My crafting inspiration comes from everywhere and everything. Recently, I was looking through a home decorating magazine. I kept returning to a page that had short slender tower shelves. Now there wasn’t anything particularly decorative about them, they were just plain shelves, but it was their shape that sparked their potential.
A birdhouse tower shelf was envisioned after creating a few sketches, determining measurements and consulting a pile of scrap wood. I designed the shelf as simply as possible, so that what ever wood scrap was available would work and could be painted or remain rustic.
Things Needed:
Scrap wood
Measuring tape
Pencil
Air-compressor nail gun
Drill and door knob hole saw
Scrap plywood or paneling
Note: A table saw, jig saw and miter saw were all used for this project. You may not need them all, depending on the size of scrap wood you have.
Step 1
Cut two side boards for the shelf, 5 1/2-inches wide by 30-inches long. Miter cut the edge of one 5 1/2-inch end on each board, at a 45 degree angle. The mitered edge will accommodate the slant of the birdhouse roof, allowing it to lay flush to the tower.
Step 2
Cut five shelves, 5 1/2-inches square. Cut one roof side 5 1/4-inches wide by 6-inches long. The two roof sides will overlap at the peak, so subtract the thickness of your wood from the other roof side. For example, my wood was a 1/2-inch thick. I cut the other roof side 4 3/4-inches wide by 6 inches long.
Note: The birdhouse front and the back of the shelf will be cut after the shelf has been assembled.
Step 3
Lay the long side boards of the shelf on your work surface, with the long edges beside each other. Stand them on a long edge. The mitered top ends should both be on the same end, with the tapered edges facing out. Separate the long sides and insert one square shelf between the sides, a 1/2-inch from the bottom end. Use an air-compressor nail gun to attach the shelf from the outside of the tower and into the square shelf.
Step 4
Measure 5-inches up from the bottom square shelf. Insert another shelf and attach. Repeat with the three remaining square shelves.
Step 5
Lay the larger roof side on your work surface. Stand a 6-inch edge of the smaller roof on the first, matching to one 6-inch end of the larger roof. With the two pieces together at a 90 degree angle, attach with the nail gun.
Step 6
Stand the tower shelf up. Place the roof on top of the shelf. Line up the back edge even with the tower shelf and allow the front edge to hang over a 1/2-inch. Attach with the nail gun.
Step 7
Measure the interior side dimensions of the upper most shelf for the birdhouse front. Trace the shape onto scrap wood and cut out. Use a doorknob hole saw to cut a hole from the center of the birdhouse front. Insert the front in the shelf, keeping the edges flush with the edge of the tower. Attach with a nail gun.
Step 8
Lay the back of the tower shelf on thin plywood or paneling. Trace the shape of the shelf. Cut the paneling, just inside the traced line. Center the panel on the back of the shelf and attach with a nail gun.
