Twilight Tries...

by Peni Parker

Building a Birdhouse

Hi, everypony, and welcome to another episode of Twilight Tries!

In today’s episode, I’m going to be trying something that I honestly thought I would have tried by now, but haven’t. Something that, at one point, I thought was going to be the very first episode of this vlog, but ended up getting shelved almost indefinitely.

If you watched my anniversary special last episode than you probably know what it is that I’m talking about right now.

That’s right, today I’m going to try…building a birdhouse!

It really is hard to believe that it’s taken me this long to get around to trying to build a birdhouse. Back when I decided to go with trying coffee for the inaugural episode of Twilight Tries I thought for sure that I would do the birdhouse for the second or third episode. But here we are, 32 episodes later and I’m only just now getting to it.

Funny how these things go sometimes, huh?

But anywhoo, building a birdhouse is the name of the game today and I’m pretty excited about it, so let’s take a look at where it is we’ll be building our birdhouse.

If you’ll follow me over here, you’ll see that I’ve set up a small workstation using a few folding tables I had lying around the castle. Over here you’ll see all of the various tools we’ll need for building the birdhouse. We have a hammer, some one inch nails, a tape measurer, a pencil, a pair of safety goggles, and a 36-volt 7-1/4 inch brushless cordless circular saw with brake and aluminum alloy die casting shoe.

Special thanks to Applejack for lending me the saw.

Now over here you’ll see the wood that we’ll be using to make our birdhouse. According to the pony at the home improvement store who helped me pick it out, it’s a plank of cedar. Apparently it’s often used in constructing fences and decks because of how durable it is. She also said it smells really nice when you cut into it.

I mean, if you like the smell of wood.

You’ve probably noticed that there isn’t much wood here, and that’s because I’m just going to be building a very simple birdhouse today. Nothing too fancy since it’s my first time doing this and all.

Also, joining me today will be my number one assistant, Spike!

Say hi, Spike.

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No, Spike, this is different from what I tried building that one Winter Wrap-Up. That time I tried building a bird’s nest, this time I’m trying to build a birdhouse.

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Well it’s my vlog and I say it’s different.

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Look, if you’re going to be that adamant about it than you don’t have to be a part of this episode.

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I appreciate the concern, Spike, but really, I’ll be fine. I’m a grown mare who knows how to handle tools in a responsible manner.

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That was one time, Spike!

And besides, a blowtorch isn’t required for building a birdhouse so that shouldn’t happen again.

Honestly.

But enough chit-chat. Let’s get started, everypony!

Oh, but only after I put on my safety goggles first, because safety always comes first.

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There.

Now we’ll start by measuring the wood 4-1/2 inches from the bottom…mark it with the pencil like so…and then cut along the line we just penciled using the circular saw.

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I just realized that I have no idea how to use this circular saw. In hindsight, I really should have asked Applejack to demonstrate how to use this thing before walking off with it.

Um, I think we’ll just put the circular saw aside and use a regular-old hoof saw instead.

Spike, can you go see if any of our neighbors have a hoof saw we can borrow?

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Great. Thanks, Spi-

Wow, he sure left in a hurry.

I’m guessing he probably wants to find a hoof saw before I change my mind about the circular saw.

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Okay, now that we have a saw I know how to use we can get to cutting!

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Ooh, that does smell pretty nice once you cut into it.

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Geez this takes a while to cut by hoof.

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Ah, there we go! One perfectly square piece of wood!

Now we do the same thing again, but this time we use the piece we just cut to help mark where we cut next.

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There.

Now to cut again.

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Okay, I think I’m starting to get a cramp in my hoof from all of this cutting.

How in the heck do earth ponies like Applejack do this so much?

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Phew.

And there’s our second piece!

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What’s that, Spike?

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Why did I use my hoof to work the saw instead of using my magic?

I…I have no idea. But I think I’m going to start using my magic from here-on-out.

I can’t believe I didn’t think to use my magic earlier.

Alright, so with these two pieces cut, which will be our sides, we’re now going to cut three pieces that are 8-1/2 inches long each. These will be used for the roof and the bottom of our birdhouse.

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Oh yeah, so much easier using magic.

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Aaaaand done!

Now we move on to the front and back pieces. For this part, we’ll measure 4-1/4 inches on one side and 10 inches on the other so that we can create a nice 45 degree line.

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Okay, that looks good.

Now we do the same thing on the other side of the plank so that we create an X.

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Perfect.

So now all we have to do is cut along this X until we get a nice piece with a triangular top.

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And now we use this piece to make a duplicate.

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And voila! We have our front and back pieces.

Now comes the really fun part; assembly!

We’ll start by taking our roof pieces and put them together like so…then grab our hammer and a few nails…and start hammering in some nails like this.

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There we are.

Now we’re going to take our front piece and a side piece and put them together.

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And now we add the other side piece.

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Now we add the back.

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Looking pretty good so far.

Now we just attach the bottom part here.

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And finally we place our roof right on top here and nail it on.

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Aaaaand finished!

I have to say, this really came out nicer than I expected it to, given that this is the first birdhouse I’ve ever built. I’m not much of a handymare so I thought maybe I’d mess something up along the way, but it seems like everything came out rather well.

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What was that, Spike?

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What do you mean ‘how does the bird get inside’? He gets in through the…the…

Oh dear.

Um, it…appears I did mess something up after all. I seem to have forgotten to make an opening for the bird to actually get inside the birdhouse.

How to fix this?

