Building a play gym

[JuliesGonnaDance]

Today I got my dad to agree to helping me make a play gym.:D :D
I've wanted one for a while, and making one looks best because all the ones that seem to have a lot to do are so expensive.
Here's what we're basing it on:
http://www.cheepparrottoysntips.com/playgyms.html
^It's Anna's Playgym at the bottom^

It'll probably take us a while, probably a long time to even get the supplies. :p
it'll be worth it though! :D
I'm so excited if you can't tell. :p

[softie]

I wish my dad would build me a playgym!! :(

Good luck, the playgym looks amazing and fun to play on! :D

[lilifield]

That's an awesome gym. You have a very good dad! Go to something like a Home Depot along those lines for your supplies because they are less expensive than the craft shops that sell dowels and wood. Can't wait to see pics when he's done.

[SushiGURL]

I bet it's going to look awesome! :) good luck

[elwood_blues]

ohh thats pretty cool, i already got a play gym for elwood and jake but id love a much bigger one!

[misslinda]

What a wonderful Dad! You are VERY blessed!:cool: :cool: :cool:

[parakeet2007]

what a great idea i never considered that. instead of byeing a 20 dollar (us) gym with 3 dowls and a latter, i should make my own, thanks for sharing that site julliesgonnadance.

thanks

[Genevieve]

I cant wait to see it :) Your Dad sounds like mine! Mine always would rather build it for me then buy it...hmm i should get him to build me a huge cage :P

[Meghanxx4]

Thats Awesome! Make sure to post pics when your done!

[Adottybird]

You will have to post some pictures of your budgies play stand when it is finish. What a great Dad you to do this for you.

[Amy]

My dad helped me make mine :P

[alicia]

i wish i new how to make play gym :(

[JuliesGonnaDance]

I'll definitely post pictures when it's done. ;)
Might be a while though. :p

[Auraya]

Thats awesome!! I wanna build one now lol.

OT but did you see this pic - how UNsafe does that look :S
http://www.cheepparrottoysntips.com/_wp_generated/wpa84b1b58.png

[roman]

i love that site! they actually teach you how to build it rather than you buying

i like anna's gym better than catherines and i hope to build it or something close to it atleast

[countryhen]

That is a great play gym. I was considering checking into materials to make one of those myself.

[A-n-M]

How's it going with the playgym plans?

[JuliesGonnaDance]

We know what we're going to do, we just haven't bought the materials. :p
I'll bug him this week and maybe he'll go to the store next weekend.

[elwood_blues]

ohh i cant wait to see it :)

[PolyPill]

I find that when you build something you should spend an equal amount of time planning and drawing. You don't want to get half way through and figure out it isn't working!

I did a quick 3d drawing and you'll definitely want to use clamps and a drill press for it, I don't think it will line up well with a hand drill.

The only thing that concerns me is the left tower, I would probably extend the post all the way up instead of staggering it. Although that probably doesn't matter since it's for budgies! In the photo I thought the platforms were square but I think I'd make them more rectangle, it just seems like wasted space to me.

Here's my quick mock up from what I thought it looked like from the small photo. I left out a lot of perches, but I think you can get the idea.

http://www.figz.com/~scottd/gym.jpg

[elwood_blues]

wow thats pretty cool! how did you do that?

[PolyPill]

I use a lot of 3d drafting software when I build something, but for most people it's a bit too complicated. For basic quick things like this I used Google SketchUp, it's free and quite powerful. http://sketchup.google.com/ It lacks some advanced functions when working with circular shapes, but you can still do a lot with it. There's some great tutorials for beginners and I think this kind of planning is a must for any building project. It makes the actual building more like following directions than trying to design it on the fly and realizing you didn't pick the right lengths.

[elwood_blues]

ohh thats a really good idea, thanks for sharing it :)