Modeling a Birdhouse (and Anything Else For That Matter)
OK, So what in the name of Sam Hill has the photo above have to do with a birdhouse? Well nothing really... and then again, everything. Here's the deal... I was searching the Web a couple of nights ago for something on eBirdseed.com, and I noticed that the auto-complete feature of the search engine was adding in "birdhouse". That's cool. Right now, we don't carry them, but we've still got you covered.
Some time ago I wrote a couple of posts on building a birdhouse. In the first entry I laid out a rough design, and in the second I actually built it.
Alrighty then, what about building a birdhouse for your backyard? Obviously, it will have to meet certain "bird requirements" regarding dimensions, ease of cleaning, nest size, etc. (See our references links below for more info), But still, there lies the slightly flexible issue of aesthetics...
So how do you build that perfect birdhouse (or kitchen island, or deck, or whatever)? Very simple... First, you do your homework on the Web, find the designs that work for you, and then tweak them via a model like the one above. It's nothing complicated - just some cardboard and 5-minute epoxy... In the photograph, I'm building a 15' sailboat in a scale of 1.5" to 12". But it really doesn't matter - a person can just as quickly whir up a cardboard mock-up of a birdhouse. All you really need to do is establish the ratio between the design and the desired result. (Here's a table converting fractional inches to decimal inches.)
Many moons ago I was a cabinet maker... Today I moderate a couple of boat building forums... But one lesson remains the same. When you're trying to build something, even a simple birdhouse, model first... I'm telling ya, it saves time in the long run.
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
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