Puppet Props - Cuckoo Clock

I made this Black Forest style Cuckoo Clock for an Oktoberfest-themed puppet show.

The sticks at the bottom are part of the support system.  I split a photo of the clock three times (into 8 equal parts of about 8.5 x 11 inches each) to make it about 22 x 34 inches.  The parts were pasted onto foam-core board, and to counteract curling of the board, blank paper was pasted on the back side.  The shape was cut out and the edges colored brown to hide the white color of the foam core.

A double door 4.5 inches wide and high was cut into the area above the clock face.  The hinge areas were reinforced with clear plastic packing tape.  The cuts for the door were widened a bit to eliminate friction on the door edges.  A puppet bird can push the doors open, and when the bird withdraws, the doors are pulled closed by a weighted string.

Here are two views of the back side:

Popsicle sticks were glued on the back to strengthen some narrow areas.  Two wire hooks with attached wood sticks enable the clock to hang on the top rail of the puppet stage in front of the top curtain.  The big sticks go down between the top curtain and the top script rail, preventing the clock from tipping forward, especially when a puppet bird thrusts its head through the door.  (A script rail holds a row of four open three-ring binders across the 7-foot width of the stage.)

The vertical narrow box between the two big sticks encloses the weights that pull the doors closed.  This box and the foam-core ridges on either side of the two big sticks push the clock away from the top rail and the top curtain so that the top rail and curtain do not interfere with the rise and fall of the weights.  More details on the door-closing mechanism next.

The next views show the doors held open by a tissue box:

Each door has a wire taped to its back side, but extending on the outside about two inches below the door.  A string attached to each wire passes through a grommet hole on one side of the "XII" of the clock face.  These two strings are actually the ends of one loop of string from which the weights hang.  Thus the weights pull equally on both doors, whether one is open or both.

The next view shows a few other details:

You can see the string loop from the grommets going into the box that allow the weights to slide freely without pressure or friction from the stage curtain.  You can also see the heavy wire pieces that anchor the top of one of the wire hooks that hang on the top rail of the puppet stage.  The wire loop that passes through the foam core board is painted brown on the front side.  The colored paper on the back of each door covers the wire that is taped onto the back of the door.

Automatic Garden Watering Systems

For those who might consider how they might reduce the work and worry of keeping their garden watered, I will show here, in words and photos, how our garden is automatically watered. I have installed three kinds of watering systems, and I will discuss the differences. One uses 'soaker' hoses, another drip hoses, and another is a modified drip system running from a rain barrel. The soaker system starts at an outside faucet, with a pressure reducer, timer, and Y connectors:

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The pressure reducer saves wear and tear on the system, and minimizes the flow if there is a breakage or leak. The timer controls how often the water is turned on, when the timing cycle starts, and how long the water will be on each time that it is turned on. There is a manual mode to over-ride the set timing cycle, but if you turn the water on in manual mode and forget to turn the water off, it will tun off automatically after two hours. The timer used a 9 volt battery, which will last one season. Two Y splitters provide two more outlets from the timer. The levers on these Y splitters are valves that can be used to shut off individual outlets when desired. Short sections of standard garden hose lead from each outlet to a soaker hose. In this case, one zig-zags south through the garden on the east side of the house, one winds westward on the north side of the house, and one goes northward under the lawn to the L-shaped fence garden. The underground part is regular garden hose, The line on the north side of the house needs to cross the sidewark at the bottom of the front steps. So the soaker hose on one side connects to regular hose to cross the sidewark, and then back to soaker hose. The hose crossing the sidewalk is painted to blend in with the sidewalk color, and tucked close to the steps so that it is not a tripping hazard. Installing hose underground is easier than you might think. You only need to split the ground open with a straight shovel -- no ditch-digging. Work the shovel down as deep as you can and rock it back and forth to open widen the crack. Make this crack as long as needed to reach your destination. Push the hose down into the crack as far as you can, using a scrap of one-inch lumber or an old broom handle or such. Stomp on each side of the crack to close it up. In a few days the lawn will heal and the path of the hose will be invisible. The next photo shows the texhnique with 1/4-inch drip hose, but it works with garden hose, too.

From Automatic Bird Bath

The soaker hoses are made from recycled tires, and are porous, allowing water to slowly ooze out along the length of the hose. The soaker hoses, available in 25-ft and 50-ft lengths, can be strung in a sequence with a cap on the end of the last one. The next photo shows where the underground hose (orange, at right) ends. It has gone under part of one garden, some lawn, and a peony, and surfaces here, at a cluster of four Y splitters, connecting to five soaker hoses. One curls around the peony, and the other four run in parallel the length of the fence garden: one outside the fence, one under the fence, and two in the wider strip inside the fence.

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The drip system serves two different kinds of gardening: container gardening, and an herb garden in a raised bed. I'll compare them later. The drip system starts with a Y connector, a pressure reducer, and a timer inside the storage/shop area:

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The Y connector provides an extra untimed outlet for filling a watering can for occasional spot watering or other uses. The pressure rducer is especially needed for the drip system, because its parts are not designed for high pressure. (The green hose on the left is used for filling the rain barrel in a dry spell.) The hose from the bottom of the timer goes down and through the wall to the outside. First, it waters the herb garden - sandy soil in a raised bed for good drainage. Then it turns the corner of the house and climbs up the the rear deck to water flowers on the railing. Along the way, lines extend under the decorative stone to reach potted plants.

