Bird House Final Report Pt 2

For my project, I built a bird house in a suburban style. The bird house has a moving front door, and a back panel that can be opened as well, so that the user can reach in and remove any nests at the end of the season. Additionally, I decided to put fabric over the window so that light can still shine into the bird house, without there being a large hole where other unwanted animals could come in. In terms of the aesthetic style, I decided that I wanted to design the bird house like a suburban home, with a white picket fence and green walls, and a brown roof. I think the suburban bird house will look great in my parents back yard, as it has a similar style to their home as well.

Once I made a prototype, of the bird house, I laid the pieces out so that I would waste the least amount of wood possible. I cut these pieces out with my dad’s miter saw, but also used his table saw for the angle on the roof, and his jigsaw for the front door and window. Unfortunately, I was working in the shop alone and forgot to take pictures for the first day of manufacturing,  so I do not have any pictures of me using the miter saw. Below are pictures of me using the table saw and jigsaw.

At this point, I drilled the bird hole. Additionally, I had to figure out how to create a front door that could open up. I had the idea of gluing a nail to the door, allowing the nail to rotate in holes that have been drilled into the base plate and the doorframe. I had no idea if this would work. I ended up trying it, and it worked perfectly!

Next, I glued and stapled together the body of the bird house. In retrospect, I should have done this step after constructing the fence, as I had to then drilled holes into the base plate for the fence polls to sit in. My dad had a hand drill from the early 1900’s, which was used in hospitals to drill holes into bone. I would imagine that this tool was outdated by the time my father was born, yet it was perfect for this application.

After I had everything ready, I glued together the fence, and painted it white. I also painted the bird house green, and after letting it dry, glued the fence to the bird house. I glued a small square of fabric to the window and stapled shingles to the roof, and with these final touches, my bird house was complete. I think it turned out great, although I would like to add a strip of white around the windows and door frame to help them pop. However, it might be really difficult to do this, as the fabric and door will be in the way of painting the window and door frame, respectively.