Birdfeeder Construction Advice

[JPG]

If I were making a flock of these, I would make a faceplate jig to provide a support base for sanding the outside corners and turning the inside groove of the tops. The workpieces would mount and be secured by a screw/washer/nut through the center string hole. The top corners could be sanded using a hand held belt sander as the top rotates.(700 rpm might be a bit fast for this) You would need to make sure the belt sander is angled so the corners do not contact the 'side' of the belt sander.

I think the diagonal cove cut is probably the easiest way to get the concave surface on the sides.

I might even make a jig to mount 6(?) sides between centers and belt sand the outer convex sides. The jig would have a flat base at each end with shallow straight mortises to receive the square outer ends of the side pieces. I might even use pieces long enough for two or three (or four?) sides per piece then cut them to length last. Might do the cove cut before cutting to length.

Lotta red dust being created!

The glass grooves should probably be cut prior to shaping the sides.

Tis early for me so consider that my mind may not be coherent(yet).


So fodder for the noggin anyway.

[Ed in Tampa]

Obviously you are after the challenge of making the curved sides rather than functionality.
To curve these sides you are going to need more an a single board thickness. I think if you glue some strips longways on edge of the board you will have enough wood to fashion the curve.

You can do some bevel cuts to knock off most of the wood and then finish with rasps, files, planes and sanding.

Another thought would be to build a cylinder from staves and then cut them apart I would guess you could make two from one cylinder.

Lastly and I don't know how long it would last but you could turn a limb perfectly round inside and out and then cut it apart but I would think splitting would be a killer.

Frankly i would make the top and bottom like the one you have but I would use flat sides and be done with it. But we are different I think your motivation is the challenge mine would be to have some more bird feeders.

[nil]

Make a copy carving jig....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyNu8lpQI1g

[dgale]

Thanks for all the ideas - I'm definitely not hell bent on the curved sides - I think they look nice and make it more custom, but they also make it much less likely that the project will ever go from photo to actuality for me, so straight sides probably are the best route. Always easy to want a challenge when it's months away from the holidays, but knowing how long I'll procrastinate before I get started, the straight sides will likely be the way to go (at least this year).

As for the top, another thing occurred to me - I could start with a round blank and turn both sides and then finish by cutting it into a square square - just have to make sure I start with a blank that has the correct diameter. In this case I'd turn the bottom side first and then mount it in a chuck and turn the top side...once finished, cut it into a square and I should get the desired look...at least I think that should work and would be pretty simple unless my fuzzy brain is missing something (?)

[JPG]

Thanks for all the ideas - I'm definitely not hell bent on the curved sides - I think they look nice and make it more custom, but they also make it much less likely that the project will ever go from photo to actuality for me, so straight sides probably are the best route. Always easy to want a challenge when it's months away from the holidays, but knowing how long I'll procrastinate before I get started, the straight sides will likely be the way to go (at least this year).

As for the top, another thing occurred to me - I could start with a round blank and turn both sides and then finish by cutting it into a square square - just have to make sure I start with a blank that has the correct diameter. In this case I'd turn the bottom side first and then mount it in a chuck and turn the top side...once finished, cut it into a square and I should get the desired look...at least I think that should work and would be pretty simple unless my fuzzy brain is missing something (?)

Amount of 'scrap'. Well maybe a pair of those cutoffs would make good toy canoe blanks. That still leaves you needing a way to cut coves, this time with variable 'depth'!:D

[JPG]

Then again you could reverse things - Round top on a square feeder rather than a round feeder under a square top.

P.S. The bottom could still be round!

[sawmill]

If you lived up this way, I know someone that has the blades for his planer that will cut that shape or close to it in one pass.

[pinebeetle]

What would happen if you cut your side boards a little long, then fastened them to a 4x4 (or 6x6) with three or four screws at each end, then chucked up in the lathe, round the boards, being carefull not to get close to the screws, then cut off ends. Then did the cove going across the table saw as mentioned in earlier reply.?

[BuckeyeDennis]

What would happen if you cut your side boards a little long, then fastened them to a 4x4 (or 6x6) with three or four screws at each end, then chucked up in the lathe, round the boards, being carefull not to get close to the screws, then cut off ends. Then did the cove going across the table saw as mentioned in earlier reply.?

I like that idea!

[johnheyd]

I remember in high school shop a lot of guys were making toboggans out of oak and they heated the ends of wood slats in boiling water for a period of time, then put then in a jig were they bent them. After then cooled they held that shape. So my thought is perhaps if you have an old turkey fryer, try boiling a redwood plank for about four hours - then clamp it into a jig to form the shape - let it cool and I'll bet you would have a curved form.