Building a standing pearch need help?

[Midnightstarian]

I'm building a standing pearch and eventually i'd like to start selling but i haven't yet. I'm looking for something to put the bottom together with and i'm needing some advice, i'd like to grab something today because i'm heading to the store soon within a hour so any advice would be great if not that's okay.
I'm needing the bottom to be attached to the branch problem is mine has a nail in it why? cause i have a small budgie and he can't even knock it over to get to the nail but i'm worried about bigger birds and i still don't like nails iv'e asked a bunch of people how to put these together and nobody seems to be able to give advice other then nails or things like nails and No, no no that's not a option for me it actually gets me fairly upset when i'm hearing people mention it.
Is there anything anyone knows of that is safe to birds and strong enough to hold this together? note: its wood

 

[EllenD]

Exactly what are you using to make this standing-perch? I can't really picture what you are doing, nor what you mean by your's "has a nail in it"...

I've made hundreds of perches, play-stands, T-stands, and play-gyms, out of both PVC piping and fittings, as well as from natural branches that I've found outside or ordered if I wanted to use a special type of wood. I used to sell them a lot, on Etsy, Craiglist, eBay, and locally, and I did very well, as I priced mine way under what they normally cost online from specialty-shops and Etsy as well (the prices they charge for these things is ridiculous, I could easily make a large profit and still price mine $50-$100 less than other's prices). So I'm sure I can help you if I know what you're trying to build.

If you're building a stand out of natural branches and you're just looking for something to use as a base, I typically made those bases out of a piece of wood, usually a square, and you can do it a number of ways and use a number of different types of wood, either raw wood that you buy at Lowes or Home Depot and that you cut/shape yourself, or for a smaller tree-stand using branches, for a Budgie size say (tabletop instead of a floor one), I used to buy these pre-built, wooden squares that are sold at Walmart in their craft section...One of their craft aisles has a bunch of different wooden crates and crate pieces, and they sell some that are absolutely perfect for the base of a small perch stand. I would buy these in a pinch when I didn't have time to cut and assemble my own base and was in a hurry. They were great, I would simply drill a hole in the middle of them and put the larger, vertical branch down through the hole in the middle, and then anchor/attach the branch to the base using either pins/finishing nails from underneath, or even by using a grommet type of system from underneath.

It's hard to describe, let me find a link to a photo of what I'm talking about. In the meantime, if you can describe exactly what you're trying to build, or take a photo of what you are trying to attach to a base, that would help tremendously, as I really don't know what you're building, and I have no idea by what you mean by your branch has a nail in it...you shouldn't have any nails or metal or dangerous hardware anywhere on the actual branches/perches that are exposed to the birds. I only ever used nails or other hardware on the underside of the base I was using, because the birds can't get to the underside...

 

[EllenD]

Well that was easy to find...Here's a link to what I'm talking about from the Walmart website; they sell these in every store I've ever been in, in the craft-aisle that has all of the wood parts/crates.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Jillibean-Soup-Mix-The-Media-Wooden-Plank-12-X12-Weathered-White/52625157

They sell these in a bunch of different finishes, from natural, unfinished pine, to this weathered finish, to a darker wood, to black.

****I don't know if you can tell from the 3 photo angles that they show online, but this is a square, like a 1-foot x 1-foot square (I think they have other sizes as well, this would be the smallest), but it's actually about 1 inch or so tall, and the underside of it is HOLLOW. This is what makes it absolutely perfect to use as the base, as you can drill a hole right in the middle of the top, or the "platform" of it, and you've got a little over an inch of space underneath it to insert the bottom of the main, vertical branch down through it to steady it. Then you can flip it over and attach/stabilize the main vertical branch by using any number of types of hardware and attaching the part of the vertical branch that is sticking through to the underside of the platform. That way you can use hardware, like nails, etc., whatever you want to use to attach the vertical branch to the base, and not only is the hardware/attachment not at all visible when the stand is sitting upright, but your bird can't get to the underside of the platform at all. It works really, really well. And even when I would build a tabletop stand from wood by hand, using either plywood or 2x4's, I would still use this same basic format, having the top side of the base be elevated about an inch or more off of the table by putting an inch or two tall piece of wood under each side of the top, creating a hollowed-out underside for the main, vertical branch to go down into from the top and be attached.

