http://www.getwoodworking.com September 2019 The Woodworker & Good Woodworking 49
13 I cut a slight recess in the base to accommodate
my large dovetail jaws; this would allow me to
remove the tenon and slightly undercut the base
with a 15mm swept-back bowl gouge
16 Using a bowl gouge, I turned the top to a pleasing shape that would
easily throw the water off – in this case, I chose to mimic a pagoda
19 The bird boxes, all finished and ready for hanging. I’m sure the blue and grey tits will love their new homes
in the garden!14 The offcut I had left for the top of the bird box
was too large, so I parted off the material and made
another base for the next box17 Using a 10mm spindle gouge, I turned a bead and knob for the top; this would
allow the bird box to be drilled to accommodate garden wire for hanging in a tree15 I always part to a dowel section of 12-15mm
and then finish parting using a pull saw. I protect
the teeth of the saw with a piece of material; this
stops them from being broken on the lathe bed,
as if the saw drops down and hits this, the teeth
are very brittle and therefore likely to break18 I finished the top and bottom of the bird box
using a wax finish. An oil finish or external lacquer
could be used to keep the rain off and the top and
bottom sealed with Weather Mate. The finished
articles can be left plain or decorated. I had fun
with the Joe Sonja’s paints. I first painted the boxes
with external black masonry paint, added decoration,
then finally sealed them with a melamine lacquer