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The main line is a stiff black hose about the same size as regular garden hose, running behind the trellis behind the herb garden. (The trellis hides an air conditioning compressor and some garbage cans.) Here is a view behind the trellis:

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The main line hugs the wall on the left, and quarter-inch hoses are connected to the main line. A hole is punched in the main line, and a flow-control button is plugged into the hole. You can get buttons for different flow rates such as 0.5, 1, or 2 gallons per hour. For example, at 1 gal/hr, dripping for 4 minutes will deliver about 1 cup of water at a designated spot.

Using a T connector, I joined two buttons to one hose to burrow under the stones and then go through the lattice to the herb bed. After going through the lattice, another T connector divides the flow to reach two drip locations. This pattern is repeated several times along the length of the lattice and herb bed.

How to Make an Automatic Bird Bath

In a previous blog, I briefly described my Automatic Bird Bath, and I will give more details here, especially how to make one.

  

Controlled by a timer, any debris accumulated during the day (fallen from trees or left by birds) is flushed out of the bowl of the bird bath at the end of the day.  I recommend setting the time to late in the evening when it is highly unlikely that a bird will be using it.  We don't want a bird to be suddenly and forcefully swept out while bathing!

The force of the flushing operation will leave the bowl nearly empty; but overnight, the dripper will refill the bowl.  During the day, the dripper will not only make a sound that advertises a source of water for the birds, but will also keep the bowl filled as the sun evaporates the water and as the birds splash some of the water out.

The next photo views the bird bath from the side, labeling some of the parts.  We will detail the hardware parts later.

I have supported the parts with a "shepherd's crook" pole, the kind typically used to support a hanging flower pot.  But the bent "crook" is not used, so any sturdy pole will do.

A bent metal strap is fastened to the pole with U-hooks U1 and U2, and to the hose with U-hooks U3 and U4.  The hose is a sturdy watering hose,  The usual male connector at the end of the hose is removed by cutting the hose with a hack-saw.  Clamp C flattens the end of the hose so that the water comes out as a flat, fan-shaped spray.  Before you adjust the angle and position of the bent metal strap, you should experiment with this fan-shaped spray to find the best angle and position of the hose to sweep out the bowl, tossing some debris into the bowl as part of the test.

The dripper D is just quarter-inch hose, the kind used for drip watering.  The drip hose is fastened to the pole with twist-ties or plastic tape.  The valve V in the photo is used to adjust the drip rate.  You can buy the valve from places that sell drip watering parts.  The part of the drip hose that arches from the pole over the center of the bird bath needs to be stiffened.  I wrapped wire around a wood dowel to make a spiral, which I slipped over the drip hose.  One end of the same wire that was not wrapped around the dowel was wrapped around the pole to anchor the drip hose.  The drip hose should be high enough to give large birds enough room for splashing.  Then bend the stiffened part of the drip hose so that it will drip near the center of the bowl.

The hardware parts are shown in the next diagram.  I bought one-inch wide steel material as thick as a typical steel hinge at a hardware store and cut it to the lengths indicated here.  I bought the U-bolts and small straps used with them as-is at the hardware store.  The U-bolts must be large enough to fit around the watering hose, and this will generally be large enough to fit around the pole.

The long strap must be bent on an angle at its center.  The angle is needed so that the hose can pass by one side of the pole.  To assure yourself of the correct angle, make a 'dummy' strap of cardboard, then hold the hose at the desired angle alongside of the pole, and bend the 'dummy' strap so that one half is parallel to the pole and the other half is parallel to the hose.  Note the angle of the bend (about 50 degrees) and how far it is bent (about 80 degrees).

Use a sturdy vise mounted on a work bench to bend the strap.  Mark the location and angle of the bend, and clamp the strap in the vise with the bend line at the edge of the vice jaws.  Then hit the strap near the bend line with a hammer until it is bent the right amount by your best estimate.  You can adjust this later.

The short strap can be bent by a similar method.  I recommend drilling the holes after bending, as this will make it easier make the holes aligned.  Here it is more important that the bend is centered, so that the two ends will come close together.   So reversing the strap in the vice after partly bending it can help.  Also, because the strap will wrap around a partly flattened hose, we don't want the bend the strap too sharply.  Clamping a big nail or small bolt alongside the strap near the edge of the clamp will promote a 'softer' bend (more like a U, less like a V).  Try how it fits over the end of the hose, flattening the hose, but not so much that water flow is shut off.  Drill a hole through both ends of the strap large enough for a bolt to go through the holes.  The short strap should not be bent too much; the two sides should be about 1/2 inch apart, and it should need the bolt and a nut to pull the strap a little more to make the two sides of the strap parallel on either side of the flattened hose.

Here are the controls.  A Y-connector divides the water supply for the flushing function and for the dripper.

The flushing is controlled by a water timer to turn on at 10 pm so no birds will be flushed out of the bird bath.  Three seconds is sufficient to flush the bird bath, by most water timers cannot be programmed for intervals that short, so it is set for the shortest possible interval (one minute).  When on, the water flows at full pressure.

