We just got two nice leather upholstered mission style recliners, and we have Bengal cats. Bengals are great cats, almost dog-like, but they are typically bigger and more energetic than normal house cats, and they have big, strong claws. So, I have to give them something to scratch, that is not our new chairs. Thus, my new project is a scratching post.
Requirements: It has to be a little bigger than normal for the Bengals, and very sturdy. I also want it to not be disposable, store-bought posts are too expensive to have to just throw it away when they carpet gets shredded, so I want to be able to replace the carpet. I learned that sisal, a natural fiber, works best for scratching. I found a a 30” x 72” sisal runner for a low price, and it will give me two coverings for the post.
I’m using the following image as my model:
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I designed the post to have the carpet wrapped around the 6” x 30”, 3/4” plywood square tube post. It will have an internal support structure made of the 3-1/2” x 1/2” poplar boards I milled last week using my jointer and planer. This inner structure will have three dados for the three 1/4”-20 threaded rods that will be screwed into inserts in the top cap, and the other ends will have nuts clamping the base cap to to the post. The top and bottom caps will fit over the “carpeted” post, clamping everything tightly together. The top and bottom caps, and the 18” square base are made of good quality Baltic birch plywood.
I used my ShopSmith bandsaw for the first time tonight to cut 45 degree edges on all the post and internal structure boards to make the square tubes. The bandsaw did a very nice job, as you can see in the photo below:
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This is a fun little project. Hope to finish this weekend.
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