Those are very cool. I have seen hand crafted bird house's that the bottom comes off with screws. Those work really good as it is my understanding that new birds like a clean place to start building their new nests. I bought one years ago for my father that was very similar to your new style and the bottom was held on by 4 screws in recessed holes.
Pretty neat bird houses Mike. I think that a removable top would make it much easier to clean out at the end of every season. A couple of small brass screws could be used to temporally attach the top.
Nice work. As to the cleaning, Might try using hinges on the floor part with a peg in the front to hold it shut. That would allow for better ventilation for the nest and if you have a small screw in ring on the peg, that will allow the peg to stay in tighter.
Hey Mike, me again. I made another birdhouse for my friend and I did make it so that it can be cleaned out (at her request). I made the top removable by creating a tenon about 3/4" long on the top and a matching mortise on the body. The top is then held in place with two brass screws through the body and into the tenon. It seems to work well and really didn't add much extra work. Just thought I would pass that along.
Great birdhouse Mike! I just finished one and gave it to a friend. I wiped a bunch of Unicorn Spit on it and it looked like it was tie dyed. Was a big hit. Anyway, my friend has a collection of birdhouses and she said that all of them except one have a few small holes drilled on the back, presumably for air flow. And she said the birds use all of the houses except the one with no holes. Have you ever heard about that? Since she asked I drilled three holes about 3/16" in the back angled up to keep the water from running in. we shall see if it works. Keep up the good work!
I too added a weep hole. I have not had any feedback yet as to how the houses are being received by the birds. I hope they are used! Thanks for watching Lee!
I have to ask, you did a unicorn spit to ultra dye compare and the green didn't take. I've seen you use the ultra dye more and it takes great now. What are you doing different? I used unicorn spit on some beech and it went on like paint so trying it on different woods as well as different dyes to see what works best. Thanks in advance.
First thanks for watching! The purple and orange Ultra Dye do take very well. The green still doesn't come out quite as well. I still use unicorn spit more than any other stain / dye. Unicorn Spit is a gel stain and not a dye. It does go on much differently than dyes. I do thin my Unicorn Spit most of the time.
@@BrailsfordWoodworks ok I applied mine both undeleted and deleted on beech. Some of it looked more like paint than it did a stain. That is the only reason I ask. Thinking it may also have something to do with the wood I used 😂. Thanks again.
So those are an early version that you would need a coat hanger and a shop vac to clean. I now make them with the top, or bottom depending on how they fit together, removable for cleaning. Thanks for the question and for watching!
