Christmas Gift idea

Rather than seeking ideas for myself, I just want to share a few things I've made in my shop over the years as gifts at Christmas to friends, neighbors and employees. Perhaps others will join in with their own projects and maybe it'll inspire some of the woodworkers with shops and scrap material to get to sawing.

The first thing I'll mention used some of the smallest pieces of scrap: a tiny birdfeeder. The project involved ripping walnut scraps into 3/16" thick widths, then giving them a swipe across the table sander to smooth up both sides. Thickness was not critical. The base of the feeder was about 1-1/2" long by 1" wide. There were four "posts" supporting a roof made of the same material. The posts were simply more of the 3/16" or so material ripped square and were about 3/4" to 1" long, beveled to a 45 degree angle on one end and the other end square. The roof was a gable-type joined at the peak at a 90 degree angle and there were gable ends. It was a bit longer than the base and each side was around 1" or so wide. The gable ends concealed where the upper part of the posts joined the roof.

The entire thing was held together with drops of glue- there was no joinery or fasteners involved.

The "trick" for this gift was that before I added the post and roof to the base, I drove 4-5 carpet tacks vertically into the platform, or base. The roof sheltered them, once glued in place. I did no finishing of the tiny feeder. (In some European countries, it is called a Bird Platform)

When I boxed it to give as gifts, I added in a card, sealed in an envelope. On the outside was written: Open only after you have tried to guess what this is." Inside was a card saying, "Merry Christmas from Nonny. This is a "Tacks Shelter."

An alternative to the birdfeeder/tax shelter was a mosquito feeder. This was a piece of 1" material (3/4" planed) 3/4" long. It was mounted on a 3/16" dowel, about 5" long and mounted to a base. The piece of wood was mounted as a diamond shape and not as a square shape to the dowel. I then used the very thinnest material I had- usually ripped and then sanded to make a little roof that overlay the upper pieces of the top. A hole was drilled into one of the faces. It, also, was given as a gift to visitors.

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Nonny
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Per request, a photo was posted to the binaries group.

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Nonny

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