![]() The middle section of the dowel is turned to 3/4” in diameter. This is what will hold the bowl in place so it is turned to just over an inch and is shaped according to your taste. I used a spindle gouge and a skew chisel to shape the bottom finial. The bottom finial needs to be larger than the hole in the seed bowl. I used a parting tool, just above the bead to define the bottom of the middle section of the dowel. With the dowel between centers I mark off the waste wood at the ends and the positions for the different sections on the dowel. I may have to make several bird feeders to see what dimensions the birds like. I ll have to wait and see how it works with the birds. I ended up with 1 1/2″ distance between the two bowls. The bottom bowl is deeper than the cover bowl so that you can fit more seed in for the birds. The cover bowl will need to be a larger diameter than the feeder bowl so that the seed will stay dry. The cover bowl will only slide down a little bit. So the feeder bowl needs to slide down near the bottom of the dowel. Each bowl will slide over the dowel and rest in the proper position. The central dowel is what will hold the bird feeder together. I part that much off of the lathe and set the shorter piece aside for another project. I’m not going to need the whole length for my project so it’s off to the drawing board (scrap paper for me) to figure out the next step in my project. Paper birch is a nice fine grain hardwood. The wood turns beautifully and shows off its lovely grain. I turn it round with a roughing gouge and the blank is just under an inch and a half in diameter. (That would be another story!) So little by little I trim off two square blanks. I am taking light cuts because my table saw is old. I am going to use the birch wood to make the dowel.įirst step is to remove the bark so it doesn’t fly off when I’m turning. I will turn a central dowel and two bowls. My project requires good straight grain that will be stable. I now have a nice straight piece of birch and a bird feeder project in my head. The wood turns very easily and with a great finish. I have turned a few items out of the birch wood. Looks like spindles are first out of the block. I have split some of the rounds so that I would have lengths of birch wood for spindle turning. What next for the birch? Bowls or spindles? I remember that I need to continue the birch story. Time has passed on and the little goat is grown up and my birch rounds have had a chance to dry. All the wood is stacked and ready to be turned. The truck was unloaded and the little goat put to bed. I had lots of birch rounds to haul off of the mountain. It will be a long time before I need to cut down more birch wood. The birch that we found on the property was a standing dead tree but there were saplings of paper birch nearby. I guess the conditions have changed and there are not now so many birch trees. I called it hunting the elusive birch because when I grew up in the Kootenays there were birch trees all over the place. It was so much fun finding a paper birch on our property. I am also continuing my birch story so if you are anxious to start turning just scroll past the story but if you want to read “Hunting the Elusive Birch Part I” you can follow the link. The inspiration for this project was from a picture posted by Miklos Mocsenyi on Facebook. One picture caught my eye, and the result is this project. A quick internet search revealed a multitude of bird feeders. My first thoughts were rather basic and a bit rustic. A bird feeder would make a great house warming present. It is a great project for combining spindle turning and bowl turning. This turned bird feeder is made out of three wooden parts that fit together to allow the smaller birds access to the food while keeping the food dry and discouraging the larger birds. They can be simple or fancy and made out of many different materials. Bird feeders are a great way to watch birds.
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