Cedar barn owl box.

It's all CRT's fault. She posted a live video cam of a nesting pair of owls. Since we have three different species of owls out where I live I decided to build a box and wait to see what happens. I already have a 18' mast next to my house to mount it on. But it will be next weekend before I will have some help getting it hoisted and secured.

If a pair takes up residence I will mount a video camera and stream it on the net.

It's made from red cedar and I split each cedar shake by hand. It's 30" long, 15" wide and 22" high. By the time it was done it ended up weighing 42 lbs.

The "Z" trim on the door is cinnamon wood and will darken up to match in a few days of sun.
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I made the access door to clean it out and take it off to mount a camera box (hopefully).

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I have wire mesh vents to provide cooling. The mesh will keep other birds from trying to nest in it.

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Wow, I want you to build a house for me.....not a nest box but a real house!

You are so impressive, Brent.

Thanks! The box has $27 worth of cedar so a house would be a bit spendy.

Beautiful. You are a true craftsman

Wow Brent!

That is really beautiful!

You did a magnificent job.

Can't wait to see what happens.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Cindy

This is the one that hangs out right above my shop. Even with machinery running I can hear him/her hooting.

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Brent,

Magnificent! This is even better than I imagined it and I have quite an imagination. You are the master.
I do hope that the owl who hangs out in your yard anyway will move in. BTW, I'm a she. not a he, but that's OK. I have a first name that could be a man or woman. I prefer my online androgynous persona. I am much more interested in discussing issues of interest to all of us rather than concentrating on gender differences.

Chris

LOL! I will remember that.

I do like working with red cedar and it's aromatic oils not only smell great but have a preservative action to. And it has so many colors tones all on the same small piece. I just wish it wasn't so expensive.

On smaller bird houses I just grab some pieces out of the wood shed and mill out my own lumber since it's not the best firewood. It's worth more as lumber.

Really gorgeous work. I'm afraid of saws so woodworking is not in my talents. Knives are a different story though.

HeelerLady,

Do you make knives? Please tell us about it. Excuse me if you talked about it already. Sometimes I have trouble keeping track of what everyone is doing.

Chris

Chris,

No I don't make knives - I know Brent does though. It would be an interesting skill to learn but I don't have the space or tools for that. I learned how to shape horseshoes and draw up clips on those in college. It was rather fun playing with the forge and attempting to shape hot metal (needed to build some upper body to really do it - took me forever).

Didn't say what I meant very clearly - I'm afraid of using power saws but I'll use knives to cut things up.

I only know a few woman that forge/blacksmith but they are top notch artists and do an amazing job. But it is very dirty, smelly and hot work and seems to attract men more then women.

It appeals to my inner Neanderthal which my wife says I do a good job at staying in touch with.