Drip systems are not designed to operate at full water pressure.  So on the right side of the Y-connector, we have a pressure reducer and an adapter that adapts the 3/4 inch hose hardware to the 1/4 inch drip hose.  You can also insert a flow-control button in the 1/4 inch drip hose line.  These can be bought where drip system parts are sold.

My bird feeders and bird bath are at the back edge of my back lawn, near scrubs and trees, an ideal location because birds want a place that feels safe from predators, at the boundary of a place to hide in foliage (but close enough to look for an opportunity to visit the feeders or bath) and an open area to flee if needed.  Because it is near trees, the bath tends to collect debris from the trees; and because the water supply and controls are near the house, the flush and drip hoses must cross the lawn.

My method of burying a hose under a lawn is fast and simple.  I thrust a flat shovel as deep as I can into the grass, and tilt it forward and back to wedge open a narrow trench, repeating this along a mostly straight line.  Then I push the hose down into the trench as far as I can, using a broom handle or long scrap of 3/4 inch lumber.  Then stepping on either side of the trench pushes the grass back into place, closing the crevice.  Within a week, all evidence of the crevice will disappear.  Winter freezing is not a problem when the water is turned off, because the hose is soft, not rigid like metal pipes.

_____________________

I have acquired 45 patents during my 43-year career, all of which are expired by now.  But in my retirement, I am too lazy to file for a patent for my automatic bird bath.  I know how much work it takes, even with the help of a patent lawyer.  I have preferred to put it in the "public domain" for any one to use.

Not everyone has the tools and muscle to make the straps.  But if you are willing to make these or more parts of my design for others, leave me a comment with your contact information, and I will publish it here.  But I won't get involved with any financial arrangements.

One reader of this blog makes and sells his own patented design, which automatically cleans and refills, but does not include a dripper.  See http://selfcleaningbirdbath.com/ .

Trellis Project

The Situation

When a former owner of my house decided to add an extension at the back, he decided to minimize the cost by using a corrugated plastic material for the side wall of the unfinished space below the new master bedroom.  Over the years, this material became grimy-looking, which became more evident when new siding was put on the house.

The Plan

I didn't want to paint this wall, because the material is translucent, and allows daylight to illuminate the storage and shop area inside.  Instead, I decided to hide the ugly wall and the air-conditioner compressor behind a trellis.  Garbage cans could also be hidden behind the left side of the trellis. This was also an opportunity to make a raised bed for an herb garden.  The trellis would rest on the back edge of the raised bed.  Clematis could also be planted in the raised bed and allowed to climb on the trellis.  Hinged 'gates' at either end of the trellis would allow access to the garbage cans and to the AC compressor.  (The white space at the bottom right of the diagram represents the neighbor's fence.)

Notice that the gates at either end of the trellis are co-linear with the angled ends of the raised bed, both at 45-degree angles.  (The angle of the lawn edge is parallel to this angle on the right side.)  The trellis has five panels: two gates, two wide panels, and one narrow center panel.

Phase One

The first phase was to re-locate the step-stones further away from the house and to re-shape the lawn edge to make two 45-degree turns instead of one 90-degree turn.  The white stones were washed, and new weed-stop fabric was installed under the white stones and step-stones.

Phase Two

The second phase was to build the raised bed for the herb garden, filling the bed (including two feet deep below ground level) with good loam-rich soil mixed with plenty of sand for good drainage.

Phase Three

The last phase was to build the trellis, fastened to the back edge of the raised bed, and kept from tipping over by braces fastened to the bottom of the siding..  Notice that the holes in the trellis are larger at the top and sides. Next, we will describe this phase in more detail.

Pre-assembly

The frames of the various panels were pre-assembled from 2-by-3-inch lumber and painted before the final assembly. There is no pre-assembled frame for the narrow center panel because it is just the space between the two wide panels.  (It only needs top and bottom frame pieces.)

After painting, the vinyl channel strips were screwed onto the wood frames, holding the vinyl trellis panels in place.  The channels are supposed to allow for the expansion and contraction of the vinyl trellis panels due to temperature changes.  But adjusting the channel positions is tricky: Where is the current temperature relative to the minimum and maximum temperatures?

Tip-over Bracing

The trellis is kept from tipping over by braces (made of 3/4-by-2-inch wood) fastened to the top of the trellis and the bottom of the siding on the house, as shown here.

The Center Panel

The center panel only needs top, middle, and bottom horizontal frame pieces, because it shares the vertical pieces of the wide panels on its left and right. These horizontal pieces are fastened on the back side by metal straps with built-in 'nails'.

The Gate Hinges

Each gate is allowed to turn inward by 45 degrees by rip-cutting a 2-by-3-inch piece of lumber on a diagonal, making two 22.5-degree wedges, and adding a wedge to the hinge side of each frame.  This photo also shows the ends of two channel pieces, and the strap fastening one end of a brace.

Each strap hinge is positioned to allow the gate to swing open all the way (180+45 degrees). The straps were too long, so each strap was cut shorter and a new beveled hole added.

Square-angle Bracing

To keep each rectangular panel 'square', that is, with square corners, heavy wires were installed diagonally, anchored by eye-screws, to pull opposite corners toward each other.


Since each gate is supported only on the hinge side, only one diagonal wire was installed, to keep the outer edge from sagging.

