Squirrel / Bird Picnic Table

Recently, I moved to a new house which, alongside many other things, had a tree, which I noticed housed quite a few birds and squirrels. As a person who loves everything nature-related, I grew infatuated with sitting in my patio and watching these critters go about their daily routine.

This was my main motivation behind trying to make something that I can use to feed squirrels in my backyard. I had also seen a squirrel bench in a nearby hardware store, which gave me the idea to replicate it. Another motive I had was being able to attach this feeder onto a fence right outside a window in front of my desk so I could see it from the comfort of my workplace.

To make my vision a reality, I 3D modeled the bench first and then went about cutting and screwing pieces together to make a squirrel feeder even a child could make (with adult supervision, of course).

(Sorry for the scuffed images.)

Materials

1. 1.5 x 0.75 inch wood beams (~120 inches in length)
2. 1.5 inch Wood screws

Tools

1. Impact driver / Drill (In some cases, a screwdriver might work)
2. Hacksaw (or other means of cutting wood)
3. Ruler/Measuring tape
4. Protractor

For attachment (Pick one):

To hang bench: Any type of twine - Size depending on your choice of hanging depth

To attach bench onto tree, fence, etc.: 1.5 x 0.75 x 6 inch wood beam, screws

Note: The wood beams I had were bought from Home Depot for a previous project and the wood screws I had were from a dollar store. You don't have to spend lavishly on these materials for a good result.

Use a ruler, a protractor, and a pencil to sketch the pieces onto the wood. Make sure to make the lines visible and complete, so as to avoid any mistakes that could be made in the next step

Use a hacksaw or other wood-cutting tool to cut the wood into smaller pieces as on the cut list. I found it easier to make small dents in the wood that I could use to guide my sawing. This lets you fix the angle that you cut a piece before you go through with it (as seen in the image above).

TIP: If using a hacksaw or something similar, try to use the entire blade for every "swing" that you do. This ensures that the wood is cut fast and that the blade is not intensively dullened on one spot or area (ensuring blade longevity).

The tabletop is made from four out of the six 10-inch pieces.

Start by picking a side of the pieces that you would like to act as a surface. Ideally, the surface should be smooth and have the least amount of holes or other imperfections.

Draw two lines 2 inches away from the short edges of the tabletop. These will be guiding lines for the next step.

Using the construction lines drawn in step 3, place the 5-inch supports with one long edge on top of the drawn line, as shown in the image. Visually gauge if the pieces are level with each other so as to ensure smoothness of future steps.

Once you are satisfied with the levelling of your pieces, drill the support piece onto the tabletop surface beams. I would suggest drilling the outside screws in before the inside ones, since the outside screws work to hold the inside beams in place while you work on the inside screws.

Replicate this on the other side to have a completed tabletop.

On the underside of the tabletop (the side with the supports), draw a line 1 inch from its long side. This indicates where the legs will be placed.

Make sure the legs are facing outwards, and place the short side of the leg on this line. Secure the leg to the table top using screws screwed in diagonally. If necessary, legs can also be screwed in horizontally to the table top supports.

Replicate this on all four corners to have all legs attached

On the last two 6-inch pieces, draw two lines. The first is 1/4 inch from the short edge, and the second is 1/2 inch from the long edge. Replicate this on both sides of both pieces.

Use the corners that these lines make in order to place the seat support pieces. Each corner should line up with the corner of a seat support piece. Screw the seat support pieces diagonally onto the seat supports to form a rectangle, as shown in the image.

Place the tabletop and legs on top of the seats and align the seat to the center of the legs as shown in the image.

Attach the seats to the bench by screwing the bench supports to the table legs. You might have to incrementally screw both sides, one at a time, to ensure that the seat is centered to the tabletop.

To ensure that the bench is close enough to any potential birds or squirrels, you will have to find a way to secure the bench onto something that might boost the chances of these critters approaching.

An optimal location would be:

1. In an open area
2. Beside a path commonly taken by birds or squirrels (ex: fencing)
3. Above ground level

I have come up with 2 ways of accomplishing this:

1. To hang from a tree branch or other overhang: Use any strong twine or rope to make a loop through the bench's legs and hang from a tree.
2. To attach to fence: Screw one side of a 5 or 6-inch beam onto the side of the bench and screw the other side onto a fence.

I started off this project wanting to make something during the summer that would actually serve a purpose. I had always wanted to make something out of the spare pieces of wood I had at home, and I also wanted something that could actually be, at least slightly, functional. I first got the idea to make this bird/squirrel feeder bench when I saw a similar product in a hardware store, and thought that it wouldn't be too difficult to replicate it.

To actually begin work on the bench, I started off making a CAD of the bench on Autodesk Inventor, which took me two tries to perfect. One issue I encountered early in the design process was attaching the beams that make up the tabletop to each other. To fix this, I made supports that could connect the four beams together.

When I was done with the CAD, I perfected the dimensions of the bench to make sure it would be easy enough for a person to make without advanced tools. With the completed CAD and dimensions in hand, I went on to make the bench and documented each step, as in the 9 steps before this.

In doing this project, I was able to both develop my skills in CAD and woodworking as well as find a way to spend time during my summer vacation, while simultaneously being able to share my interest with many other people, online.