I've been meaning to make a bat box for a while, when this contest popped up I thought it would make a great project and one I could do with just hand tools.

I took the basic plans from this RSPB website, it's a fairly simple one plank build.
I'm lucky enough to live near a very good timber merchant, they carry a large array of rough-sawn wood. I bought 2 x 4000 mm lengths of 150 mm wide x 22 mm thick, the plan is to make one of these bat boxes using only hand tools for this contest then knock out 3 or 4 more using all the tools in my shop.

The only powered tool used in the making of this project was my car to get the wood.

Supplies

1 length of untreated rough-sawn wood 150 mm wide x 1100 mm long x 22 mm thick.
Hand saw
Hand drill
Screwdriver
Tape measure
Square
Sanding block
Stanley knife
6 mm wood chisel
Wood glue
20+ #8 x 50 mm screws
Wood filler
Wood primer
Finish paint

Step 1: 5 Simple Cuts

Making the pieces for the box is fairly simple if you start with a piece of the correct width.

Following the plan from the RSPB layout, the first cut is the trickiest, start by marking out both sides down the length. When making the cuts try to make sure they are as upright (90º) as possible as this will help you get better joints.

Because this is rough-sawn timber after all the parts were cut I sanded down all the edges.

Step 2: Making the Landing Strip

To make the entrance easier for the bats to enter I cut a tiny bat ladder in the backboard.

To do this I scored two lines a few mm deep across the board, I then chiselled this out.

This again was given a quick rub over with the sanding block.

Step 3: Making the Lid

The next step is to make the lid.

I clamped all the parts minus the lid together, then laid the lid won the side outside the backboard this allowed me to mark the angle I needed to plane.

Using a recently sharpened block plane I was able to put the angle on the lid making sure I stuck to the marked angle.
I left the front face of the lid without the angle because this would allow rain water to spill off the front.

Following the same method as cutting the bat ladder I added a lid width slot in the backboard, the lid can be wedged in to this slot to add to the waterproof and draft proof nature of the box.

Step 4: Hand Drill

My first issue was, I don't own a hand drill nor did any of my neighbours.

Good news... my dad had one on his boat... Bad news... It was on his boat, covered in rusty gunk and unused for years, this thing hardly turned so my first hour was spent stripping it, cleaning and giving it a grease.

I really missed my powered drill at this stage, manually drilling holes is a time-consuming task.

With all that said, I used a combo drill and countersink bit to make the 20 fixing holes through the sides and lid.
To make sure I got the fixing holes centred in the receiving piece I marked the wood width by tracing along an off cut.

Step 5: Assembly

The assembly of the box is a simple task.

The only bit that requires some precision is getting the sides in their correct position. Apply plenty of wood glue to the side of the backboard where the side will contact. Line up the top of the side with the bottom of the slot cut for the top, screw in to place. Repeat for the other side.

Apply glue to the front piece and screw it in to place between the sides.

It might be overkill but I decided to scuff up the inside back wall and inner lid, this was aid the grip for the bats.

Glue the lid stop in at the front of the box, make sure you align the top edge of the stop with the top edge of the sides.

Glue and screw the top in to place making sure you put glue the slot cut in to the back board and position the top in the slot.

Step 6: Fill and Sand

Using wood filler I filled all the screw holes and joint gaps.
Leaving it overnight to harden the following day I sanded it all flat.

Before painting it, I drilled 3 mounting holes, two in the top and one underneath in the bat ladder.

Step 7: Undercoat

Being as this is going to be mounted outside in the always beautiful British weather 😉 I decided to paint the box.

I did some research to make sure it was OK (from a bat point of view) to paint the box, most of the information i found was that so long as the inside remains unpainted it's fine to paint.

I masked off the entrance slot with some Frogtape and gave the box two coats of exterior undercoat.

Step 8: Final Coat

Once the undercoat had dried I gave the box it's final spray coat of black satin finish.