The tension of the bracing wires will be more easily adjusted by using a tension adjuster like that shown here.  Left- and right-handed threads enable turning of the joining part to change the tension without turning either end of the device.

Gate Latches

Each gate is held closed by a latch-bar, seen here at the top of the gate.  Lifting the end of the latch bar releases the gate. The latch bars are made of the same material as the bracing bars.

A piece of wedge material is added to the top of each gate, the wide side of the wedge toward the outside.

The latch-bar is notched at the bottom to catch the wedge on the top of the gate, and an eye-screw is positioned on the bottom of the latch-bar to prevent the gate from swinging inward too far.  The bottom of the latch bar is beveled at the end to help ease the latch bar over the wedge on the top of the gate.

Each latch bar crosses a brace bar, and they are fastened at the crossing point by a screw.  The flexibility of the latch bar is used to apply pressure at the notch.  A natural bend in one of the latch bars was used to choose and adjust the position of the latch bar.

 

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A Seed-Catcher for Pole-Mounted Bird Feeders

We have two "shepherd's crook" type poles supporting bird feeders in our yard. The one in the back yard (shown below) provides sunflower seed, and the one on the east side of the house provides nyger seed. I have tried various methods of dealing with the seed hulls and uneaten seed that falls below the feeders, but I think the new seed-catchers that I have designed and built are the best solution. I am providing the design details here for the many other birdwatchers that have pole-mounted feeders.

From Seed Catcher Project

The Problem:

Among the seed hulls that fall to the ground are uneaten seeds or fragments, which attract mice and rats. Also attracted are ground feeders such as pigeons, grackles, and starlings, which because of their mobbing behavior tends to frighten away the more desirable songbirds. A screen a few inches above the ground with a mesh large enough to allow the seed to fall through will deter the ground feeders. But the mesh must be smaller than one inch and the sides also enclosed securely to prevent small birds from being trapped inside. However, to deter rodents from tunneling into the enclosure, the bottom must also be secured. The bottom must also allow rainwater to pass through. Also, there is the problem of how to dispose of the fallen seed when the enclosure becomes full of old seed.

My seed-catcher design solves all of these problems, using two 3-by-5 foot wooden frames that fit on either side of the pole, covering a 6-by-5 foot area. Notches on one side of each frame allow the frames to fit snugly around the pole. Hardware cloth with a half-inch grid covering the top and bottom of each frame allows seed to fall through while excluding ground-feeding birds and rodents. Above the bottom hardware cloth is a sheet of porous plastic that prevents seed from falling through the bottom onto the ground or into a rodent tunnel, but allows rainwater to drain. The fabric/plastic sold as "weed stop" fabric for use under stone or mulch beds works well here. Both hardware cloth and weed-stop fabric are available in 36-inch wide rolls.

At the center front of the pair of frames, extra boards closely spaced will support you when you need to refill the feeders, but old seed can fall between these boards.

To dispose of the old seed, turn each frame over, dumping the old seed onto a tarp or plastic sheet. Then, folding the sheet in half, you can dump the sheet into a waste container. No shoveling or sweeping of the ground is needed.

Materials List:

6 8-foot lengths of "1-by-4" inch lumber (actually 3/4" by 3 1/2")
4 pieces of 36 inch by 5 foot hardware cloth, with 1/2 inch mesh
10 feet of "weed-stop" fabric, 36 inches wide
64 wood screws, 1 1/2 inches long, (1 box, Philips head recommended)
about 150 galvanized staples, 1 inch long (1 box)
about 15 to 20 feet of tape that can stick to plastic and wood.

The "weed-stop" fabric may be called by other names. It is a porous plastic or fabric intended for use under stone beds, paving stones, or mulch to allow rain water to drain while preventing weeds from penetrating.

Cutting list for the six 8-ft lengths of "1-by-4" lumber:

Each line lists the cuts for one 8-ft board:

60" + 34 1/2"
60" + 34 1/2"
29" + 29" + 34 1/2"
29" + 29" + 34 1/2"
24" + 24" + 24" + 24"
24" + 24" + 34 1/2" + 6 3/4" + 6 3/4"

Save two pieces of scrap for temporary use.

The last 34 1/2" piece should be rip-cut in half lengthwise, so that each half will be about 1 3/4" wide.

The two 6 3/4" pieces don't need to be exactly that length. Just cut the remainder in half, and they will be about 6 3/4" each.

Recommended tools:

tape measure
square
carpenter's pencil
circular power saw
1 or 2 corner clamps (holds 2 pieces at right angles)
battery-powered drill
battery-powered screw driver
(two power drill/drivers saves changing bits)
drill bit, size to match shank of screws
hammer
scissors or knife (to cut tape)
tin snips (heavy-duty scissors for sheet metal, to cut hardware cloth)

From Seed Catcher Project

Construction:

All of the following diagrams show edge-on views of the lumber. They are not exactly to scale. (The thickness of the lumber is somewhat exaggerated.)

Predrill holes for all screws using a drill bit that matches the diameter of the solid center of the screw. I hold a screw and the drill bit parallel to each other up to the light to check that the drill bit does not obscure the threads of the screw.

