Introduction: "Bad Kitty" Scratch Post

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My cat "Spot" isn't a good cat, in fact he can be an ungrateful little punk, but I still thought it might be a good idea to build him a scratch post. I saw a basic scratch post at a pet store and I figured it would be a fun little project to build. Here's what I did...

www.techshop.ws

Step 1: Digging for Treasure

I bought some sisal rope from the hardware store and a 2x2ft carpet sample from the carpet store. I had some spray adhesive already (3M Hi-Strength 90) a couple of wood screws and some scrap wood, courtesy of the scrap wood box at San Francisco's Techshop. Free = good. That's my policy. Yum.

Step 2: Planning Stage

I didn't have the picture of the finished product with me, so I basically just took the scrap wood, put it on the table, and scratched my head for about 45 minutes. Sometimes I would draw lines with a pencil and ruler, but honestly, I had no schematics or diagrams of what I was doing. Fly by wire, or something like that...

Step 3: Looks Good?

So, I just kinda "fit" some pieces together in a way that seemed to make sense at the time. It didn't matter so much at that moment if it looked pretty or not, because this was the "Bad Kitty" Scratch Post and Spot didn't really even deserve it at all.

Step 4: Sketchy

I made some markings as to where the wood looked suitable and where I thought the screws should go. I didn't want any screws to poke through and I didn't want to use staples, so this actually took some thought as to how it would work best. It's not rocket science though. You'll figure it out way gooder.

Step 5: Choppin' and Drillin' and Stuff....

Oh yeah, I used a bandsaw and a beltsander and an electric hand drill to do some stuff, like saw, sand and drill. Having the right tool for the job is half the job, they say. And they're right. Trying to sand that board by hand with a block and some sandpaper is the wrong way to do the job. I mean, it CAN be done... heck, the pyramids were built using less tools, but it took a loooooong time to build the pyramids! Like, years, I think.

Step 6: Go, Go Gadget Glue!

Once I had the holes drilled and my pencil guidelines, I cut the carpet and sprayed some super sticky glue adhesive on the wood. I made a template out of a paper bag and mocked it up first, to see if it was close. Give the glue around 3 minutes to become tacky before placing the wood onto the carpet, then fold in the edges and stomp on it to make it stick. Easy peasey...

Step 7: And Yet More Glue...

I did the same thing with the post that holds the scratch board. After the glue set, I re-drilled through the carpet and screwed it down to check that everything was fitting alright. Fortunately, it was..... There are 2 short screws going through the bottom board into the scratch board , and 2 going into the post as well (not pictured).

Step 8: Just a Little More Glue.......

I glued the upper carpet section with a longer bottom section, so that when the rope was wrapped around, it would help to hold the carpet. That's the theory anyways. I suppose this part will vary from scratch post to scratch post. I didn't manage to take any more pictures unfortunately, but what I did was to glue the bottom section of the carpet to the board so I could bend the top "flap o' carpet" back and screw it down after the rope was wrapped. Kapish?

   Yeah, so, glue the bottom flap, remove the board and wrap the rope. I started in the back and kinda tucked some rope, then started wrapping. When I got to the bottom, I just kinda tucked it underneath the board to hold it in place. I figured that Spot wouldn't be scratching there. Screw everything down and CAREFULLY spray more glue on the remaining "flap of carpet". Give it a few minutes to get tacky and stick that mother together. I glued another flap on the bottom. Just to make everything more confusing. Sorry...

Step 9: And, We're Done.

So, that's how I made my "Bad Kitty' Scratch Post. Spot has never used it. Not even once. Whatever.

I made it at Techshop. That place is rad! There are 3 Techshops in the SF Bay Area. There's others popping up all over the US. Check it out.

www.techshop.ws


Thanks for reading my Instructable!!!!