Vicki's Wood 'n Things

Squirrel Feeder

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

This is another project that allowed

me to make use of my scrap wood
collection. I had a bunch of short pieces
of PTL decking boards. I jointed the
edges and ran them through the planer
and they looked pretty good.

I set my circle cutter on 1 3/8" to

create three 2 3/4" holes. One in each
side and one in the front for the
Mayonnaise jar. You'll need to use the
appropriate size hole for your jar. I
made mine fit real tight so while the
squirrels are in the box they won't push
it out.
 I was going to use biscuits to join the
feeder, but lining up the number of small
pieces seemed too monumental a task so
I used Pocket Hole Joinery. I used one
of those $10 generic jigs and had a heck
of a time getting good results. Since then
I have gotten the Kreg Rocket Jig and the
difference in ease of use and quality of
the hole are amazing.

A word of caution: make sure you

have a drill small enough to go inside the
"box" if you decide to use pocket-holes
for your feeder. No way could I get a
regular drill in there to join the "roof"
without one. I used a right-angle drill
attachment on mine.

Here's a pic of the completed project.

Whoops! Wrong feeder.
 Here's my feeder sans customer. The
only visible screws are on the back piece
attaching it to the 3 sides. Since I cut 2
key-hole slots in the back to hang my
feeder on my fence post they don't show.

Once assembly was completed, I gave

the feeder 2 coats of Sherwin Williams
Cuprinol Cedar Stain.

I made a 2 feeders while I was at it,

and gave one to a friend who lives in the
country. 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 a
tip from him:

"I made the hole for the jar JUST large enough to
accept the metal lid rim (part with the screw
threads) of the jar and used silicon caulk to keep it
in place, then the jar screws in with little or no
trouble.

I cut the thin metal lid (part with the rubber seal)
in half and it acts as a 'holdback' so the seed
doesn't end up on the floor of the feeder.
Something else I've done with the caulking: seal
the joint where the back and top meet. I found
that rain was getting down that joint".

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