The Shea Birding Center

Students

David Babikian
Economics, 2020

Dan DeGroot
EEB, 2019

Isaac Ward
History, 2021

Project Description

Our group used pine wood to make a birdhouse that floats in Lake Carnegie. The material being wood is important to make it resemble nature and to be a familiar surface for birds, and we stained coated it to be sure that it is waterproof. It will be successful if, in the near future, it can attract birds from nearby to use as a dwelling for themselves and still be resistant to squirrels and other animals. It’s also important that it opens for birds but is not so exposed as to be useless. It is meant to resemble the existing Shea Rowing Center, which is the boathouse out of which we (the group members) currently row. Our goal is to make it closely resemble the boathouse without forgoing the practical function of attracting a home for birds of Lake Carnegie. The way we think it would best contribute to our campus is by providing a mechanism for birds to interact more closely with students, like while we are rowing on the lake, thereby allowing students to remember the context of nature in our world. In this small way, we can push students to see the beauty of nature, and aim to make them feel more motivated to interact with and protect nature.

Technical Background

The boathouse model project requires an understanding of the scientific process. It begins in the design phase, where the group constructs architectural designs of the external boathouse based on a compilation of images we have at our disposal. The designs of this project are carried out by cutting the major planks of wood using a jigsaw. The medium size cuts were done using a scroll saw, with predetermined cut lines done with pencil and ruler/measuring tape. For the smaller details and designs, the group uses a device called the X-Carve. This is a brand of CNC (computer numerical control) saw whereby we upload a virtual design of our model, and then the CNC saw cuts details – like windows and doors – according to the design we indicate. This way, the group can insure perfect accuracy rather than if it was to implement those designs by hand.

A second technical part of this project involves waterproofing the boathouse. This is necessary because the model boathouse being created is intended to sit outside, facing weather conditions and susceptible to water. Seeing as wood itself is not perfectly waterproof, an additional component is required. The available options for waterproofing wood are using an oil-based sealant, a water-based wood sealant, or using a stain, but these all have different effects when applied to different types of wood. While stain and water-based sealants are a good adhesive to most woods, neither is well suited to pine when compared to an oil-based primer and water sealant. We applied the oil-based primer and water sealant, and let them dry before putting the actual birdhouse in the water so that it would be most effective.

The final and most complex component of our project is buoyancy. Pine wood has a density of 420 kg/m3, which indicates that it is a medium-density softwood. According to Archimedes’ Principle, the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the displaced water. It relates to this group’s project as we figure out how much of our project will sit below the surface level of the water. Archimedes’ Principle suggests that if we were to place the boathouse directly on the lake, it would sink due to lack of buoyancy or by letting in water. As a result, our group needed to insure that it floats by placing a plank of wood below the birdhouse itself to rest on, supported by flotation devices. We ended up strapping a large number of empty water bottles to the underside of this plank of word to hold air in, so that the weight of the displaced water would decrease and the birdhouse would float on water.

Archimedes’ Principle. https://physics.weber.edu/carroll/archimedes/principle.htm.

NASA. https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-

12/WindTunnel/Activities/buoy_Archimedes.html.

Seely, Oliver. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COMMON WOODS.

http://www5.csudh.edu/oliver/chemdata/woods.htm.

Design Drawings

Fabrication Process

Our fabrication process began with buying the right kind of wood, and we settled on pine for its density and durability. In the first semester, we made a prototype of the birdhouse with MDF, which showed the shortcomings of our designs in the CNC machine and allowed us to improve upon those designs to be more accurate. Our prototype included the tower because it had the elements of the cut door and both windows, and required an initial familiarity with using the different types of saw and driving screws into the wood so we could get more comfortable with materials before cutting into our piece.

In our final project, we measured using the ruler and measuring tape, and labeled with pencil. The group cut wood using the jigsaw for larger pieces and scroll saw for some smaller pieces. We had planned on using the CNC machine, but it broke at a pivotal part in our fabrication process, which severely set us behind in our project and required some game-time decision making. While we had hoped to use the CNC machine for our doors and windows to look better aesthetically, its unavailability led to us ourselves measuring and then using the scroll saw for the doors and sanding down edges using sandpaper, so that no hard edges would have the potential to harm birds going in and out of the birdhouse. The windows were measured and indented slightly by pressing the wood with a file, and then marked over, largely for aesthetic purposes – so that it better resembles the existing boathouse.

The height of the highest point of the bird house (the tower) is 12 inches, the depth of the birdhouse is 24 inches, and its length is 37 inches. The doors are three inches wide at the base, and lead into a closed indoor area safe from weather. A regularly sized orange is included in the pictures for a size reference. With these dimensions, it is likely to attract the size and type of bird common on the lake.

While in the photograph, the birdhouse is placed in the middle of the lake, its final home is to be nestled among secure logs already along the shoreline of the lake so that its location does not move around.

Students

Project Description

Technical Background

Design Drawings

Fabrication Process

Final Result