Unplugged Project: Wood (birdhouse making)
March 17, 2008 by Heather
Filed under DIY Projects, Kid Creations, Unplugged Project
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This week The Unplugged Project is Wood and it was the perfect time for John to build some bird houses with the boys (I tried to convince him to build me a chicken coop for the chicks I’m ordering tomorrow but I have a feeling he’ll get moving on that once the birds are living in our house). He got a good birdhouse book, Birdhouses You Can Build In A Day , with plans to make a bunch of different types and this weekend they started off with Chickadee houses. Each boy made his own and they are up on the trees waiting for inhabitants. John used wood that was from an old storage shelf in our basement and he has enough left for a lot more houses. I can’t claim any involvement, I slept through the entire project (more on that another day)! |
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| John’s Comments - I use an old pine shelf that was roughly 12″ x 48″. I figured out the best way to cut the wood and managed to get enough pieces for both bird houses out of the 1 shelf with very little scrap leftover. I decided to use my new cordless circular saw to get some experience with it (worked well!) but it would have been much easier with a table saw. I used my miter saw to cut my 4″ strips to the right length. Holes were done with a bench drill press (just so the boys could help). The instructions were to use a nail gun, but instead I predrilled holes and used galvanized nails. In the end I basically made the pieces just like a Lowes or Home Depot project, but with better wood and some glue thrown in to hold everything together. I have enough wood leftover from those old shelves for easily another dozen bird houses. Next project I plan on drilling my pilot holes a little larger to make it easier for the boys to hammer the nails in. | |
| If you want to try a birdhouse yourself, look for 4″ wide pine or cedar at Lowes. All the pieces in this project were 4″ wide and cut to length. I used power equipment, but it could easily be cut with a hand saw. If Lowes doesn’t have wood the right width, get a larger piece and ask them to cut it for you - it’s free! | |
Great job!
Great Birdhouses. I can not wait to hear if the get some guest in them.
Great job on the birdhouse!! He looks so proud in that last picture!!
I tagged ya:
http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/03/am-i-weird.html
When is it my turn borrow your handy husband?? Mine will take you out for ice cream.
What a great idea for “wood!” Our bird houses are all falling apart so I should have thought of this one. I hope you’ll post photos of any inhabitants. I’ll be sure to post photos of any inhabitants of our fairy houses! LOL!
Looks like a lot of fun — can’t wait to find out who moves in.
That looks like a fun project - and it sounds like an interesting book!
I love birdhouses! Nothing better than watching how hard they work taking care of their babies. I thoroughly enjoyed your blog. Your kids are adorable. Take care and good luck
! Malinda
[...] are two free bird house plans I found when looking ideas for our bird house project. These plans had the best directions and diagrams of the ones I found online. In the end I decided [...]