Turned Birdhouse or Bowl from a board

[Greenvilleguy]

After the first ringmaster sawdust session, I remembered an article I'd seen once on a bowl from a board, i.e. a technique to take a single board and cut into rings that could be stacked to form a bowl turning blank. I have been wanting to try this, but didn't have an excuse to do it.

A friend asked me if I would make them a birdhouse. Alas, you may think birdhouses are rectangle, but I'm always looking for turning projects so I made a couple of round ones.

I used the Bowl from a board concept to cut and stack rings for the top and the bottom. Since I don't have a ringmaster, I used a bandsaw to cut the rings for one and a scroll saw to cut the other one.

Both methods worked fine. Of course the bandsaw was faster, but I had to glue the kerfs shut but that was no big deal. The scroll saw method left small holes where I drilled the starter holes, but no big deal either.

Here is the finished product (unfinished actually). I made the one on the left first and used 3 rings for the top. The one of the right, I used 4 rings. I used 2 rings for both bottoms.

It "turned" out to be a fun project and a good way to try the stacked ring concept.

By the way, the body is coopered from 20 slats glued up and then turned round.

1026

[greitz]

Nice-looking birdhouses, Doug! I've made some stacked-ring bowls from a board but never thought about doing the top and bottom of a birdhouse that way. Cool!

A few questions, if you don't mind- For the coopered body, did you tilt the table to 9 degrees and rip the slats, or use a jointer? What tool do you use to round out the inside? What type of glue do you prefer for an exterior use like this?

Thanks for the advice!

Gary

[osx-addict]

Pretty nice looking bird houses if you ask me.. Way better looking than what you find in most stores!;)

[alancooke]

Great looking bird house's Doug!

Are you a member of Greenville Woodworkers Guild?

[john]

Doug:

Those are nice looking birdhouses! A great alternative to the usual box types.

John

[dusty]

Are birds choosey? I have been told that they are about the size of the hole and whether or not it has a front stoop.

They look nice no matter what the bird thinks. Nice job.

There is a shop here that sells nothing but birdhouses and none of them are for birds. They are sold to people who use them to decorate the interior of their homes (no birds).

[Greenvilleguy]

Gary,

The stays (slats) are from construction lumber that I face jointed, resawed and then planed to 1/4". Yes, I cut the stays at 9 deg on the table saw (20 stays equals 40 edges; 360/40 = 9 deg.). I always cut them a little oversize, do a trial fit, adjust the angle slightly and cut them again. I'm generally close enough on the second pass.

As far as glue, I used Titebond III this time.

I didn't turn the inside. I don't think the birds will care.

Dusty,

I cut the hole 1 1/4" in diameter and 5" from the floor. I got this from some table as a good size to attract threshers. We will see . . . .

I've also read that you shouldn't finish the inside since the odor lingers and is not appealing to birds. Of course, that plus the use of construction lumber for the body means I will get to make some more in a couple of years.

[Greenvilleguy]

Alan,

I'm not a member of the Greenville Guild. I've been to some of their meetings and plan to join, but never have.

The time is getting close, however. I have a wonderfully piece of wild cherry crotch wood that I rescued from a firewood stack. I've been letting it dry and now I plan to slice it into 1/4" panels for box tops. The guild has a 16" band saw.