MyzarandGemma
Chinchilla Enthusiasts!
Ian and I have been hard at work preparing the cage for our new little buddies. We went to Ace Hardware and found Kiln-Dried 2x6x4 Pine boards in their scrap bin for $.75 each. We bought three ($2.25) and some Elmer’s Non-Toxic Wood Glue ($4).
Now, we are VERY lucky to work at Lowell Observatory. We have so many good friends up there in all the different departments. Lowell has a very extensive wood shop and, because we are good friends with the crew, we were allowed to use some of the equipment!
We made two houses (pictured below). Ian used a buzz saw to cut the lengths, then I used a 2.5″ wood saw to punch some holes in them. I made a peanut top entrance for one and a couple windows in another. I also used a .75″ piece to punch 4 holes and then Ian used a jigsaw to cut a door. We liked the way it looked, but it was a little involved, so for the next two doors we made, we used the jigsaw for the whole thing.
Note: House #2 had some bent wood, so the roof will look off, it is airtight though, no chinnie feets are getting stuck in there!
I then glued everything together and Ian clamped it. While I was doing my drilling, Ian was making something totally unique and special. Yes, he was making the USS Enterprise. Our chins will be named James Tiberius Kirk and Montgomery Scott (“Scotty”) so what better way to get them into the feel of space than to make them a bed out of wood shaped like the USS Enterprise!?
He used a band saw to cut the boards, power sanded the cockpit and then he wood glued everything. It looked amazing! We are purchasing two fleece pillows to Velcro to the top of the cockpit and the long body under the engines. The engines will be left as perches!
After that, we were done with the wood, so I cut the scraps up and drilled holes in them to make some hanging toys. I bought some food grade dyes, let them sit overnight, and then baked them dry on 200F for 1.5 hours.
We then did some wood-burning. Ian is going to wood burn House #2, I did House #1 and the Starship Enterprise! Check out all of the pictures below!!
Now, we are VERY lucky to work at Lowell Observatory. We have so many good friends up there in all the different departments. Lowell has a very extensive wood shop and, because we are good friends with the crew, we were allowed to use some of the equipment!
We made two houses (pictured below). Ian used a buzz saw to cut the lengths, then I used a 2.5″ wood saw to punch some holes in them. I made a peanut top entrance for one and a couple windows in another. I also used a .75″ piece to punch 4 holes and then Ian used a jigsaw to cut a door. We liked the way it looked, but it was a little involved, so for the next two doors we made, we used the jigsaw for the whole thing.
Note: House #2 had some bent wood, so the roof will look off, it is airtight though, no chinnie feets are getting stuck in there!
I then glued everything together and Ian clamped it. While I was doing my drilling, Ian was making something totally unique and special. Yes, he was making the USS Enterprise. Our chins will be named James Tiberius Kirk and Montgomery Scott (“Scotty”) so what better way to get them into the feel of space than to make them a bed out of wood shaped like the USS Enterprise!?
He used a band saw to cut the boards, power sanded the cockpit and then he wood glued everything. It looked amazing! We are purchasing two fleece pillows to Velcro to the top of the cockpit and the long body under the engines. The engines will be left as perches!
After that, we were done with the wood, so I cut the scraps up and drilled holes in them to make some hanging toys. I bought some food grade dyes, let them sit overnight, and then baked them dry on 200F for 1.5 hours.
We then did some wood-burning. Ian is going to wood burn House #2, I did House #1 and the Starship Enterprise! Check out all of the pictures below!!
Last edited:
(Other Half and I are in the middle of DS9 on Netflix since I've never seen the whole series.)
