Cat Condo / activity scratching Pole repair kit. (For owners of fat cats)

thingiverse

Having a pair of cats that are both on the larger side (Norwegian Forest Cat and a Maine Coon cross), our cat scratchers and climbing structures take up more space than expected. Lately, one of the nesting baskets broke free from the rest of the structure and crashed to the ground with 9Kg of angry cat attached. The construction of these pieces of furniture is subpar, as the plastic inserts are simply stapled into place through the cardboard tubes. The staples eventually give way, allowing the tube to separate. I've set out to create a repair kit since the cardboard tubes used in these items all seem to be roughly the same size. The kit includes a printed insert that fits snugly inside the tube and a drilling jig for precise and neat drilling of the cardboard tube, enabling a strong repair. The insert can be simply glued inside the tube or secured with M4 screws using a more engineered solution. The components use the original M10 x 30mm pan head screws but you will need to obtain standard M10 nuts as well as some M4 x 20mm screws to secure the insert unless you opt to glue them in place. You only have to print one jig, and then you can print as many inserts as needed. V1.1 is approximately 54mm in diameter, and V1.2 measures 53mm in diameter. One of my poles had stretched when I measured it, and the larger insert was a bit too tight for it. I reduced the diameter to make it fit perfectly, but left the original here just in case someone might find it useful. Perhaps this won't be used by many people, but if one other person finds it helpful, then sharing it is worth the effort. Comments are welcome.