Does anyone know of a place to find figures on how much a 1x4 or a 2x4 will flex when a certain amount of weight is placed on it. For instance, if the board was placed at a 30 degree incline and a 10 pound cat tried to climb up it, how much would the board bow in the middle?
2007-10-15 16:58:11 · 3 answers · asked by TA Timmy 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
Well now that depends on the amount of rain received by the given tree in its respective growth location prior to lumber harvesting. The amount of residual sugar in the wood along with it's inner supportive structure can vary greatly. Will this cause any visible changes in your planned setup? Almost certainly not. Cats are pretty sweet little climbing machines and therefore I cannot see this being an issue. I had a cat once that climbed a 2x4 everyday just to get to his litter box. That was quite a sight, quite a sight I tell you.
You also forget to mention in your question what type of cat this is that will be climbing on the hypothetical setup. Different types of cats have different size paws which would concentrate his/her weight in a different area which could certainly complicate the instantaneous flex/acceleration of the board at any given point tangent to an arc (if we assumed the flex path to be an imperfect arc).
As you can see cat bridge construction is serious business, and therefore should be left to contracted unionized cat builders or at least contractors with real world experience.
2007-10-16 09:32:46 · answer #1 · answered by stinkysquareuserfromVA 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No offense but in your "project" application as stated; you omitted a detail.
I might assume that the 1 by or 2 by might only be 3 ft long; and probably not FLEX at all. You also don't state whether or not the piece of lumber is laid flat or on edge; which greatly affects any possible flex. By the time a 16 ft. 2x4 is secured at one end; the weight alone will cause some sagging in the unsupported end; but you didn't mention anything about how much this CAT test board is supported. IE: A "SEE SAW" application; at 30 degrees over a pipe; and depending on the length of the board; still might never show and FLEX with a 10 pound cat on it.
I've been at this for a lot of years and rarely are stats like that an issue.
2007-10-16 00:36:01 · answer #2 · answered by DIY Doc 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are published figures for what you
ask, but we need to know the span.
(How long is the board between supports?)
2007-10-16 11:51:18 · answer #3 · answered by Irv S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