Unofficial Giant Bomb Woodworking Club - Project 2: The Bird House

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YoThatLimp

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It's like a book club, but for wood working!

This month's project is the humble Bird House (or Bat House).

Lets use this thread for questions, suggestions, progress pics, etc.

We have until June 30th to post our final projects, get to work!

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YoThatLimp

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So I've been doing a little bit of reading up on attracting certain bird types to your house - I currently have a family of robins that use a small space my gutters create next to my brick house for a nesting platform. I'd like to build a proper nesting platform for them or my state bird a Cardinal (who also perform a nesting platform. I'd like to mount it to my garage so i can watch them from my house. To appease my wife, I'd like to make it in a similar vein as a mid-century modern house in the picture below. Because I'm making a nesting platform I'm going to really need to nail the angle of the roof so it reads as mid-century modern. I'm going to be doing some research into our local Frank Loyd Wright houses and see if there is anything that strikes my fancy.

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YoThatLimp

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After 20 minutes in Sketchup, I've come up with a first draft. I have a feeling these angles are going to be the death of me.

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BaconHound

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As I mentioned in the other thread, I'd planned on building a bat house. Preliminary research indicated that the house should be mounted at least 15' above the ground, preferably facing south or east in a place that gets 8+ hours of sun...but NOT on a tree. There's a nice blank wall above my garage doors that would work, but unfortunately, my wife put the kibosh on mounting the bat house on our home.

I'm going to be pretty busy this month anyway, so maybe it's for the best that I sit this one out. I'll keep an eye out for other peoples' completed projects and maybe break out the tools again in July.

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YoThatLimp

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As I mentioned in the other thread, I'd planned on building a bat house. Preliminary research indicated that the house should be mounted at least 15' above the ground, preferably facing south or east in a place that gets 8+ hours of sun...but NOT on a tree. There's a nice blank wall above my garage doors that would work, but unfortunately, my wife put the kibosh on mounting the bat house on our home.

I'm going to be pretty busy this month anyway, so maybe it's for the best that I sit this one out. I'll keep an eye out for other peoples' completed projects and maybe break out the tools again in July.

Bummer, but understandable!

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mustachioeugene

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I should do this, I have a bunch of cabinets and drawers to make this month, I'll have all my tools out anyway and this will be more fun than retrofitting a 100+ year old kitchen.

I might try and make something that can hold a block of suet and see if I can attract some different birds than my seed feeders bring in.

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YoThatLimp

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I should do this, I have a bunch of cabinets and drawers to make this month, I'll have all my tools out anyway and this will be more fun than retrofitting a 100+ year old kitchen.

I might try and make something that can hold a block of suet and see if I can attract some different birds than my seed feeders bring in.

Do it! I'd love to see your results.

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RalphMoustaccio

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As it happens, I built a pretty basic birdhouse late last year, but didn't actually hang it until this spring. Hopefully I'm not breaking the rules by sharing it here.

It's pine, with the exterior painted for waterproofing. Dimensions are roughly 12 inches tall, and 7 inches wide and deep. The roof is hinged so that it opens upwards on the right side (as facing from the front), so that I can clean it out easily. There are vents on the sides, under the eaves of the roof, so the birds don't cook. I attached it to the tree with a french cleat that is modified slightly to prevent the house from sliding side to side. The only power tool I used was a drill for driving screws and cutting out the hole on the front. For the most part, it came out how I wanted, with a couple minor problems here and there, with one being that I haven't yet gotten a bird to stay. They do pop in there from time to time, though, as seen in the picture. It hangs outside of the window above my kitchen sink, so I can (theoretically) watch some birds as I do the dishes.

Unfortunately, I didn't really take any pictures of the building process, but here's the finished product.

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