Pigeon House for 20 Birds: Swastika Compartments, Sliding Shutters and a Gable Roof on a Post (Boy Mechanic, 1919)

"The house described will accommodate 20 pigeons, and additional stories of the same type may be added to provide for more."

Make floor and ceiling alike, 36 in square of boards on cleats screwed on (or nails clinched), each with an accurate 4 in square centre hole (Fig. 1). Cut the post 6 in square, about 9 ft long, with a 4 in square shoulder at the top to fit the holes (Fig. 2); cut the notches for the ridge and centre rafters only when the roof boards are ready.

Make four each of the pieces A, B and C, 9 in high of 1 in stuff, exactly to Figs. 4 and 5 (A/B legs 13-1/2 and 7 in, C 7-1/8 in). Mark 4 in from one end of each A, pair the pieces with the line even with the end of the other and nail, then fit the pairs into a 4 in square at the centre. Fit each C to a B at an angle, trim the corners, nail, and nail B-C to the ends of A to complete the pattern (Fig. 3). Fix it over the floor hole with nails or screws through the floor, and nail two strips exactly 4-1/2 in long beside each opening to guide the slides. Fix the ceiling on top, cleats up, with its strips the same way.

Build fixed screens (17-3/4 by 9 in) and doors (16-1/2 by 8-3/4 in) of 1/2 in wood with 1/2 in square-mesh wire grating fixed between the pieces; screens stand 1/4 in higher than the doors and are fastened between ceiling and floor as braces. Hang the doors on combination strap hinges bent over the baseboard (or butts covered by it) with catches and chains; nail on 2-1/2 in baseboards. Make each slide of three pieces so it will not warp: a 7-3/4 in main piece with 1/2 in square strips on the ends (8-3/4 by 5-1/2 in), with a band-iron handle drilled for screws.

Build the plate of pieces 3 in wide, 1/4 in larger inside than the ceiling so it fits snugly over it, with halved corners nailed both ways (Fig. 10). Lay out the end rafters full size on paper or a board, fit them first, then the others and the ridge. Nail rough boards 1/2 in apart, projecting 2 in past the plate ends, with a 1/2 in strip over their ends, and shingle or cover with tar paper. Nail a 1 in strip under each roof end and fit the gables, one with a door, the other with a screened opening the same size.

Set the post, put the lower story over its shoulder, cut the post-top notches to the ridge and centre rafters and seat the roof story on the lower one. The roof story lifts off for cleaning; for added stories put a post at each corner.

From "A Pigeon House" by Robert Baker, in **The Boy Mechanic, Book 3**, Popular Mechanics, 1919 (Project Gutenberg 71856; checked on the archive.org scan boymechanic0003unse, pp. 403-405). The text calls the post about 9 ft; Fig. 2 marks 8 ft 3 in, 18 in and 3 in. The tools and metric figures are ours.