I hope this Instructable has given you some ideas and inspiration to make your own bat box. These amazing little creatures need all the help we can give them.
Don't forget the tiny Pipistrelles are the commonest British bats, weighing around 5 grams
(same as a 20p piece). A single pipistrelle can eat 3,000 tiny insects in just one night. More bats = less bugs.

Runner Up in the
Hand Tools Only Challenge

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24 Comments

NEW PEW

11 months ago

Great Instructable! Congrats with being a finalist in the Hand tools only challenge!

snowf7

11 months ago

You have my vote!
Thank-you for your entry. We need bats.
I encourage bats to frequent our property to keep the bugs at bay. We live near a river and have a lot of cedar trees nearby. I have included some information on bats that may put others minds to rest about the exaggerated numbers given to the rabies present in bats. In reality, rabies is present in less than 1/2% of bats.
https://www.batcon.org/article/bats-falsely-blamed...
I built a bat house years ago using a pattern that was supplied by Bats Conservation International. They also have some very good information. My neighbours also made one.
Also check out research by Merlin D. Tuttle and Susan M. Barnard.

snowf7

Reply 11 months ago

Night Swallows
by Vicki Henderson
When I was just a little girl, I said to Dad "What's that?"
He said, "Don't be alarmed my dear, it's just a wee brown bat."
Casting shadows strange and new, it fluttered through the house
With young and untrained eyes, I saw a tiny flying mouse
With childhood awe I watched it do a dive and then it swooped
Like a mid-way roller coaster, oh, how it loop-de-looped!
Continuing with graceful skill it held my youthful gaze
It banked and swung through what must be a fancy unseen maze
Then suddenly it landed on the curtain, way up high
My Dad said, "It must go outside to eat, or it will die."
He gently cupped it in his hands and brought it way down low
I crouched before my father as his hands moved oh so slow
His fingers slowly opened and into his hands I peeked
I gazed upon this creature, as it trembled, clicked and squeaked
"It's much more scared of us," said Dad, "than we are scared of it."
It fluttered from his hands just then and on a chair, it lit
It sat so still upon the chair and blended out of sight
I looked real close and I could see it shaking out of fright
Until it calmed, we let it be. We didn't want it stressed
"We'll let it go outside, "said Dad, "run upstairs and get dressed."
When I returned, I was surprised for it was in Dad's palm
I never would have guessed that it could be so still and calm
It looked around with tiny eyes so gentle and so sweet
There was webbing from its fingers right down to its tiny feet
Reaching with my hands I said, "I want to hold it oh so much."
Dad said, "You cannot hold it. If you're gentle you can touch."
I felt it's back. I felt it's wings, it's fingers and its toes
Its head was just as tiny as my baby brother's nose.
Its fur was soft as soft can be, its eyes were clear and bright
As soft as kid-gloves were the wings that gave its body flight
And now the time had come to let this creature go outside
I begged him and I pleaded, and I maybe even cried
But he explained that we need bats to eat the bugs that bite
There aren't enough bugs in the house. There's lots outside at night
We stepped outside, he left dad's hand in one big swooping arc
Before we knew it, he had vanished somewhere in the dark
I sometimes I see his shadow as he hunts for food outside
He swoops around the back light where the bugs don't know to hide
Most people tend to get upset when bats are in the air
They just don't seem to understand; they're precious, few and rare
When people visit late at night and the bats come from their hollows
We calm our guests with one white lie, we call our bats
NIGHT SWALLOWS
They swoop and dive while catching bugs and no one seems to care
Who's ever heard of swallows getting tangled in your hair?

garrydelf

11 months ago

I'm not sure this is the best design. I see no provision for cleaning or ventilation. Having the flat floor with no access is going to be an issue as there is only a narrow entry/exit. The guano is going to pile up with no way out or way to clean. Check out some of the designs at Bats Conservation International they have a narrow cavity with an open bottom and no restriction.