Shopsmith Forums

Cool wet day so working in the garden was not going to happen. But working in the garage on a new birdhouse did.

Actually it has been happening but it is finally taking shape enough that I decided to let everyone have a look at it.

I used the shopsmith version of the ring master to cut the parts. A solid bottom, rings for the walls and and insert for holding the top on, and the top.

This was my first venture of cutting rings to make the body. I went with a straight wall design this time out. Another time I might get more adventures and try some thing in a different shape.

It was educational enough as it was. This is what the main body of the birdhouse looks like:
The body is 8 rings, all of them cut from 1x6 pine. The solid bottom is from the same stock and is glued in place.

The top is two pieces, the large circle is from a piece of 1x10, the smaller circle sized to fit the inside of the body was again from a piece of 1x6. The large circle is just about 7-3/4" in diameter, the smaller is about 4". The top will serve as the part to be removed when cleaning out the box.

While this was a test run for other projects I was a bit disappointed that I did not get the glue up right. As you can see the stack is displaced.
Something moved when I was clamping it up and I didn't notice. I was rushing it and was not careful enough to recheck. Mental note taken.

The nest chamber is about 4" across and with the top on it will be about 5-1/4" tall inside. This is wren sized. Here is a peak inside:
When put together it will look like this:
I plan to leave the inside as is. The outside I was planning on turning but with the glue job I did, well we will get to that another time. When mounted on the lathe it was clear that I would have to remove more material to get it back to round then I was willing to take off.

What options did I have? This is after all a birdhouse so I went with abrasive clean up. Got rid of the glue then used an old sanding belt that had broken in use and went at it. Came back to still out of round but cleaned up.

Here is a picture of what it looks like at this point in time:
Next up is cutting the opening for the doorway. Might have to shore up the inside before I attempt drilling the 1-1/8" hole. Unsupported the drill could catch and wreck everything, don't want that to happen.

Not sure what finish I will be putting on. Spar varnish would look interesting but then St. James yellow with a white top would match the other houses.

So that is about it for now.

Ed

That's a cool idea for a bird house. As for the stack being slightly off, the birds won't mind. If you mind, why not mount the bottom to a face plate and true it up inside and out on the lathe? Edit: Ooops, I see you have already considered that.

It turned out looking good. No one would have known the misalignment during glue up if you had not told.

That's a neat bird house even without a hole.
IIRC, you had a house on which the birds(?) greatly enlarged the hole. I'd just set this one out and invite those birds(?) back. No worries, then.

I'm in the process of making up a clamping device (jig) that is referenced for doing glue ups. It is a plywood base with 3/8" rod and a knob on top to tighten. I'll have pictures in a short while.

Some experts say to do only 3 levels at a time, that might have been a problem for me too. The new system will have to be tested on a new project at a later time.

I will also be drilling the entry hole this afternoon. Hope that works out without damaging anything.

Ed

reible wrote: . . .
I will also be drilling the entry hole this afternoon. Hope that works out without damaging anything.

Ed

Bet a Brace and Bit would be 'safe'.

I cheat when doing multiple glue ups. I shoot a couple small brads to keep them alligned, it's faster and keeps the alignment better. I still clamp, I'm from the old school of if one nail is good two nails are better. This is the way my uncle Emile, " The Thomas Edison of the 9th Ward" taught me. Had to give a shout out to him as he was the one that got me interested in doing handy man things. He could make anything and fix anything, not always the most conventional way but it always worked. Sorry about running at the mouth. 8-)

My new clamping system is together so let me show you that.

I used scrap plywood I had in the shop. Went with 3/4" and about 12" x 13-1/4" and I figured why cut it??? Drawing lines across the diagonals gave me a center point. Since I had that I added some circles as a reference, don't know if that is worth anything but that is how it is. You will notice that this plywood has a paper layer, this is called MDO.

I used a section of 3/8 threaded rod, left over from another project and in the range of 21" long for the vertical. Here is an overview:
To the left is the top I made along with a "quick knob" and a couple of washers. I'm unsure of the correct name of the knob as I got a few of these many many years ago. One place called them tilt knob but what ever the name when tilted they slide along the threaded rod and when straight they tighten like a threaded knob.

When put together it looks like this:
A t-nut was inserted from below (counter sunk to be flat with surface). The rod is then tighten in place by a nut on the top as can be seen in the first picture.
That is about all there is to it.

Ed

A lot of wind out today. Advisories coming on the weather radio so another good day to stay in and do some more wood working.

Time to make the entry hole. The hole went really well and maybe I over did the planning a bit but again I'm doing this for fun and not for profit.

I wanted to have some sort of safety in place when I drilled the hole so I didn't mess up what I had so far done. It took a good deal of time and some effort to cut all the parts and I didn't want to add to the firewood pile at this stage.

I took a section of 2x4 and did an arc on both ends that matched the inside diameter of the nest box. Got to love a band saw for doing this sort of cut. The fit was perfect after I cleaned some of the excess glue out of the inside. I added a fastener so I could put it back out after I was finished, it only took a minute and might of been over kill but it worked.
In it goes and now I have support for the drilling operation.
Off to the drill press. Thank goodness it is a shopsmith. Tilted the table to 45 deg. Did a visual by aligning the point of the bit to the hole in the center of the bottom and adjusted the table position so the hole would be in the right place.
Found the spot I had marked for the hole and adjusted the speed for the 1-1/8" bit I had.
Drilled the hole with no problems at all.
Now it ready for final sanding and finishing.......... what ever that will be.
Ed

I like it even better with a hole in it. The future inhabitants will sure appreciate your work.
I enjoyed it too.