Bird House

I saw this bird feeder online on a store that displayed as permanent sold out. So I tried to make one by myself.

Here are the parts I used :

- Approx. 2m of wooden cleat (I picked a 20mm x 20mm in section but it can be quite different)

- 200mm x 600mm aluminium sheet (0.8mm thick)

- Small aluminium pipe (6mm in diameter)

- A small piece of wood like 16mm or 18mm thick

- A piece of plywood like 150mm wide, 280mm long, 10 or 12mm thick.

- Few centimeters of chain and a key ring

As tools I used

- A wood saw and a metal saw

- A jigbox

- A drill

- Wood glue

- Few nails

- 8 4x50 wood screw

- Some clamps

- 8 washers

For the finition I used some paint and varnish but you can do as you please.

The first step was to build the sides. I cut 8 pieces of 20cm long cleat. I cut them with 45° ends each side.

I proceed to glue them two by two to form those kind of V shape. Then, once the glue was dry, I managed to glue two V shaped parts, one with the other. It was a quite long and difficult task. If you have a frame press, I recommend using it.

I added two nail on each side to reinforce those assemblees.

Once done, I glued one triangle piece of wood on each side. Those pieces will be used as supports for the main platform.

I cut a 150mm x 280mm on a piece of plywood. This will be the main platform.

I cut 4 more pieces of wooden cleat and glued them to form a rectangle of approximately 120mm x 200mm. This will be the feeder. I glued the feeder at the center of the platform.

To make the roof shape, I bent a 200mm x 600mm sheet of aluminium in two. In order to have a really nice bent, I used clamps to attach the sheet to a square piece of wood. The point is to have a sharp edge at the exact center of the sheet, where you want the metal to bent. Then, I proceed to press very fermly this assembly against my work table. This way, the sheet is bend with a very clean and tight angle.

I made 8 20mm spacers, using a small aluminium pipe. Those spacers will be used to maintain a fixed distance between the wooden frame and the roof.

If you want to hang this bird house, you can drill a hole in the middle of the bend to attach a chain or a rope directly under the roof.

With a lot of clamps and even more delicacy, I managed to glue the sides and the platform together before coating them. It was a mistake because it was quite hard to use varnish on this kind of shape. I think this would be much more easier if I coated the parts separatadly and assemble them once the varnish has dried.

I used a nice black paint for the roof. I bought a spray paint and I think it was a good idea. The coating of the roof took me only few minutes by layer.

This bird house is made to be outside, be careful when you will be choosing your coating. You have to pick one that protect the metal and the wood against rain and bad weather conditions.

This is a really precise step. You have to measure exacly where you want to place your spacers and drill corresponding holes in your roof. Take you time, make a drawing ans it will be okay :).

I used a washer to hide the head of my screws a little bit. I think I may not have used the best kind of screw. On the next one, I'll more likely use flat-head screws.

I added a chain with a tiny screw and a bolt to hang my bird house in a tree.

Even if it was quite long, this build was not as hard as it seems. After my first one, I built few more for my family and they all were delighted. I find this bird house quite satisfying because you can build it with almost only leftover pieces of wood from your garage!

I hope that you liked this build. Thank you for reading. Feel free to comment or ask questions in the comment section below.