Boat building, big or small just impresses the hell out of me.

Would love to see pics of your Healey's seat frame. That sounds like a great project, and I'm sure you not only saved plenty of money, but had such a great feeling when you were done that you were able to make that kind of repair/restoration on your own.

I think of your car story, and your boat story, and I can't help but think of an MG TC. The silly tub of the vehicle was wood, the construction was mostly from ship building techniques. As you know if wood is not taken care of, it will not last. Many a TC fell by the way side because the wooden tub just fell apart. Wood really can be an almost do anything kind of material.

 

Ok, Santa's little elf is done for a while...

These are the 4 things I made Mom for Christmas this year
Now I have to go and figure out how the hell to wrap them...

Robin's Nesting Box
Nothing too special here, but I have never made one before so it was kind of fun coming up with a design I liked



Eastern Bluebird House
This one is kinda cool, the design incorporated a half-gallon milk carton
The idea is most of the bird poop goes into the carton and not into/onto the wood
In the fall you open up the box, pull out the carton and throw it away, leaving a clean box, and really avoiding the nasty cleanup
Mom can cut the carton down to size, I'm not sure how low or tall it is supposed to be, I left it tall so she could see it was in there
I also tried something new for the front, tempered masonite, it's hard as a rock and might make it much harder for the bad birds to peck the hole bigger
I also got clever with the back, I added a lot more ventilation, but then needed to add a back piece so the rain does not come in




Wren House
This is an exact duplicate of the Wren House Dad made for Mom long ago
She will be thrilled to have another just like what he had made for her so long ago

 

And an update on the feeder...
I have to build the sides and bottom again out of wider wood, I think I'll try my luck with the biscuit cutter of Dad's and do a glue-up
But the top is done, oh what a project, I have more time in on this top than I do all the other three bird houses

Tricky Walk-in Bird Feeder
This style get clear plexi sides so you can see the birds come and go, it gets filled with Sunflower Seeds only
This fly-in style is a place for only the little birds, the big pig Jays won't use it
The sides need to be wider so the viewing area gets bigger, as it is now by the time the seed goes in, you will not be able to see the birds very well
But the key is, the top is done, and I was able to incorporate Dad's clever filling mechanism






Off I go to do the wrapping...

 

Ohhhhh, I love them!!!! Besides being your Mom, what does one have to do to get on your Christmas list?

 

Nice! I'm sure your mom will be thrilled. Have you heard of bluebird trails? I think there is one that goes through Arlington Cemetery (across the street from our condo). I'm going to check it out. Volunteers check the boxes and help keep it up. I might do something like that, or at least something bird related, after I retire. Here's a website about bluebirds and the trails.

http://nabluebirdsociety.org/

 

Very nice, Doug. I'm sure your Mom loved her gifts!

 

Very nice link, Deb. Doug, it was interesting that you mentioned birds pecking the holes in the bluebird house to make it larger. I've never had birdhouses and there is a bluebird house (thanks to you I now know the type) high up in one of my trees. The hole has been enlarged and pecked out by something. I DID notice a mockingbird going in and out of the house a couple/years ago, but since its so high up in the tree I have no idea whether anything is using it. I'm thinking of getting a birdhouse or two locally, but am a little concerned since we have such an issue here with an abundance of snakes that are often seen slithering up trees. A neighbor told me that snakes occupy his birdhouses after they eat the eggs or all the birds so he took his down. Do you know if there's a snake deterrent for this? (I'll google it if you don't just know off the top of your head).

 

Thanks everybody!

And I'm so excited, Mom gave me Dad's Biscuit Cutter
I'm off to the wood shop to make up the wider boards I need to revise the bird feeder
This gift could not have come at a better time!!!

She was thrilled with her gifts
Now I just need a decent day so I can get them up
The Cedar is so smelly when its fresh, so these need to go up and start to get weathered so by spring they might be ready for the birdies

 

Agreed, great link, thanks Deb

Snakes, wow, never had to deal with that issue, so I'm really in the dark on how to deal with that

The Starlings of course are one of the bad birds, they like to peck the hole bigger so they can get in and lay their eggs, then the dirty tards let the Bluebird hatch their eggs, and often this ends up with the Bluebird babies being killed.

 

Doug, you certainly know how to treat our feathered friends. Although we had a perch on the wren house we had for a decade or so, based on my readings they recommend it does not have one. This is to prevent larger birds from making the entry hole larger.