Homemade Wood Crafts for the Garden

Wood-workers are always looking for new projects to tackle. A garden is an open space that the wood-worker can adorn with all sizes and shapes of projects. Make projects for the birds to feed from and live in, for the plants to grow in and for the people to sit on and enjoy watching the birds and the flowers.

Castle Song Bird Feeder

This feeder just for song birds is 18 inches tall and has three perches on each side, each one by a hole that is too small for a squirrel to get though. There is also one more hole in the front on the bottom. The front had a feeder tray and is for the larger birds, who will not fit on the smaller perches. It also keeps the larger one from pestering their smaller cousins. There is a hinged roof for putting in the seeds. The feeder is made with 3.4 inch thick pine.

Planter Box

The box is simple to make and measures 32-1/2 inches long, 8-1/4 inches wide and 7-1/4 inches deep. Cut the timber to size, miter some corners and hold everything together with 2-1/2 inch long screws reinforced with glue. Choose a redwood or cedar and paint or stain when finished to produce a box that will last for years.

Bird's Nesting Box

Make nesting boxes and put them out in the winter so that by the time the birds arrive in the spring, there will no human or paint scent left. You will need a sander, saw, jigsaw, pine. Clamps and glue. No nails and screws are used. This one is for the more experienced woodworker since there are roof shingles to be shaped and angles to be figured. The finished product looks like a round hut. The round shape is created by making seven small side panels cut at 15 degree angle at each side. These are attached to a flat back piece to allow it to be attached to a tree.

Fireside Bench

The fireside bench is backless and is easier to construct than one with a back. The bench is curved so it will follow the curve of a fire pit. Curved slats are joined be straight rails. You will need a table mounted router to do this. The seat is constructed in three pieces and there are angle cuts needed to get the curves. The design can be modified by replacing the curved middle section with a straight one, eliminating the necessity of figuring the angles, but the result will be a straight bench instead.