Day 2: Birdhouse Writeup

Today was a smashing success compared to day 1. I was able to put together the entire main structure, excluding the floor. While this design is almost certainly an easy task for someone with marginal experience, I feel very accomplished.

In the day 1 writeup I mentioned picking up oak wood in place of cedar. Instead, I picked up pine which I like the look, feel, and price of more. However, I would love to put together some houses with 1/2in cedar boards in the future if I find them near me.

In the next iteration of the design I would like to add dowels for support between the pieces. Right now it is held together only with glue. I plan on sanding, staining, and painting the current piece as well as adding a latched bottom. (I also might put it on a post?)

At Lowes, I picked up some extra quick grips and Valspar sealer. I also grabbed a few natural yellow and green toned paint swatches. At Home Depot, I swapped out my smaller Forstner bits with a larger set.

Success of today:

    * Put together main structure with good cuts.

    * Overall piece looks great.

Challenges today:

    * Getting the cuts and angles right for the wall and roof pieces.

    * Learning to use the Forstner bit on handheld tool. (Maybe buy a drill press in the future?)

Moving forward:

    * Add latched bottom to this piece.

    * Finish this piece with sand, seal, paint, etc.

    * Learn how to use dowels for added support.

All the best,

Parker

Day 1: Birdhouse Writeup

Today was a good learning day. While I didn't fully finish a model I learned some valuable lessons. I like the direction I'm moving in but still have about a week of tooling and fiddling to get at a product that I'm happy with.

The success of today:

    * Good cuts for the gabled roof with the front and back faces of the house.

    * Perfect hole on front plate for bird entrance.

The failures of today:

    * Poor wood selection. Used expensive 1in Cyprus boards for first test run. The boards are too thick and weighty. The boards at Lowes were mostly a crapshoot and full of knots and cracks.

    * Narrow placement of countersink holes causing the front board to crack along a knot.

    * Inconsistent countersink depth.

    * Uneven roof piece.

Moving forward:

    * Pick up 1/2in Oak boards from Lowes. Should be affordable and the right size, will see tomorrow.

    * Need to pick up a couple more fast clamps.

    * Larger forstner bits. Thought 1in was large enough for Carolina wrens but 1 1/2in is more like it.

    * Add about 1in in height to the overall piece.

    * Make the roof pieces flush with the side walls reaching the top before the roof angle begins.

Little notes:

    * Maybe use #6 screws instead (1 1/2in is a good length maybe?).

    * I really, really love the look and feel of the cedar but it's too expensive and there are no 1/2in or 1/4in boards available to me.

All the best,

Parker