Every now and again, a crazy idea comes together and makes for a worthwhile Den meeting. The “crazy” idea this time? To have my Bear Scouts build a bird feeder as a den project.
The Den isn’t huge- we had 9 boys today at the meeting. But anyone who knows anything about 8-year olds will admit that keeping 9 boys on the same page in the presence of particularly dangerous equipment is not a task to be taken lightly. Fortunately, I had some big help from another Dad in the Den and we got together and came up with a plan of attack to make this an attainable goal, both for the boys and ourselves.
Here’s the model we built over the weekend:
First, the overall goal of the project was for the boys to, as much as was possible for 8-year olds, build the feeder themselves. Secondary goals were to give the some experience with hand tools and the construction process in general.
After building the feeder, the other Dad and I decided to keep the cutting as simple as possible. The ends of the feeder are pentagon shaped with 30 degree and 45 degree angle cuts, so we opted to cut these out ahead of time. That left the top, both roofs pieces and the base as possibilities for the boys to cut themselves. To keep those as simple as possible, we prepped strips of wood cut to finished widths and edge bevels so the boys would only have to cut lengths off of them. So in the end, the boys had to cut out 4 pieces of wood: the base, the top, and both sides of the roof.
In addition to the pentagon shaped end pieces, we also pre-cut the plexiglass sides and some strips that are used to create the edging around the base of the feeder. We also organized the entire construction of the feeder, down to what screws where, what joints get glued, the hook for hanging the feeder, and an opening with a plexiglass lid to refill the feeder.
We never planned on them finishing the entire unit in one meeting- there were too many of them to manage and help through the cutting. Also, we felt it was a chance to show them that it takes time to build something well. The goal for today’s meeting was for all of the boys to cut out the 4 pieces required to build the feeder and to attach the edging to the base. The next meeting we would tackle the actual assembly.
The good news is I was the only one to draw any blood, and I cut myself on my own saw. It was a tiny nick, but appropriate since it isn’t a project until some blood has been spilled.
The better news is all the boys got their pieces cut today and all of them really seemed to enjoy the process. I don’t think more than a couple of them had used a hand saw before, so the other Dad and I did our best to teach them how to work a handsaw. But they all measured their own lengths of wood and generally followed directions and instruction well. Generally, we’d help them get the cut started to the point of a groove they could follow, then we’d let them finish the cut.
As a bonus, they all got to operate a pneumatic pin-nailer. In order to attach the edging to the base, we used glue for a permanent attachment, but used the nailer to hold the pieces in place while the glue set. So we instructed them in how to properly, and safely, operate the nailer. To their credit, they listened well and no one did anything crazy with the tools. I would glue and hold the piece in place and them have the boys use the nailer to pin the piece so it stayed put. They were all impressed with how “strong” the nailer was to shoot the nail in place like it did.
In all, it was a fast and hectic hour-and-a-half. We could only have 4 of them cutting at one time, so there was always someone doing something with a saw. A couple of other parents showed up a little later to help out with supervision and together we kept an eye on things and made sure that no one Scout sat too long waiting for a chance to do some work. When it was over, there was a palpable relief from all the parents involved.
But probably the best news was something I and the other Dad both overheard a couple of the boys say while in the thick of things. They said “This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.”
I agreed.