Align two 29" pieces over a 60" piece, supported by the 6 3/4" piece and two scrap pieces as shown, centering the 6 3/4" piece under the 2" gap. Fasten the 29" pieces to the 60" piece with 2 screws on each side of the gap. This makes a 60" side with a notch at the center. If the screws go in too far, they may attach slightly to the 60" piece. If this happens, pry them apart with a screwdriver. Be careful of the protruding screw points when handling; but these points will end up inside the finished frame where they will be harmless. Make two notched sides like this.

From Seed Catcher Project

Next, assemble a basic frame using a notched 60" side, a one-piece 60" side, and two 34 1/2" end pieces. Be sure the notch is facing outward. A corner clamp is useful for holding two pieces together at each corner while drilling and screwing. Use 3 screws at each corner. Make two frames like this.

From Seed Catcher Project

Three 24" pieces are added to each frame to create an area that will support you when you refill the feeders. Space these 4 inches apart (3 3/4" between boards), starting at the notched side. Fasten with 3 screws each. Do two frames as shown.

From Seed Catcher Project

The frames are identical until the pieces shown in blue in the next diagram are added. These narrow pieces come from a 34 1/2" length of 1x4 lumber that is cut in half lengthwise. Orient the frames with the notched sides facing each other as shown. (When pushed together, the two frames will wrap around the pole at the notches.)

First. hold each narrow piece over the side where the 24" pieces are fastened, and copy the spacing onto the narrow piece. Then fasten each narrow piece to the free ends of the 24" pieces at the top of the frame so seed can pass below it. Use one screw for each piece. Last, fasten the ends of each narrow piece to the long sides, using one screw at each end. The frames are now mirror images of each other, and the narrow pieces mark the top side of each frame.

From Seed Catcher Project

Cover the bottom of each frame with a 3 by 5 ft piece of porous "weed-stop" plastic, holding in place with pieces of tape about six inches apart all around. Then cover with a 3 by 5 ft piece of hardware cloth as follows. First, un-roll the hardware cloth so that it is nearly flat, or slightly curled. (I sit with the roll in my lap and push the hardware cloth over my knees, working from side to side and gradually toward the other end, with the semi-flattened part extending away from me.) Anchor one corner of the hardware cloth to one corner of the frame with a screw (a washer on the screw helps), with the hardware cloth curling upward, then stretch out the hardware cloth and anchor the opposite corner in the same manner. Then anchor the remaining two corners. Check that the hardware cloth fits the long sides well; it can over-shoot the short sides at first.

Fasten the hardware cloth along the long sides, except for the corners, using 1-inch staples about six inches apart. (The staples also hold the "weed-stop" plastic in place, so the tape was needed only temporarily.) Next, remove the anchor screws and trim the ends of the hardware cloth with tin snips, cutting next to a parallel wire to avoid making sharp points. Staple the short ends. If any hardware cloth protrudes past the edge of the frame, use a hammer to bend the hardware cloth down over the edge. First angle the hammer to bend it half-way, then make another pass over it to bend it all the way.

Cover the top with only hardware cloth, in the same manner.

My Latest Project -- A Portable Cold Frame

First, if you are not a gardener, you may be asking "What is a cold frame?" A cold frame is something like a miniature greenhouse, typically used to start plants from seed earlier in the season than out in the open, by providing a warmer, more protected environment. If a heater were used to provide warmth, it would be called a hot frame; but a cold frame just captures the heat of the sun through a window, and a simple enclosure helps to retain the warmth.

Sometimes an old window is simply placed over a bottomless box made of boards set on edge, and seeds are planted in the earth enclosed by these boards. But I wanted a portable cold frame that could be placed over a stone walkway, and moved under the deck when not used. Other suburban gardeners, and city gardeners, with limited space, might want to set up such a cold frame on a patio or paved area, and store it elsewhere. perhaps standing on edge, when it is not used. So I'm publishing my design to share it with others -- here in this blog, and in a Picaso web album.

I decided to use deck planking for the sides, because this lumber is generally treated for weather resistance, and use to plastic for the window -- the kind made as a substitute for window glass. I wanted the cold frame big enough to comfortably hold nine seedling trays (in a 3-by-3 arrangement), the kind that you get from greenhouses or gardening stores. That closely matches a 3 by 4 foot window piece.

The bottom of the cold frame is covered with 'hardware cloth', a wire mesh with 1/2-inch spacing, to allow drainage and support for the seedling trays. But that would allow stray dirt to fall through, which is not good if used over a stone or paved walkway or a patio. So 'weed-block' fabric is lain over the hardware cloth. This kind of tough porous fabric is made for use under a bed of loose stones or paving stones to allow drainage while preventing the soil from mingling with the stones, and blocking access to the soil by any seeds that fall among the stones. For the cold frame, we get drainage without allowing soil to fall through.

All my garden areas are automatically watered, controlled by timers, either by porous 'soaker' hoses for the larger areas, or by a drip system for containers and the raised-bed herb garden. So I naturally wanted a watering system for the cold frame. But this is an optional feature; the cold frame can be built without it, and you can water it with a watering can or a hose with a spray attachment.

