Some photo updates on building Purple Martin houses

Well I now have two very different house nearly done and I am setting it aside for the time being. More paint and a few fix up and away they go as new homes for the birds who might come.

Here is house #1 nearly done.

 

This one will sit on the top of a pole.

Here is #2. It is designed to fit over a 4 x 4 post and be raised and lowered by a pulley system yet to be made.

This one has condos 6 x 6 x 10 inches deep. having read up on more recent data I would build them 7 x 7 x 12 as they have less danger from predators and babies falling out.

Here is a good link to do some reading.

Being a good Purple Martin landlord is a lot of work which I did not anticipate!

 SO this house is designed for the pole to go up through the middle and through the roof as well. There will be 8 condos on each side with quite a bit of space between the doorways. Some sort of shelf will be added in front of each door.

 The Back (or front depending on you view) will be fully removable for cleaning. See some building notes at the end.

I sunk in some double threaded studs from Lee Valley and bought the little cap to turn them in. A good woodworking tip!

The large washer is an auto panel washer and gives good coverage to the wood area around the stud.

More to come. It has been fun building these but now it is time to get back to pen turning when time allows.