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I suppose I could use my magic to blast a hole in one end to create the opening. It probably wouldn’t be a perfectly round hole, but it should still work fine as an entrance.

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Oh come on, Spike, I have enough control over my magic that I won’t inadvertently blow up the birdhouse.

Sheesh.

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Well I’m going to use my magic anyways, so if you’re that worried about the birdhouse exploding you can stand behind me while I do it.

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Or you can stand all the way out in the hallway. That works too.

Okay, here goes.

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Ha!

See, Spike? The birdhouse didn’t blow up. I was able to control my magic well enough to make a fairly neat-looking opening.

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Two openings? What are you-

Oh.

Yes, I see it now, Spike.

I guess while the focus of my magic was pretty good, the strength of it wasn’t. I mean, I certainly didn’t intend to make an opening at both ends.

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Well look at it this way, Spike; Now the bird will have a front door and a back door.

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Oh like the bird is even going to be cognizant of that, Spike. He’ll have a house, that’s all he’ll care about.

Now let’s go take this thing outside and see what kind of bird is going to occupy it.

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Okay, so as you can see I’ve put the birdhouse on top of this pole in my backyard, and now we’re just waiting for some bird to come by and make it his new home.

So far we haven’t had any birds yet, but I’m sure we’ll see one or two at any moment now.

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There are plenty of birds in Ponyville, Spike. Some are bound to show up at some point.

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Any minute now.

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Any minute now.

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Any…minute now.

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Oh come on!

How is it that not a single bird has come by to check out my birdhouse?!

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Oh ha-ha, Spike. But this is different from the time I built that bird’s nest.

And thank you so much for bringing that up again.

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*SIGH*

Let’s go inside, Spike. It doesn’t look like any birds are going to-

Wait, look! A cardinal just landed on the birdhouse!

Whoo-hoo! I knew some bird would eventually come along and make use of my birdhouse.

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What’s that, Spike?

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He’s WHAT?!

Hey, you, cardinal! That’s a birdhouse, not a bird bathroom!

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Yeah you better fly away!

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Oh for-

Yes, Spike, I realize the similarities between this moment and when I tried building that bird’s nest.

How many times are you going to bring that up?

So I think I’m going to end this episode here and say that this one was kind of a mixed bag. Building the birdhouse was pretty fun and I wouldn’t mind doing it again sometime, but if I do end up doing it again I think maybe I’ll just use the finished birdhouse as a decorative piece inside the castle or something. You know, since the birds can’t seem to tell that it’s not an outhouse.

But as always, thanks for watching, everypony, and I’ll see you next time on Twilight Tries!

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I swear, Spike, if you don’t stop bringing up that bird's nest I’m going to turn the birdhouse into a storage container for your Power Ponies comics.

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Yes I know what that cardinal just did in there!

Author's Note:

If there's something you'd like to see Twilight try, please let me know in the comments!

Comments

[MLPMekarm]

here's something new. though i feel sorry for twi no thanks to that bird.

[TheHardie-Boy]

You’re gonna hate me for this

Twilight tries listening to LB’s debut album

Also, this is featured again

[Onyx Quill]

Grats on getting featured again!

[twidash1993]

Twilight tries playing on Wheel of Fortune.

[Skyblazer9]

I mean, if you like the smell of wood. - When I read that my immediately thought of the scene from Home Improvement where Tim Allen's character tricks Al into sniffing a board of wood that has his sock on it. xD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2K6P8DbluQ

[Peni Parker]

10653801
You're right, I do hate you for that. Totally joking. I could never hate you.

10653816
Thank you.

[kaafan10]

twilight tries building jimmy neutron's inventions

[Opponent]

I’m guessing he probably wants to find a hoof saw before I change my mind about the circular saw.

Also, wow, suprisingly vengeful for something she absolutely deserved.

[ANW]

Twilight tries improv theater.

[Kichi]

Twilight tries... Catching all 151 Pokemon (In a first Gen Game)

Reading the 'Communist Manifesto' with Starlight

[Jedi Wolf]

Twilight tries yoga.

[Serious_Samsung]

Twilight Tries Investing In Stocks.

[WanderingPony]

It's a birdhouse.

A bird outhouse. Cedar is actually commonly used to make outhouses!

[WanderingPony]

We could always do...Twilight tries power tools.

I mean, imagine her trying to help out a Ponyville crew building an apartment on something.

Belt sanders are involved along with accidental horn and hoof polishing.

[Izac45]

Twilight tries gambling

[Eroraf86]

10654282
Just don't let her use a "come to life" spell on the power tools. It was bad enough in "Winter Wrap-up", I don't want to even think about how it would affect a dangerous electrical device.

[MidnightFMare]

Attending a poetry reading with Maud headlining.

[Zubric]

Classic one is try not to laugh Challenge

[Drake Redwing]

Twilight Tries Reading the King in Yellow

[sonicfan05]

Twilight Tries... Playing a Video Game (Classic and/or Modern)
Twilight Tries... Ziplining
Twilight Tries... Eating Chili Pepper or Hot Sauce
Twilight Tries... Lifting Weights
Twilight Tries... Driving a Go Kart
Twilight Tries... Rock Climbing
Twilight Tries... Painting
Twilight Tries... Playing a Musical Instrument
Twilight Tries... Slinky
Twilight Tries... Pranking on Other Ponies
Twilight Tries... Kayaking
Twilight Tries... Legos
Twilight Tries... Watching a "Try Not to Laugh/Cry/Cringe" Videos
Twilight Tries... Watching a Super Bowl Game (New)