I agree with Pam...right now, you are not far from me, so go for it and I will take a look at what you have done.
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What Did Your SV(s) Get For Xmas?
- Thread starter ScottKelly911
- Start date
I agree with Pam...right now, you are not far from me, so go for it and I will take a look at what you have done.
Nitro
and his servant, Paul
Oh wow. I am working on making a very similar cat wheel right now with my dad, although my wheel should be far lighter and is using a different support frame. That probably translates into less stable, but eh, this wheel will be used by my brother's Bengals, and I'll learn from that on how to make a stable HUGE cat wheel. Pics will follow when it is finished.
P.S. For anyone who cares - 1/8" Baltic Birch bends sooo incredibly easily!
Will look forward to the progress reports on the wheel then, Paul!
Nitro
and his servant, Paul
More details will come later (I have a 7 hour drive ahead of me), but for the short version...
26 lb wheel; 18 lb base. Wheel is made out of baltic birch and TiteBond III; base is made out of pine, roller blade wheels, and miscellaneous hardware.
Oh, and the diameter is 54 inches.
ScottKelly911
Savannah Super Cat
Wow that looks awesome! Are you carpeting the wheel so the cats can get traction? Also, my only concern is that the wheel may be too heavy for the cats to get it going, but I guess if there's not very much resistance then it doesn't matter. Let us know, I definitely look forward to hearing more. Thanks for sharing your build with us!
Nitro
and his servant, Paul
If any of it doesn't seem finished, it's because I ran out of time. This wheel was mostly a full-scale experiment that my brother will (hopefully) use with his Bengals. I used my parents help (and their house...oh, the horrors that happened to that living room) for a good week and a half constructing this monstrosity, and while I know they would be willing to let me stay longer, I have to report back to school on Monday (plus I ran out of the cat food I brought).
I did buy a rubber runner (I dislike the idea of using carpet on any cat toy) for a running surface, but there's enough traction on the unfinished wood for them to get the wheel to move already. I don't think the weight of the wheel matters much; a prior project with my dad involved welding together a cat wheel (which failed for several reasons), and that 48" steel wheel was around 25 lbs as well. I'm actually quite pleased that this wheel was only 28 lbs. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the other hubless wheel linked earlier weighs 40+ lbs.
The groove the skate wheels fit in (1/2" deep; I don't think the wheel will ever come out) could use a little more sanding so that the skate wheels can roll a little more smoothly, but it is functional. Also, there are a total of 8 skate wheels spread around, which should minimize the chance it could come off the tracks (and will also help it retain its form better than only two wheels on each side).
The wheel is 3/4" thick and consumed around 2.5 sheets of 1/8" 5'x5' Baltic Birch. It *is* hollow, but it is quite sturdy. We did a lot of lamination to put it together, and consumed three sheets of 3/4" 4'x8' particle board just for molds. The main mold we constructed the wheel around was 84 lbs (it essentially was a hubless wheel).
The base isn't quite what I planned, but it works. Only 1/8" of clearance exists between the base and the wheel; any more and there would be a multitude of issues with the base.
More pics to come soon. If my dad works on it any more, I'll be sure to share additional pictures.
I did buy a rubber runner (I dislike the idea of using carpet on any cat toy) for a running surface, but there's enough traction on the unfinished wood for them to get the wheel to move already. I don't think the weight of the wheel matters much; a prior project with my dad involved welding together a cat wheel (which failed for several reasons), and that 48" steel wheel was around 25 lbs as well. I'm actually quite pleased that this wheel was only 28 lbs. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the other hubless wheel linked earlier weighs 40+ lbs.
The groove the skate wheels fit in (1/2" deep; I don't think the wheel will ever come out) could use a little more sanding so that the skate wheels can roll a little more smoothly, but it is functional. Also, there are a total of 8 skate wheels spread around, which should minimize the chance it could come off the tracks (and will also help it retain its form better than only two wheels on each side).
The wheel is 3/4" thick and consumed around 2.5 sheets of 1/8" 5'x5' Baltic Birch. It *is* hollow, but it is quite sturdy. We did a lot of lamination to put it together, and consumed three sheets of 3/4" 4'x8' particle board just for molds. The main mold we constructed the wheel around was 84 lbs (it essentially was a hubless wheel).
The base isn't quite what I planned, but it works. Only 1/8" of clearance exists between the base and the wheel; any more and there would be a multitude of issues with the base.
More pics to come soon. If my dad works on it any more, I'll be sure to share additional pictures.
Nitro
and his servant, Paul
So I was a little lazy in taking pictures of the progress, so there are definitely some details missing. For example, all of the time spent laminating the wheel).
Other things of note: I own a 43" wheel from The Cat Wheel Company. My motivation for constructing this wheel is that my 43" wheel just seems way to small for a SV, and the 43" wheel has only 9" of running space. It's impossible for two cats to run side by side (which I did have on the wheel my dad and I welded together). With a 16" wide running surface, I'm certain that two cats could run side by side.
The only thing I'm truly disappointed about is that it couldn't fit on the roof of my car to bring back with me.
Other things of note: I own a 43" wheel from The Cat Wheel Company. My motivation for constructing this wheel is that my 43" wheel just seems way to small for a SV, and the 43" wheel has only 9" of running space. It's impossible for two cats to run side by side (which I did have on the wheel my dad and I welded together). With a 16" wide running surface, I'm certain that two cats could run side by side.
The only thing I'm truly disappointed about is that it couldn't fit on the roof of my car to bring back with me.