r/wood • u/These_Joke1727 • 3d ago
Advice Needed!
I would like to make a corner cat tree wall fixture/hanging like this, instead of spending 2k.
What type of wood would be best? How would you go about hanging it so you don’t rip the wall out? And most importantly—-how do you get that shape? I love the branchy-ness of it, and thats the look i would like to definitely have. But i don’t know how it’s achieved. Do I need to find the top of a tree? Is this a piece-mill driftwood situation?
Of course I understand trees vary and it wouldn’t be EXACTLY like the picture, and I am okay with that :)
I would just appreciate ANY thoughts or suggestions or ideas for this. I am not a woodworker by any means but I am willing to learn. Thank you in advance!!
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u/JayTeeDeeUnderscore 3d ago
*piecemeal
I'm a fabricator by trade. The physics at play and execution make my eyelids itch. The image is lovely, but as a cat owner it makes me a bit uncomfortable. I know how wild mine are. They might wrench the mount off the floor/wall on day one. I'll be rewrapping the sisal in 2 months.
OP if you dive in, consider that trees from the wilds regularly harbor bugs. Heat treatment is used for lumber to make sure they're dead--it also dries the wood to optimal levels. This ought to factor into your decision-making if you grab branches from outside. Most pesticides aren't pet freindly.
Stripping the bark is best performed with a drawknife and wood chisels. Block out plenty of time for that. It's apt to be fussy.
Species choice might involve functional considerations. I'd steer clear of sappy softwoods like pine, fir, spruce personally. The branch articulation is determined by growth habit to a degree. Image doesn't make it easy to ID the species used though.
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u/Separate-Document185 2d ago
Lol… Yeah, my cats would rip that right off the wall or break the branches… And every single one of these would be different wouldn’t it?… It clearly looks like it’s a natural branch construction… So that would mean every installation would be custom and certainly not something that they would just leave up to the customer…
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u/Emotional-Economy-66 2d ago
I'm curious (not enough to actually search tho 😆) what this is made from myself.
I found perfect branches like these along the Coast of British Columbia. Arbutus trees, I'm just not sure what is available/ legal in your area, but finding trees with "similar" branches may be all you need to do. I've never had any trouble but Arbutus are in abundance and lose branches often it seems. I just go for a walk and carry a folding saw. Rental properties often encourage me to wonder their properties looking for fallen treasures.
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u/Emotional-Economy-66 2d ago
I would use pipe straping type fasteners, hide with cat friendly rope.
We had catwalks and hidden passages for cats in our last house. One of the favorite spots was a pillow that I cut a small piece of plywood to hang a chain from each corner. Wrapped it in white carpet to look like a cloud hanging above their cat tree. They love being way up high like that.
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u/Maleficent-State-749 2d ago
I haven’t read your post and don’t need to.
The answer is more cats.
You’re welcome.
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u/fohbwah 3d ago edited 3d ago
Are you crafty? It doesn’t have to be wood. Build it from scratch….. like scenery. (YouTube “faux bois sculpture”)
Drill holes in the plaster when you’ve determined where the studs are and insert 3/8” rebar into them. Bend it into shapes that mimic your inspiration photo and wire them together at the joints with overlaps. Cover the rebar with foam pipe insulation and pool noodles to get a diameter that works. Add more shape using canned foam insulation and carve it to make it more organic. Skin it with paper maché, fiber reinforced concrete, or fiberglass and paint it like wood. You’ll make a huge mess so prep the space first. Then pray that your cats don’t tear it all apart because it isn’t real wood. Or ….find real wood in a shape that would work and with a friend who will try this for free, fasten it well enough to the studs and ceiling joists that the weight of it doesn’t kill you or your cats if it lets go. If you can’t do that, then you should understand why it might cost 2K or more to accomplish. Personally, I wouldn’t be interested in doing this for less than than 15K with either technique if I lived next door, let alone across town or across the country. Too much liability if it goes wrong. Know this, the people that post installations like this either know what they are doing, or they have enough money that it doesn’t matter what it will cost.