Vicki's Wood 'n Things

Squirrel Feeder

Even though I have a love/hate (they love digging in my ﬂower beds, and I hate themfor doing it) relationship with the local squirrel population I couldn't resist thisnice-looking squirrel feeder.

This is another project that allowedme to make use of my scrap woodcollection. I had a bunch of short piecesof PTL decking boards. I jointed theedges and ran them through the planerand they looked pretty good.

I set my circle cutter on 1 3/8" tocreate three 2 3/4" holes. One in eachside and one in the front for theMayonnaise jar. You'll need to use theappropriate size hole for your jar. Imade mine fit real tight so while thesquirrels are in the box they won't pushit out.

I was going to use biscuits to join thefeeder, but lining up the number of smallpieces seemed too monumental a task soI used Pocket Hole Joinery. I used oneof those $10 generic jigs and had a heck of a time getting good results. Since thenI have gotten the Kreg Rocket Jig and thedifference in ease of use and quality of the hole are amazing.

A word of caution: make sure youhave a drill small enough to go inside the"box" if you decide to use pocket-holesfor your feeder. No way could I get aregular drill in there to join the "roof" without one. I used a right-angle drillattachment on mine.

Here's a pic of the completed project. Whoops! Wrong feeder.

Here's my feeder sans customer. Theonly visible screws are on the back pieceattaching it to the 3 sides. Since I cut 2key-hole slots in the back to hang my feeder on my fence post they don't show.

Once assembly was completed, I gavethe feeder 2 coats of Sherwin WilliamsCuprinol Cedar Stain.

I made a 2 feeders while I was at it,and gave one to a friend who lives in thecountry. She has LOTS of customers,many with wings!

I didn't design these plans. They were drawn up by my friend Sandy in VT. And here's a shot of his feeder and atip from him:

"I made the hole for the jar JUST large enough toaccept the metal lid rim (part with the screw threads) of the jar and used silicon caulk to keep itin place, then the jar screws in with little or notrouble.I cut the thin metal lid (part with the rubber seal)in half and it acts as a 'holdback' so the seeddoesn't end up on the floor of the feeder.Something else I've done with the caulking: sealthe joint where the back and top meet. I foundthat rain was getting down that joint".

Follow the cutting diagram below.The "stop" is optional. I cut it out and will attach it if need be, but I prefer thefeeder without it.My stock was 1" X 6". If I makeanother I would use 1" X 8" and changethe 9 1/4" on the "C" pieces to 11".