To make the cold frame portable, it is made of three stacked frames, each one of which is not too heavy to carry. The frames begin as identical units:

From Portable Cold Frame

One of the frames is cut on an angle, like this:

From Portable Cold Frame

Then the parts are rearranged to form this sloped shape, which becomes the top frame, with a sloping window:

From Portable Cold Frame

The bottom of the bottom frame is covered with hardware cloth, held in place with stop moulding (the kind used as a door stop on a door frame):

From Portable Cold Frame

The "weed-block" fabric is stretched over and stapled to a frame of 1/2" x 1/2" moulding, and placed inside the bottom frame:

From Portable Cold Frame

Nine seedling trays fit inside the bottom frame:

From Portable Cold Frame

The middle frame has a vertical piece fastened in each corner that protrudes one inch above and one inch below the middle frame. These verticals lock the middle frame in place to the frames above and below it, like this:

From Portable Cold Frame

(The aluminum rail in the above photo is an optional support for the watering system.)

Two ventilation holes are formed in the rear wall of the top frame by cutting notches in the facing edges of the two planks of the rear wall:

From Portable Cold Frame

A slot is cut across each notch by dropping a circular saw into the plank edge, then a piece of hardware cloth is inserted into the slot, like this:

From Portable Cold Frame

The piece of hardware cloth is captured in place, with no need for fasteners. I like minimalist designs like this.

From Portable Cold Frame

Two vertical pieces hold the two rear planks of the top frame together. These verticals protrude below the top frame, and together with the rear verticals of the middle frame, form hinges. One hinge is show here, as well as one corner of the watering system at the top of the middle frame:

From Portable Cold Frame

The edge of the plastic window is sandwiched between 'stop' moulding (below) and 'ply cap' moulding (above), which are nailed to the top edge of the top frame:

From Portable Cold Frame

The next photo is looking through the top window toward the inside of the front wall of the cold frame. Here we can see a length of 1/2" x 1/2" moulding fastened to the inside of the front edge of the top frame with two screws. Below that are two pivoting pieces of 1/2" x 1/2" moulding fastened to the inside upper front edge of the middle frame with one screw each. The pivot screws are off-center, so that pointing the short end of the shorter pivot piece upward props the top frame open with a 1-inch gap, and using the longer end of the shorter pivot makes a 2-inch gap. Similarly, using the longer pivot piece provides 3-inch and 4-inch gaps when propping open the top frame.

From Portable Cold Frame

A larger prop is used to hold open the cold frame, as shown in the next photo. This also shows the inside painted black, to increase the heat energy absorbed from the sunlight coming through the window.

From Portable Cold Frame

The above photo also shows the watering system attached to the top frame, where it is lifted up when the top frame is lifted. Earlier, I had mounted the watering system on the middle frame, where it needed to hinge separately, and needed a second prop:

From Portable Cold Frame

The watering system is built on an aluminum frame that supports nine spray heads, each centered over one of the seedling trays:

From Portable Cold Frame

The spray heads, hoses, and connectors are made by RainDrip, which calls the spray heads "misters". Here is a close-up of one of the 'misters', and a wire loop that joins two pieces of the aluminum frame:

From Portable Cold Frame

The 'mister' comes mounted on a plastic stake, which I cut short and fasten to the frame by inserting it through an X-shaped hole in the frame. Each 'mister' head emits eight radial streams of water, and can be rotated to adjust the flow, or even to turn it off.

The 'misters' are connected by quarter-inch tubing to a half-inch supply line, which connects to regular garden hose, as shown here:

From Portable Cold Frame

For more details, you can view the entire Picaso web album by clicking on the link under any of the photos above. Also, we give more details of the cold frame design (except for the watering system) next, including:

Dimensions
Shopping list
Cutting lists
Tools needed/suggested
Construction

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Dimensions of the cold frame:

Seedling trays have various designs, but are generally 10 1/2 by 13 1/2 inches, and 3 1/2 inches high. If we allow 11 by 14 inches for each tray, it will allow for some size variation and room for fingers when handling them. So a 3 by 3 configuration of trays will comfortably fit in a 33 by 42 inch space, and a 2 by 4 configuration of trays will fit in a 28 by 44 inch space; and a 33 by 44 inch space will accommodate either configuration. My design adds an extra inch to this.

Width and length: 34 by 45 inches inside, 36 by 47 inches outside.

Inside height is 2 plank-widths plus 1 inch in front, and 4 plank-widths minus 1 inch in back. Some planks are 5 1/2 inches wide; these provide a height of 12 inches in front and 21 inches in back. Allowing 3 1/2 inches for the seed trays and 1 1/2 inches for the watering system, this allows 7 inches of height for seedling growth. Some planks are 5 3/4 inches wide; these provide 1/2 inch more height in front and 1 inch more in back.

For outside height, add the thickness of the "stop" moulding and hardware cloth at the bottom, and the window frame thickness ("stop"and "ply cap" mouldings) on top. This is about an inch.

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Shopping list for the cold frame, not including the watering system:

6 8-foot lengths or 4 12-foot lengths of decking planks, weather-treated; 5 1/2 or 5 3/4 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Choose straight, unwarped pieces.

2 8-foot lengths of "ply cap" moulding
(See photo of mouldings.)

