As Seen On: 
USA Today's Pop Candy - MTV's Geek News - Nerd Approved - Pinterest - The Walk of Words - The Portland Mercury 
The Official Doctor Who Tumblr - Mousebreath - Cheezburger - Daily Kos - Geekishly Apropos - Walyou

Not bigger on the inside

My wife and I have always wanted a jungle gym for our three cats, but could never find the perfect model in pet stores. Ever since we started watching Doctor Who at the beginning of 2011, I’d been itching to build a TARDIS (or Dalek) of some type. My wife wasn’t sold on the Dalek, but when I figured out that my TARDIS could serve double-duty as a cat gym, she was sold! 

Our TARDIS features three carpeted levels, plus an opening in the roof allowing our cats to climb on top. It is made almost entirely of half-inch thick MDF, which I cut out on a ShopBot CNC machine. The lettering was also engraved on the CNC, and then hand-painted. For more on how I made our TARDIS, check out the “How I Made It” tab. The rear panel was left open, except for a support beam which helps stabilize the shelves. I haven’t yet figured out how to make it bigger on the inside.The roof of the actual TARDIS slopes away from the central axis. I knew my cats would want to hang out on top, so a sloping roof wouldn’t be safe for them. I designed a vertical sloping fin to visually suggest the presence of the original roof. I’m not sure my design is completely successful, but the fin does provide an excellent support piece for the rod attached to the dangling toy. I’m quite fond of the toy, which was bought as-is from Target; I think it looks like a baby Ood!

All of the lettering was inscribed in the material with a pointed V-bit, then hand-painted. I decided to paint the “POLICE BOX” signs in black text over a white field, which is the opposite of (most) of the original TARDIS designs. It was easier to paint this way, and since I wasn’t going for a 100% accurate replica, I didn’t mind making my TARDIS a little different. The gorgeous blue color, which my wife chose, is also much lighter than the actual TARDIS blue. The cat have yet to register any complaints.We are thrilled to have a TARDIS of our very own that can be enjoyed by the entire furry family. Now all that remains is to convince the wife that we need a Dalek-shaped litter box!

How I made it

My first step in designing the cat TARDIS was to create a simplified conceptual model out of cardstock and tape. This allowed me to quickly determine the basic design, including where the shelves and openings would be placed.

I began this project primarily as an excuse to learn how to use a CNC machine. A CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine is a device which moves a cutting tool through your work material along X, Y, and Z axes, resulting in precisely cut parts. For the TARDIS, I used high-speed spinning router bits as my cutting tool; a straight end bit to cut out the parts, and a 90-degree V-bit to engrave the lettering. As a member of Tech Shop RDU, I was able to use their ShopBot CNC and PartWorks software, which is the CAD program used to design the various parts.In this picture, the ShopBot cutting out the wall panels. You can see that the lettering for the front sign has already been cut. The entire project is made of half-inch thick MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). I chose to use MDF because it cuts very easily, takes paint well, and is perfectly flat.

Once I had my parts cut out, it was time to assemble and start priming and painting. I designed the walls to fit into each other via a slot-and-groove system. Tabs on the walls fit into slots in the base and ceiling. The overall part fit was very tight; I added a few nails just for peace of mind. The vertical rounded parts on the corners are pieces of quarter-round left over from a recent flooring project.It took one coat of Killz primer and three coats of blue house paint to achieve a satisfactory solid finish. By far, the most time-consuming part of the project was hand-painting the lettering. The lettering isn’t perfectly sharp, but I’m happy with the results, as it looks pretty good from 5 feet away. The final step was gluing in the carpeting. A local carpet store let me have a small remnant for free!