Use a saltine cracker box as the basis for a birdhouse

Use a saltine cracker box as the basis for a birdhouse

Patterns

Saltine Cracker Box Bird House Pattern

On the PyrographyOnline Message Board, Lora S. Irish has posted a tutorial on how to create a birdhouse around a saltine cracker bix.

The idea behind this design is to create an easy to make side hole bird house out of a media that I can pyro burn. So I chose 1/8″ chipboard that is white coated on one side. Chipboard is easy to cut with an exacto knife, very inexpensive (my entire project probably cost me $2.75 total) and a house pattern that would allow a large amount of pattern room.

Since my chipboard is only 1/8″ thick and therefore thin and flexible I decided to work the house around a pre-made cardboard box from the groceries. The grocery box instantly gives me a strong, non-flexible, square angled form around which I can hot glue the chipboard sides, back, and front. The inner grocery box and chipboard allows us pyromaniacs to create square angles and easy cuts without needing power tools as a scroll saw or band saw.

As I worked my project, thinking through what I could do, I thought that the grocery box would also be a benefit to those that make wooden scroll saw bird houses. Scroll sawers or those that have a band saw can use the same box as the base of their wooden house so that the box sets inside of the glued and nailed wood sides, front and back. The wooden bottom panel can be dry set inside of the front and back walls, held in place with two screws through the front and back panels. The grocery box can then be slid inside of the wood house and the bottom secured with the screws. When nesting season is over the screws can be removed, opening the bottom wood floor, and the grocery box taken out for instant, easy nest cleaning. A new box can be inserted and the house ready for next year’s tenants.

For our wood carving friends please try the scroll saw version of this house substituting ½” to ¾” basswood for your front design wall so that you have the thickness needed for a relief design. Create your paper pattern using the dimensions of your box as follows below. With your band saw cut your front ½” carving stock front design wall, do your relief carving, then go to the final construction stage.

For those of us using chipboard and burning we will need to cut out the bottom of the cardboard box this fall, clean the house, then cut and hot glue a new floor into place. But most likely I will throw mine away and enjoy the fun of making a new one with a new burning next spring. For the rest of the tutorial, visit the thread on the PyrographyOnline Message Board.


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Saltine Cracker Birdhouse Patterns

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