5 8-foot lengths of "stop" moulding

2 8-foot lengths of 1/2" x 1/2" (or close to this) moulding

1 3-foot by 5-foot piece of hardware cloth, with 1/2" grid

1 3-foot by 4-foot piece of plexiglass, or plastic window 'glass'

1 roll of 3-foot wide 'weed block' fabric; black is preferred

1-pound box of 2 1/2" screws

1-pound box of 1 1/2" screws

1 1/4 inch nails, about 32

thin 1 inch nails, about 8

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Cutting list for 4 12-foot lengths of decking planks:

(1) 47 + 47 + 47 inches
(2) 34 + 34 + 28 + 47 inches
(3) 34 + 34 + 47 inches
(4) 34 + 34 + 7 3/4 + 7 3/4 + 12 1/2 + 47 inches

Cutting list for 6 8-foot lengths of decking planks:

(1) 47 + 47 inches
(2) 34 + 34 + 28 inches
(3) 34 + 34 inches
(4) 34 + 34 + 7 3/4 + 7 3/4 + 12 1/2 inches
(5) 47 + 47 inches
(6) 47 + 47 inches

The 7 3/4 and 12 1/2 and 28 inch pieces are cut in half lengthwise.

Mouldings, hardware cloth, and 'weed block' fabric are cut to fit the frames.

About 2 inches is cut off one short side of the plexiglass so that the window overlaps only half of the window frame all around.

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Tools - see photos.

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Construction (Also see photos):

The six 34-inch pieces and six 47-inch pieces are used to make three frames, 34 by 45 inches inside, and 36 by 47 inches outside. Use three 2 1/2 screws at each corner, but for the top frame, mark where the front (long side) will be cut one inch from the bottom edge. Two of the screws need to be centered in this one inch so that no screws will be cut. Clamp each corner joint in position, drill three holes with a drill matching the solid core of the screw, insert the screws so that the heads sink into the wood a bit, then remove the clamps.

Bottom Frame ---

Ihe hardware cloth is probably in a 3 foot wide roll; you will need to unroll a 4 foot section of it and make it approximately flat. Use 1 1/2 inch nails for the following. Lay the hardware cloth over the bottom frame, and begin by nailing down a 36-inch edge of the hardware cloth on a short edge of the bottom frame. Use only enough nails to hold this edge in place. Then stretch it out to reach the other short edge. Cut the hardware cloth to match the length of the bottom frame (47 inches). Cut three pieces of stop moulding to match the width of the bottom frame (36 inches). Nail one of these pieces over each of the short edges of the bottom frame, anchoring the two ends of the hardware cloth. Nail the third piece of stop moulding over the center, from the center of one long side to the center of the other long side. Now cut four pieces of stop moulding to cover the exposed portions of the two long sides of the bottom frame, and nail these in place. This is the bottom of the bottom frame.

Cut four pieces of the 1/2" x 1/2" (or close to this) moulding to make a rectangular frame that will fit inside the bottom frame with a margin of 1/8" all around. Fasten these pieces with two thin 1-inch nails at each corner. Cut a rectangle of 'weed block' fabric that is about 36 by 47 inches. Stretch this fabric over the frame of moulding and staple it to the outer edge of the moulding. Place this inside the bottom frame with the stretched fabric on the hardware cloth and below the frame of moulding.

Middle Frame ---

You should have four small pieces of planking 7 3/4 inches long, with a width one-half the width of a plank. These 'verticals' will be fastened to the long sides of the middle frame, at the inside corners, protruding one inch above and one inch below the frame. (See photos.) Use three 1 1/2 screws for each vertical. Clamp each vertical in position, drill three holes with a drill matching the solid core of the screw, insert the screws so that the heads sink into the wood a bit, then remove the clamp. With a coarse file, taper the outside edges of the protruding parts of each vertical to make it easier to fit the frames together.

Try stacking the frames. If the fit is too tight, try turning one of the frames around, or turning the middle frame up-side-down. If a better fit is found this way, mark the frames to indicate which sides should be aligned. If the fit is still too tight, use the coarse file to remove some wood from the outside edges of some verticals.

While the top frame is stacked on the middle frame, mark on the bottom rear plank of the top frame the location of the inner edges of the rear verticals of the middle frame. This will help to locate the verticals of the top frame.

Top Frame ---

For the top frame, mark where the front (long side) will be cut one inch from the bottom edge. On each side (short side), mark a straight angled line from the center of the top edge to one inch above the bottom of the front corner. First cut each short side on these lines. Then adjust the tilt of the saw blade to match this angle, and cut the long front side lengthwise one inch from the bottom edge.

Ventilation holes

Cut notches for the ventilation holes in the edges of the rear planks of the top frame that will be facing each other. Each notch is 4 inches wide and 1 inch deep. Mark each edge 10 and 14 inches from each rear inside corner, adjust the saw for 1 inch depth, and cut across each mark. Before cutting out the notches, mark the center of the edge across each notch, at least 1 inch past the notch on either side. Then adjust the (circular) saw depth to 2 1/8 inches, and cut a slit in the center of the edge by dropping the saw blade down on the center line. With a general-purpose saw blade, the cut should be wide enough for the hardware cloth to fit. (For a handheld circular saw, you need to lean the front edge of the saw guide on the plank edge, line it up, turn on the saw, and slowly tilt the saw down to a level position.) The center of the saw blade should land over the center of the notch; but to be sure, slide the saw a little to either side of the estimated center position.

