no-solder birdhouse tutorial

i have been asked by several people how i made my no-solder birdhouse in my piece 'the House of Alternate Reality' :)

well ... here's how :)

 

1. i'm starting with a piece of paper becos it's easier to write the measurements, but you can begin straight with a piece of metal.

the measurements can be any numbers. i cut the paper to 65mm x 45mm becos this is the size of the scrap metal i have for the birdhouse later. 

2. divide your metal sheet as such. 10mm off every edge except the top edge which will be the roof of your house. measure 15mm for that.

3. snip off areas as shown on the right sheet

4. this is the scrap brass i have. it's kinda black becos i've tossed it on the kitchen stove to anneal. makes the metal more pliable and easier to shape.

you can see that it's been cut to shape and the edges filed down so it won't be too sharp to handle.

5. and now it's time to fold the house, origami style. you should still have your lines on the metal. i use a flat nose pliers to help fold the metal along to the lines.

6. i shall let the photographs do the talking in the next few steps.

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9. when you're done folding the bottom part of the house, it's now time to complete the roof.

find the center point (in our case since the width is 45mm, then the center point is 22.5mm). mark the center and draw 2 diagonal lines to meet the 'wall' on both sides

10. before you begin folding the roof, make a hole for the bail. i dun have a hole puncher so my method is pretty direct. ice pick, hammer and some brute force ;) 

remember to file down any sharp edges surrounding the hole

11. now you can proceed to fold along the diagonal lines.

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13. in order for the roof to look like it's covering the house, you need to push the roof (from behind) slightly forward so that the 'eaves' sit on either sides of the 'walls'

14. to make a bail from your wire stash, roughly curl one end of a piece of wire (this is a 16g brass wire)

15. push the other end of the wire thru the hole, leaving the curly part inside

16. make a loop and wrap the remaining wire round a couple of times as you would when you make a wrapped loop

17. and you are done!! now all you have to do is to fill it with treasures of all sorts!!