A few people have asked me about this, so I am about to give some good instructions on how to build your own, and save ALOT of money in doing so. I used to build these and sell them at bird shows in the Atlanta area. The link in my signature shows a few, but nothing like the ones I made near the end of my business venture. It costed me about 30-40 bucks to make one with a 2x2 base, and I sold them for 119. On the ones where I used the 4x2 base, my cost was about 50 bucks, and I sold them for 179.
THE BASE:
First, the best wood to use for the base? 3/4" bookshelf wood, the stuff that's coated in white? GREAT for easy clean up. I used to by the 4x8 foot sheets for like 25 bucks, and have them cut down. If you use 2x2 bases, 3/4" caster wheels will work, and for the 4x2 base, use 1" casters. Now on the wheels, get GOOD wheels. I found that the cheap casters, are just that, cheap and CRAP. Get good wheels.
On the base, to keep the litter in, I used ot get another 4x8 sheet of the 1/2" sanded plywood, cut into 2 1/2" strips (JOhn ar the Home Depot LOVED me for that, since he would cut them for me). You can find pre-cut pieces at the HD, but you will pay a few bucks more. Size and cut them to the base, nail in place. When the base is done, secure the casters to the bottom of the base. Put them on the outside corners for stability. The base is easy to do.
THE TREE:
If you're using a 2x2 base,you can take a branch, cut to height, and secure to the base. How do we do this? You will need HANGAR BOLTS, which are about 2 1/2 inches long, and have wood screw threads on one half, and machine screw threads on the other half, for the wing nut. Home depot and Lowes have these. For the main branch, use a 1/4 inch byt 2 1/2 inch hangar bolt.
-Cut the bransh at the bottom in a way that it stands up the way you want it on the base. This may take a few cuts, to get it at an angle where it looks good on the base.
-Drill a 1/4" pilot hole in the bottom of the branch, where you will screw i the hangar bolt.
-Tough part: Using a drill, insert the machine screw end into the drill, like you were loading in a drill bit. Tighten down real tight. Then use that to drill the bolt into the wood. This may take a few trys to get it right, beacuse if it's not tight in the drill, it will slip and strip out the one end, rendering it useless.
-Drill a hole in the base, for the hangar bolt to go through, and slide the bolt through it, securing it to the base with a wing but, and USE WASHERS big enough to help with support.
*This is the toughest part of building the playstand. Once this is done, you then start cutting the branches to size, to make the "tree" part of it. Secure the branches to the tree using DOWEL SCREWS. These are like the hangar bolts, but it's all wood screw threads. The best way to measure the wood for the branches? Place a piece where you want it to go, eyeball it so that you see where to cut, and mark it. Remember, don't cut them too long, because you don't want the birds to poop over the base. Cut the branch, drill a pilot hole in the end, and screw in the dowel screw. Then where the branch screws into the tree, also drill a pilot hole. Using a glove on your hand, one with some grip to it, screw in the branch. And, if it's not in a spot you link, it doesn't matter, just unscrew it, drill another pilot hole, and put it somewhere else. You may have to trim it so it doesn't overhang.
**Other tricks:
Making swings:
I got creative doing this too, with U swings, and L swings. L swings are the easiest to make, taking 2 pieces of wood, using a dowel screw, attacking them together, then using EYE HOOKS, screw one in each end of the swing, then opening up the eye on 2 other hooks, screwing them into the playstand where you want the swing to go, hooking up the swing, then using pliers, close the eyehooks and BAM! Instant swing! Do the same for the U swing, but use 3 pieces of wood, and the same 4 eyehooks. Also, put eyehooks arndomly on the branches, to hold toys. You can also put bowls on the stand for food and water. I found, SEARCH THE NET for dealers that sell the bowls. At bird shows, dealers there sell 10oz bowls for like 7 bucks, and 20oz for 12 bucks. I used to buy them for 2 and 3 bucks apiece. Here is a lis tof tools and hardware you will need:
Hammer
Pliers
Drill
Radial Arm Saw for cutting branches
Nails
Hangar Bolts
Dowel Screws
Eye Hooks
Here are some links to pictures of the nice ones I made.
*First One ever made:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...R/HPIM0376.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...R/HPIM0217.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...R/HPIM0218.jpg