Mark the bottom of each notch one inch from the plank edge. Here are two methods of cutting the bottom of each notch:

(1) With a 1/4 inch drill, make holes along the bottom of the notch, including the corners. The holes should be tangent to the line marking the bottom edge of the notch. Use a chisel to break away most of the wood from the notch area, then finish with a rough, then smoother, file.

(2) With a 1/4 inch drill, make holes only at the corners. With a saber saw, cut the bottom edge of the notch from one hole to the other.

Cut two 3 by 5 inch rectangles of hardware cloth, and cut away the four half-inch corners of each piece, as shown in the photos. Make sure that each piece is as flat as possible.

By now, the slit that was cut across each notch is filled with sawdust. Use one of the hardware cloth pieces to scrape out the sawdust. Now insert a hardware cloth piece in each slit of the larger piece of the top frame. The center of the hardware cloth piece should align with the edge of the plank. Now stack the smaller piece of the top frame on top so that its slits fit over the top half of the hardware cloth pieces.

Verticals

While the top frame was stacked on the middle frame, you marked on the bottom rear plank of the top frame the location of the inner edges of the rear verticals of the middle frame. This will now be used to locate the verticals of the top frame. Make a vertical line at each mark, that is, parallel to the corner of the top frame.

You should have two pieces of planking 12 1/2 inches long, with a width one-half the width of a plank. These are the verticals for the top frame. Place each piece alongside one of the vertical lines that you made, on the side of the line away from the corner. The top of each vertical piece should be 1/2 inch below the top rear edge of the top frame, and the bottom should protrude below the top frame. Clamp in place, then fasten each vertical piece with six 1 1/2 inch screws, three screws into each rear plank, and alternating the positions of the screws toward the left and right sides of the vertical. (Drill holes for the screws as before.)

Each side of the top layer of the top frame is a triangular piece that extends from a rear corner toward the center of one side. Line up each of these pieces with the plank below it, and drill a hole for a 2 1/2 inch screw 4 inches back from the pointed end down through the pointed piece into the plank edge below it. Then, holding the pieces in alignment, fasten with a 2 1/2 inch screw in the predrilled hole, sinking the head of the screw into the wood a little.

Window

Cut pieces of 'stop' moulding to go on the top sloping edge of the top frame. To make mitered corners, cut these to overlap at the corners, and hold in place, overlapped at the corners, with two temporary nails on each piece, about 10 inches away from the corners, and only partly hammered down. With a hacksaw or other fine-toothed saw, cut across each corner on an angle from the outside corner to the inside corner through both overlapping pieces. Remove the cut-off scrap, and the moulding will lie flat with mitered edges at each corner. Remove the temporary nails, and re-nail with 1 1/4 inch nails with about 10-inch spacing all around.

Lay the window plastic sheet on the top frame and position so that two or three edges of the plastic overlap half the width of the border of 'stop' moulding. Mark the remaining one or two edges of the plastic where it should be cut so that all edges of the plastic will overlap half the border of moulding. using a grease pencil or crayon and a straight-edge. Then cut the plastic as marked, with a hacksaw blade.

Cut pieces of 'ply cap' moulding to go on the top edge of the top frame. The thicker edges of the 'ply cap' moulding go toward the outside, the stepped side down and the curved side up. Make mitered corners as for the 'stop' moulding, but don't nail permanently.

Put the plastic window on the top frame, overlapping half the width of the frame of 'stop' moulding all around. Then put the 'ply cap' moulding pieces in place so that the thin inner edges lie on top of the window and the thick outer edges lie on the 'stop' moulding and trap the plastic window in place. Nail with small nails, piercing the 'ply cap' moulding at the step edge where it meets the window edge.

Props ---

Here we describe devices for propping open the cold frame, either a little bit for ventilation, or high enough to reach in and work with the contents.

Cut three lengths of the 1/2" by 1/2" moulding, 6, 10, and 13 inches long. The 1 1/2 inch screws can be used with these, but 1 1/4 inches would be better. Fasten the 12 inch piece centered on the inside of the front wall of the top frame, with two screws, 2 inches from each end of the piece. Drill a hole (for a screw) in the 6-inch piece 2 1/2 inches from one end. Drill a hole in the 10-inch piece 4 1/2 inches from one end. On the inside of the front wall of the middle frame, make two holes 1 1/2 inches down from the top edge and 4 inches from the center to the left and right, that is, 8 inches apart.

Screw the 6 and 10-inch pieces to the middle frame using these holes. With these pieces each fastened with one screw each, they can pivot on the screws. When not used, these pieces are horizontal with the longest arms pointing toward the corners of the frame. But one of the four ends of these pieces can be turned upward to prop open the top frame. Depending on which of the four ends is chosen, the top frame will be propped open 1, 2, 3, or 4 inches for varying amounts of ventilation.

Take one of the 28-inch pieces that are half the width of a plank, and cut a notch in each end. Cut each notch by making two cuts into the end 3/4 inch from each edge, and 3/4 inch deep. Draw a line for the bottom of the notch, from the bottom of one cut to the other. Cut out the bottom of the notch by either of the methods described for the notches use for the rear ventilation holes.

This prop is used to hold the cold frame wide open, for working inside. The notches keep it from slipping off the edges of the top and middle frames. When not used, it can be stored inside the bottom frame alongside the front wall, or alongside a side wall if you prefer that.

If you like, you can fasten a handle to the front edge of the top frame.