Home modelling is for the birds!!!

[Brian Rupnow]

Maybe that didn't come out quite right, but---This is the first winter goodwife has been home all winter, not out working a contract somewhere. I put up two birdfeed stations for her to watch all the different birds that come to the feeders. (An open weave nylon bag with a big chunk of suet mixed with peanut butter in it.) She has had a lot of enjoyment out of our wide variety of feathered friends, but last week the squirrels discovered the feeders and they were gone in one day. This morning I set out to buy a squirrel proof feeder, and of course, nobody sells the kind that hangs in a tree, only pole mounted ones. So--I bought the plastic domes for an outrageous price, stopped at the hardware store for a couple of eyebolts and big washers, then came home and machined an aluminum endpiece with 5/16" unc thread in it and a cross hole to run a cord thru to make my own hanging squirrel proof feeder. Its amazing how handy it is to have a lathe and milling machine!!!.

 

[Walsheng]

I designed one of those outrageously expensive domes for one of my customers a few years back. Designed the injection mold as well. Some of the reasons they are so expensive is the outrageous cost of the design (thank you very much), the $35,000 cost of the injection mold (made in China, would have been twice that over here) and poly-carbonate at $4.00/lb.

Nice job on the bird-feeder and I have found the domes to work quite well. No more fat and happy squirrels.

Having machines around is quite handy for household repairs and honey-do projects.

John

 

[RonGinger]

No more fat and happy squirrels.

Want to make a bet on that? I have yet to see a bird feeder that a squirrel can't get in to. Remember, the little beggars have all day to sit and study the thing, and in a day or two one will be hanging off the edge of that nice plastic dome eating your peanut butter.

 

[LSEW]

Brian, there is no such thing as a squirrel proof bird feeder. The only thing that can begin to help that problem is a 12 Gage. Even that won't fix the nocturnal pests such as deer and raccoons.

Good luck.
maury

 

[Walsheng]

Want to make a bet on that? I have yet to see a bird feeder that a squirrel can't get in to. Remember, the little beggars have all day to sit and study the thing, and in a day or two one will be hanging off the edge of that nice plastic dome eating your peanut butter.

We prefer to call them "squirrel resistant", just like we gave up on "idiot proof" and went to "idiot resistant."

I have one that works pretty well, it hasn't had a squirrel on it in over 5 years. Unfortunately, it is not son-in-law proof. He ran into it with the snow blower and broke it off or I would have posted a picture. And I'm not going out in two feet of snow to fix it.

John

 

[mygrizzly1022]

Brian

Just don't hang it from a rope.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPsgZTFnOkk

 

[purpleknif]

Squirrels ain't nuttin'' but rats with bushy tails.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Now that, my friends is a WOODPECKER!!! He showed up at one of my feeders this morning, and for those who don't know, that is a pileated woodpecker, and the adult bird (as this one is) is about 17" tall. I am still fighting with squirrels, (the inverted plastic shields stopped them for about half a day). Right now I've got the feed bag hanging on a 36" length of welding wire from a tree branch. The squirrels slide down the wire onto the bag, eat untill I notice and roar at them. Then they try frantically to run back up the welding wire, and after 20 seconds of maddened spinning and getting nowhere they leap off into the snow about five foot below the feeders.

 

[Tciplumber]

Two suggestions...

1. ALWAYS try to incorporate a project for the gentler half that just HAS to be machined. That way, she will think we really do need these cool machines.

2. Try Electricity. Make a ground plane and a hot wire, connect a fence charger to it. Build it in such a way that the gap is large enough that a squirrel will connect the two, but birds can't. Works 24-7.

 

[johnmcc69]

Between the pics of the turkeys you had posted, & now this woodpecker, I'm afraid to see the size of the squirrels up there!
Must be as big as a grown cat...

Great pic!

John

 

[Tonnetto]

If you can get your hands on a 5 gallon plastic water jug (The round type for water bubblers) you have yourself a reasonably cost effective dome. Just cut the top off the size you want. Another option (if you don't worry about lightning strikes) is a large stainless mixing bowl, I found a massive 18" diameter one at Amazon.com for under $20.

 

[mygrizzly1022]

So you think you can out smart them!!!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsuVLsDyln4[/ame]

Bert