Do not put up a bird house on a tree or barn facing the north. Birds 
as a rule will not use a house that faces in this direction. 
Before starting to build a bird house it is necessary for beginners to 
know a few of the fundamental operations in wood work, what tools to use, 
and how to use them. Always try to have what tools you do use sharp and 
in good condition. 
A good plan to follow in starting on the bird house is: 
1. Cut the lumber to a rough size. 
2. Square up the lumber to a finished size. 
3. Lay out and mark off the correct sizes and shapes of the different 
pieces on the finished lumber. 
4 Cut out the different pieces by following carefully the lines on the 
finished lumber with the saw and plane. 
5. Fitting and assembling the different parts. This must be carefully 
done and all joints must be tight. A bird house that is not dry inside, well 
ventilated and weather proof is not liable to be occupied by any of our 
feathered friends. 
The first house in this book is a simple little wren house that any boy 
ought to be able to make with a few tools, by following the directions care¬ 
fully. 
Do not be discouraged if you do not have any regular lumber. Get a 
box that is made of any soft wood, one-half inch thick. Take it apart 
carefully and you will have material that will do for the construction of any 
of these houses. 
Before starting to cut any lumber study the drawings carefully and try 
to keep in mind the following points: 
First—How the house ought to look when finished. 
Second—The correct shape and size of each piece. 
Third—How to make each part. 
Fourth—How to assemble the different parts. 
Fifth—Don’t forget, tight joints, good ventilation, and plenty of room 
are three of the most necessary things that go together to make a house 
that is attractive to the birds. 
When reading the finished dimensions on the lumber bill, thickness 
always comes first, then width, then length. Always go over your measure¬ 
ments before starting to cut the material. 
The drawings in this bird house book are all designed and simplified, 
so that any boy with a limited amount of material and tools who is a lover 
of birds, may be able to construct any of the houses by following the draw¬ 
ings and directions carefully. 
To cover the houses with bark, put the house together first, then nail 
the bark on with small brads. Be sure there are no nails sticking thru 
on the inside of the house. Always cover the roofs with roofing so they won’t 
Cak DIRECTIONS 
Cutting Stock. Cutting stock means getting the different pieces 
ready to make the house. Always cut out the large pieces first and allow 
the different pieces to be one inch longer and one inch wider than the 
finished size, so you will be able to plane or saw them to the finished size 
and shape. 
Squaring Stock. Squaring stock means to reduce a piece of rough 
lumber to one having flat, smooth sides, straight edges and square ends. 
Squared-up stock is called finished stock. Finished stock is a piece 
of lumber that has been worked out to any given thickness, width and 
length. 
Laying Out Work. To lay out work means to mark out the shape and 
sizes of the different parts on the finished stock. Always lay out the work 
on the best side of the finished stock and from the best edge. 
Cutting to Lines. Cutting to the lines or layout means to remove the 
stock outside of the lines, thus making the piece the correct size and shape. 
Assembling. Assembling means fastening the different pieces together. 
The most common way to put these houses together is with nails. Screws 
can be used if convenient. The place where two pieces come together is 
called a joint. A joint must always be tight and square. 
In order to keep the cats out of the trees containing bird houses, take a 
piece of sheet iron about two feet wide and long enough to go around 
the tree and fasten it to the tree trunk about six or eight feet above the 
ground with a few small nails. If you have no sheet iron, get a joint of old 
stovepipe, which will answer the purpose just as well. 
Herbert Hoover said: “I hope the people of the United States 
will be made to realize how closely related to this whole question 
of food-saving is the protection and encouragement of insectivor¬ 
ous and migratory birds. n 
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