Also, if you're ever making a large one of these branch tree-stands that sits on the floor, one of the best ways I found to make a base was to use a square piece of either plywood, melamine, or just 2x4's nailed together to form a solid square or rectangle, and then you can elevate this base by putting it on 4 casters that lock. This creates enough height for the main vertical branch to be inserted down through the top and be attached underneath, and it allows the stand to be easily mobile with the casters, and then locked into place.

****If you want just a flat base that is not elevated off of the ground, where the bottom of the main vertical branch sits flush on top of the base, then you have to use a main vertical branch that has a wide enough base that you're able to put either a couple of nails through the underside of the base and directly into the bottom of the branch, OR you can drill a hole right into the middle of the bottom of the main vertical branch and use a single, metal rod that is threaded and self-tapping that can be screwed through the underside of the base and then into the middle of the bottom of the branch. If you do it this way, you want to make sure that you use a metal rod that is at least 2" long or longer, as you need it to go at least 2" up through the middle of the branch in order to make it sturdy and secure. This works really well too; Lowes has a really large selection of hardware that you can buy individually.

 

[Midnightstarian]

Sorry, i feel bad cause you wrote so much.
I'm not talking about what wood to use or what bottom to use i whittle and i know my woods very well i also have a bunch of safe wood at home i can use.
I'm not talking about a nail stuck in wood.
I need something other then a nail to attach the bottom to the branch.

Yes woods easy to find you don't even have to spend 9$ on wood you can spend nothing on it if you know what you're doing and have enough knowledge.
Although that's also a good idea if that is the way someone or you want to go i on the other hand don't need help with woods.

I'm not sure how else to word it and this site has a weird way of posting photographs i wanted to post one but couldn't. Basically how do i attach the pearch to the bottom what do i use? cause i don't want to use a single nail.
Iv'e been told stainless steal screws but i'd like something better.

 

[TiredOldMan]

Long stainless steel hanger bolt, a couple large stainless fender washers, and a nut

 

[EllenD]

Okay, I got you...

Like I said, I have used threaded metal rods with great success and ease. As long as they are a good inch or two long, they screw up into the middle of the branch and are extremely secure. The diameter of your branch will determine the size/diameter of the metal rod, of course. You need to use one that has a head on it (they come both ways, where they are just a rod with no head, or they have a head), as the head will be what secures the base to the branch. OR you can use one that doesn't have a head on it and secure it with a nut on the underside of the base. Both ways work well. If you use a rod without a head on it, then you definitely want to also use a lock-washer with the nut. Lowes has a huge selection of these in the aisle that has the individual drawers of hardware, and you can by them one at a time.

 

[EllenD]

Long stainless steel hanger bolt, a couple large stainless fender washers, and a nut

That's what I'm talking about, lol, I don't know what they're called, thank you for that...

Just an FYI, these metal rods are the exact same thing they use in any of the natural branch perches you buy in the pet shop that have the big lock washers and the wingnuts on them. If you've ever taken one of those apart, you'll find a threaded, stainless rod that goes up into the branch/perch about an inch and a half or so.

 

[Midnightstarian]

Yea, no this is a standing pearch, not one that you hock to a cage so that doesn't work. i guess i'll stick to the screw stainless steal idea i don't know how to work this picture feature.

 

[TiredOldMan]

Horizontal or vertical it works the same.

 

[MonicaMc]

Stainless steel screw - I agree

Although depending on size of perch and bottom, you could also do a wood plug with some glue to hold it into place - as another thought. May not be the best idea for a large perch, but a small one it could possibly work?