kids workshop, how to make a single bird house step by step

 

Why make a single-family birdhouse rather than a two-family?
This version is no simpler, but perhaps the birds in your neighborhood would prefer a little more privacy!

 

 

 

 

What You'll Need

T OOLS	MATERIALS	FASTENERS
Jigsaw or handsaw Speed Square Drill ¼ inch drill bit 1¼ inch Forstner bit #6 countersink bit Screwdriver Hammer Tape measure Carpenter's glue Clamps Safety glasses	One 4-foot length of lx6 #2 pine board One 4-foot length of ½ inch x 6-lnch cedar clapboard ¼inch dowel or short piece of tree branch Scrap wood Paint (optional	Four 1¼ inch drywall screws One package 1-inch brads

Measuring and Marking

1. Hook your tape measure on the right-hand end of the lx6 board. Moving toward the left, mark points at 4 inches, 9 inches,18 inches, and 23 inches. Square a line across the board at each of these points.

2.   Mark the center point, which should be 2% inches in from either edge of the board , of the first line (4 inches from the right-hand end of the board) This will be the center of the entrance hole you will drill later.

3. From the point where the 4-inch line ends at the top of the board, use your Speed Square to draw a line down and toward the right at a 45-degree angle. From the bottom of the 4-inch line, draw a line up and toward the right at a 45-degree angle. Extend the lines until they intersect at the center of the board; this intersection marks the top of the gabled front piece of the birdhouse.

4. Move down to the last line (23 inches from the end). Repeat the layout of step 3 to draw two lines heading to the left at a 45degree angle and intersecting at the center of the board; this intersection marks the top of the gabled back of the birdhouse.

5. Put the 1¼ inch bit in the drill chuck. Clamp the board down on top of a length of scrap wood. Start the spur of the bit at the center point you marked on the first line and drill all the way through the piece into the scrap.

Cutting Out the Pieces

6. Clamp the board down so that the right-hand end extends beyond your work surface. Use a jigsaw or handsaw to cut along the two angled lines of the gabled from piece.

7. Turn the board around and make the angled cuts for the gabled back piece. Then make the two crosscuts along the lines in the center of the board (at 9 and 18 inches). Note Do not cut along the two layout lines at either end of the board! These are only for marking the ends of the gables.

8. On the length of clapboard, measure and square lines to make two 9-inch-long pieces for the birdhouse sides and two 10-inch-long pieces for the roof. Cut them to length and set them aside.

9. On the birdhouse bottom , mark a point in each corner, about 1 inch in from the closest side and about %inch in from the closest end.

10. Put the counters ink bit in the drill chuck and use it to drill a hole at each of the four spots you've marked on the birdhouse bottom.

11. Set the front and the back on edge on the work surface, with their peaks pointing away from you. Place the birdhouse bottom on edge against the bottom edges of the front and back, with the countersunk holes facing you.

12. Align the end of the bottom with the face of the front and drive two 1¼ inch drywall screws through the holes and into the front piece. Repeat the process to align and fasten the bottom to the back.

 

 

 

13. With the assembly still lying on its side, place one of the 9-inch pieces of clapboard against the side of the birdhouse, with its thick edge at the bottom. Using two or three brads on each end, nail the clapboard to the front and back of the birdhouse.
Do not nail the clapboard to the bottom piece!

 

 

14. Turn the birdhouse over and nail the other 9-inch length of clapboard on the opposite side in the same way.

15. Set the house upright and place one of the 10-inch clapboard roof pieces on top of the walls, with its thin edge at the peak. The clapboard will hang over the ends of the walls by about half an inch. Nail the roof piece in place by driving two brads through the roof into the front and back pieces.

 

 

16. Place the second roof piece with its thin edge flush to the top surface of the first roof piece. Drive two brads through each end of the roof into the front and back of the birdhouse.