Mason Jar Squirrel Feeder

I decided this year I was going to be making Christmas gifts for my friends and family. My neighbor enjoys watching the squirrels play in her yard, so created a squirrel feeder for her back yard. After much thought I came up with 5 different designs. A Boat, a Tractor, A Motorcycle, A Plane, and this project the Train. I hope to post the others as they are made. It has been a while since I posted my last instructable, and I would like to apologise for my absence and thank my followers for being patient.

• What you will need:
  
  Wood
• Jig Saw, table saw, or hand saw
• Mason jar (wide mouth large)
• Screws or nails
• Sand Paper
• Paint

I created some plans, to make assembly easier and I planned out my cuts. I decided to go with a wooden toy train look.

Using a 5 1/2 " x 1 " x 10' board

Measure and mark each board for cutting. You can change the plans as necessary in order to fit your needs.

After measuring cut board A.

Mark board A and saw in half.

You should now have two boards ( A1, A2) These will make up the sides of the cabin.

Take board B and cut a hole to match your Mason Jar. You can measure it by tracing the mouth of the jar. Next cut out the window to your cabin as shown in the diagram. Board B will be the front of the cabin.

After cutting board C it is done. Board C will be the back of the cabin.

Board D is the smoke stack of the train, and it requires a little more attention.

I used the Lid as a stencil to draw perfectly round edges. You can modify your smoke stack to look like any train of your choice.

Board E is the Bottom of the Train.

It needs to be the proper length to fit your Mason Jar and the length can be modified. Cut the corners off the to make the Front of the train. Save one of the corners for later to support the smoke stack.

Board F will be the Roof.

Round cuts G will need six for the wheels

H and I will serve as a decorative front for the Smoke Stack.

You can use screws or nails to assemble your parts. If you have to add a spacer block to support the mason jar you can. On my build, I added a support block and a small triangle to the front to improve the look. The added triangle also held the front smoke stack in place as a wedge. This allows for the front stack to be removed so that the Jar can be take out for refilling feed.

Sand any rough edges from your project and paint. As you can see in the finished product, the front triangle is used to wedge the smoke stack against the mason jar. Sliding the Smoke stack out allows the Jar to be removed for refilling the feeder.