Turned Birdhouses,style one

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Hi everyone
Want to post a few pictures of some birdhouses that I turned recently. I turn about six one style then change something like the roof then turn six more etc. Yesterday I took these pictures to post and my camera went south so I won't be able to post another style house for a while. Used cherry, white oak, hickory willow and several others, although not all in these pictures. Used several coats of poly for the finish. This wood is all wet wood so it needs several coats to prevent cracking etc. Mitch

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice variety of bird houses Mitchell! Really like the little guy on the far left! Hope you get your camera figured out as I would like to see the next version you come up with! Nice work!

[Allen Neighbors]

Cheers, Mitch. You did well on the little bird houses! I make them also. I sold quite a few of them to a lady when I was in Fun Valley, CO at the craft show. Do you make these for actual birds? or are they just for hanging.
I make some with the insides sized for Wrens and Sparrows and some for Bluebirds. I just get some limbs out of the wood rack and go to spinning. The poly is a must if they hang in weather.
Good job. Yours are a little more fancy than mine! :D

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Steve Schlumpf
Thank you for the kind words Steve, very much appreciated. That is my favorite too Steve. The size is about right and I like the spiraling I got on it. Can't see it too well but it looks good. Looks like the spiralling on the white oak house to the right of it. Spiraling shows up better in the wet oak. I just got a wild idea for a different kind of birdhouse that might seem a little weird but I am going to give it a try to see what my piers think of it. Later on though. Thanks again. Mitch

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Allen Neighbors
Thank you for the encouraging reply Allen. Nice of you. I was asked if I turn for actual birds and my answer is no. My understanding of sizes for different size birds is determined by the size of the houses opening. A bird will never visit a house to use as his living quarters that is larger than he is. It is a matter of survival for him and his family. They can make do with surprisingly small quarters but this rule of the entrance size is paramount to his decision to live there no matter how fancy or spacious the house is. Sorry for all that Allen but when I get wound up.-------- If you have pictures of your houses could you please post a few for us to enjoy with you? Mitch

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking birdhouses Mitch. Really nice variety. Well done.

[Jon Lanier]

Awfully small birds must be able to live in those.

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Bernie
Thanks buddy.

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Jon Lanier
Thanks Jon but I never had any bird complain to me personally. Mitch

[Don Carter]

Mitch:
Those look great! I have got to learn how to do those.
All the best.

Don

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Don Carter
Thanks Don, you can make these they are easy to make and relaxing while turning.. Start with a fairly small one and experiment. Mitch

[Allen Neighbors]

Mitchell, if I can get it to post, I'll put in a pic of some of them. Sorry that they're just lying on the table, but my photo setup wasn't available at the time of the photo. Four Sweet Gum, One Apricot, and One Bois d'Arc.
That ugly thing at the upper left now hangs in my Son's Carport in East Texas. These were all sized for Wrens with a 1.25" opening, except the little Bois d'Arc in the lower right.

[Jim Kountz]

Do you guys turn these green and go through some sort of drying process or start with dried blanks??

[Allen Neighbors]

Jim, I turned mine from wood in the firewood pile. Some of it was pretty well cured, some of it wasn't. I leave the inside au-naturelle, and put three coats of Marine Varathane Clear Varnish on the outside, so it has a chance to finish drying without cracking. I dry each coat by hanging the piece inside one of my refer kilns with a lightbulb and fan. The coat of varnish will dry overnight, then I use 0000 steel wool and apply the next coat.

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Allen Neighbors
Allen, very nice birdhouses. I like them as far as style , execution, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the excellent attention to detail you exhibit in the excellent finishing of these houses. Congratulations my friend you did them up real well. thanks for posting them for us all to enjoy. Mitch

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Jim Kountz
Jim, thanks for asking, I do all, or most all of my turning with wet wood. Doing the turning wet places a great strain on how I need to finish my turnings. I have to do much more work in order to keep these baby's from splitting and deforming. Soon as they are turned the outside dry's quickly but the inside doesn't dry as fast. If I don't seal right now it will eventually split 3 days maybe. Sealing it wet, it doesn't take as well as on dry wood, so I need to seal sometimes 3 or 4 times. If I get tiny splits on a small turning another trick I found out that works is to seal once then paint the whole part of the turning with yellow glue. When it dry's seal or varnish and nobody will notice it was glued, as long as you seal before you put the glue on first. Never had anyone notice it is glued, even when holding the turning in their hand. After this I have put as many as 10 coats of poly on the turning. Mostly 4 coats though. Jim I am enclosing a picture of a piece of white oak from a tree that was cut down couple hours before I turned this bowl, 5" hign and diameter 4 ". I forgot to seal it for a couple of hours then next morning I noticed a tiny crack that eventually turned into this crack over an inch wide. Wasn't even finished turning the bottom yet. My point here is, if your going to turn wet wood seal it quickly and often or do the DNA and drying method others do. Myself I don't have paitence to wait for wood to dry. Mitch

[Clara Koss]

beautiful birdie houses.... very cute and well done...love the styles....:p

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Clara Koss
Thank you so much Clara and thank you for the reply. Mitch

Clara, I came back to edit this because I think you were replying to allen Neighbors posting of his birdhouses. I thought you were speaking of my bird houses. My apologies to both you and Allen. Mitch