Snoball's Play Gym Is Finished!

David and I worked all day long completing Snoball's tree stand. Because of some issues with batteries for the power tools the entire process took roughly 8 hours! The whole process went something like this:

1. Hunt down bird-safe trees and chop off some branches

2. Strip the bark from the branches and remove all foliage

3. Bake the branches in the oven at 220 degrees for a few hours to kill all bacteria.

4. Sand the branches

5. Assemble

Of course, the assembly wasn't very simple. We used two 2"x4"s screwed together into a T shape for stability. The base and platform were 2'x2' plywood pieces, which we covered in linoleum tiles for easy clean-up. We put wheels on the bottom so that it could easily be moved. Each branch had to be attached separately by screws, but pilot holes were drilled first so that the screws didn't split the wood. We also added some screws with eye holes to hang toys from, and the tallest branch (which flexes over the top of the gym) is attached at the base by 4 screws so that it can bounce and bend without snapping off. Snoball loves to bounce so I'm sure he'll love that. :)

A few more pictures:

We baked a few more (smaller) branches and intend to make another play gym for the smaller birds at a later time. All together, the entire thing cost us about $60.00 - compared to $300.00 for a store-bought one. I'd say we did alright. :)