[MrForbes]

We used 1" square, 1/16" wall aluminum tubing (available at our local hardware store) for the poles, and 1/16" aluminum sheet (not so easy to find in town) to attach our wooden top part to our wooden base. The brackets at the top have a 1" wide flange, with wood screws holding them on.

If you were to make the poles and brackets of wood, it would probably work too, but you'd have to be careful to use a strong attaching method. The trick is in the triangular brackets...that gives the structure it's strength. The bigger they are, the stronger it is.