Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Newsletter

   Woodworking Newsletter
   Vol. 5, Issue 5
   May 2011

From the Archive

Excerpt from 50 Popular Woodworking Projects by Joseph J. Lukowitz, Algrove Publishing Classic Reprint Series, 2005. (Originally published in 1938.)

Birdhouses


	Fig. 32. A roofing-paper wren house.

An attractive and novel wren house, made almost entirely of scraps of roofing paper, is shown in Figure 32. The colored sand or crushed rock with which this roofing paper is coated adds much to its appearance.

Figure 32 clearly shows the construction of the wren house. The 7/8-in. diameter entrance hole can be made with dividers. This can be done by placing the dividers on the reverse side of the paper and turning it several times. The round plug thus formed can be pushed out with the fingers after several turns without cutting clear through to the sandstone coating on the other side of the roofing paper. The conical roof is held in shape with three pieces of wire pushed through the paper and clinched.

The bottom should be fastened with flathead nails which should not be driven in all the way. This will facilitate withdrawing the nails for removal of the bottom for cleaning.

Provision always should be made for ventilation of roofing-paper bird-houses in order to avoid overheating. In addition, they should be located where they will be in the shade for most of the day.