This way you will have to do less sanding in the end.

Use miter saw to cut legs and posts to correct lenghts and angles.

Step 4: Assembly

If you have all your peaces then it is time for assembly.

To attach legs to post use glue and screws. Be sure to pre-drill holes to avoid splitting the wood.

The middle section has a odd shape to it which makes clamping it together a hard task.After a bit of thinking I came up with the idea to mill out a section on all of the legs. Then I traced an cut out a small piece from thin plywood that would fit underneath. I then added lots of glue and small screws. The pressure generated will lift the legs up a bit. Clamp it down and let the glue dry. If you have a better way how to connect these pieces please let me know in the comments.

Meanwhile prepare nails so that they can be used to attach the chain. Snip the heads off and use two pliers to bend them into an U-shape.

If you have a wood burner, you could add some pattern to the rim.

Sand the sharp edges and apply linseed oil.

Step 5: The Fabric

Cut a piece that is bigger than the circle. A best way to cut fluffy material is to use sharp scissors.

Let the excited cat help you.

Stapler is a good tool to use for attaching the fabric. A (hot) glue gun would work as well. Another way is to use double sided velcro. This would allow to remove the fabric for washing.

Leave the fabric hollow in the middle so that the cat would have a nice place to curl up.

Connect the rim to the base using chain. First attach all three chains to the circle. Then measure 1 cm from the top of the post and attach the other end of the chain there using the same U-shaped nails.

Congratulations, you are done !

Step 6: Be Jealous of Your Cats New Bed

The Purrock turned out quite nice. Our cat Nurris seems to love it.

Since it is compact you could place it anywhere. Cats seem to like high up warm places.

There is an animal innovation competition going on ( December 2015). If you like this instructable then vote for it ! Be sure to also check out other cool projects there.

https://www.instructables.com/contest/animalinnovat...

If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments.