I don't know how popular scales perches are in the US, probably very popular; I had never seen one until I switched vet. The old vet had normal scales and keeping the bird on it wasn't easy; Dr Brian, the new vet, has one of those, and seeing how easy it made weighing my tiels I decided to make one myself.

Actually, Paul built it, and had the clever idea of using a CD/DVD spindle as base. The perch itself was cut from those ash branches I got in january. A long screw keeps the two pieces together.
That's all!

My scales
The spindle base fits perfectly and I suspect it would fit any scales.




This is the finished perch, birds are quite happy to sit on it as demonstrated by supermodel Bubu below.
I have no idea what those people on the telly are doing, maybe slapping eachother




Actually the tiels liked it so much I decided to add a bit of vet wrap (to cover the screw head) and use it as portable perch.
It has the convenience of being also a poo catcher
Supermodel Keith below shows how comfy the perch is, and how well the cac plops on the tray.





I suspect you all have one, but If you don't, I recommend it! I am so happy with it I will be making a few more to move around the room so that birds will have a good place to perch when they follow me around, and hopefully spare upholstery and computers. Less poo to clean, you just wash the base

Looks like Bubu enjoys violent TV shows lol.

That's a nice perch! Bird scales are overpriced on Amazon - about $60, although that does include the scale as well as the perch. The price has come down though, they used to be $80. I made my own perch a few years ago out of a rebar cap and a 5/8" dowel. It cost less than $5.

Both good idea's..

That looks great, Tielfan! Looks more stable than mine plus some scales are square so I'd prefer that base for them.
It's amazing how much those cost, even on amazon or ebay. Yes the scales are included but I paid mine something like £11 and it's excellent, and as you say the perch itself costs anywhere between zero and a fiver.
I guess they charge for the idea, because otherwise those ridiculous prices are simply not justifiable.

The rebar cap wasn't completely flat on the bottom, and if you look carefully you'll see where I put duct tape on the bottom to help fill in the uneven spots. It had a strong plastic smell at first too but I let it sit out for a while and the smell went away.

There are plastic flanges inside the cylinder that grip the dowel perfectly and keep it stable. I didn't start out by saying "I need a rebar cap for this job", in fact I'd never heard of them before. I just walked up and down the aisles of Home Depot looking for something that would make a good base for a small perch, and this was the best thing I found. I'm happy with it. Kind of a nuisance to clean though, there are lots of little nooks and crannies for the poop to get into.

The spindle is not too bad because its surface is mostly smooth, this pic shows it a bit better



If I can find the right material around the house I will add a disc of rubber underneath, to give it more weight and especially grip. As it is now it tends to slide when the birds land on it with too much enthusiasm. Can't make it too heavy because it would make the scales go crazy, I think.
How much is your base in weight? Looks very stable.

It's 250 grams. The birds got excited when I weighed it just now because I give them treats for standing on the scale, and they thought I was going to weigh them. Most of the weight is at the bottom and it weighs 3 times as much as a bird so it's very stable even when two birds sit on it at the same time.