Background
In 2008 while living in Dublin i made a bird table from off cuts of wood, panel fencing and a fence post. I spent some time photographing the local pigeons that visited the garden to pinch the bird food so that i could design the size of the bird table to stop the pigeons getting onto the table surface keeping the smaller birds away! Yes i know i really should have tried to get out more rather than photographing the pigeons! When i completed the table the pigeons were discouraged for a while and spent a great deal of the time sitting on the roof of the table trying to figure out how to get down to the food. After 6 months they eventually figured out how to get at the food. Out smarted by a couple of pigeons......
When i returned to Edinburgh i decided to build another bird table for the garden along similar lines again using off cuts of wood. I had to purchase a fence post as i did not have one to hand.
When i returned to Edinburgh i decided to build another bird table for the garden along similar lines again using off cuts of wood. I had to purchase a fence post as i did not have one to hand.
I had some offcuts of 12mm marine plywood, and various bits of wood that i could use.
The table was made from a piece of 12mm thick plywood. The edges were sealed with PVA to prevent water seeping into the plywood over time. Pieces of wood were rounded and cut to size to create a lip around the sides of the table. This was intended to prevent the food being blown off the table in windy conditions.
Pieces of wood were cut and given a triangular profile at the top to act as supports for the roof trusses.
The roof trusses were made from wood offcuts. They were shaped to create a triangular truss that would support the roof panel. The joints of the trusses were glued and screwed together.
Pieces of 6mm plywood were glued and pinned at the apexes of the trusses to provide additional stiffness to the structure.
Pieces of 6mm plywood were cut to make the roof panels.
These were glued and screwed to the roof trusses. The edges of the plywood roof panels were sanded as smooth as possible and treated with PVA to prevent water seeping into the grain of the wood causing the wood to soften and rot.
A piece of quadrant was used to create a roof ridge. This was glued and pinned into place.
This picture shows the table temporarily attached to the mounting post. The table and roof have been stained and varnished.
A support base was made from a length of 68mm x 38mm softwood i had to hand.
A square top mounting was made from four pieces of this wood cut to fit around the fence post.
Angled legs and stiffening cross pieces were then cut to hold the four legs securely in place. A hole was drilled in the lower stiffening pieces and a hex head coach screw was screwed up into the base of the fence post to hold it in place.
A piece of self adhesive aluminium banding was applied across the apex of the roof to seal the joint, stop water getting into the plywood and provides an attractive finish. When this photograph was taken the support pole and base were still to be stained and varnished.
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This shows the completed bird table in the garden with bird food and fat balls. The birds make great use of it but so do the local squirrels who like to chase the birds away. Although the squirrels like the bird seed they do not seem so keen on the fat balls.
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The cutting and assembly of the wood took just over 8 hours and over the next couple of days the stain and varnish was applied which took a couple of hours in total. For a little effort on a fine early summer day a good looking , strong bird table was created that cannot be blown over by the wind and wood that otherwise would have lain unused or be taken to the scrap yard has been put to good use.