Squirrel Feeder picnic table screw assembly

Screw together, squirrel picnic table feeder. 

The original picnic table feeder is fantastic. Our family loves it. The issue I found was that I had a really difficult time getting it glued together. This was only a minor issue and I was able to work it out, but the glue was messy and left a few imperfections that I wish I could redo . We decided we wanted to make another one and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to make it cleaner to assemble.

In this remix, I have added screw holes to couple with heat set inserts on all of the surfaces. There are two files for the heat set holes on the table supports. One is an M3 by 5D x 8L and the second is an M3 by 5D x 5L  I added both just in case. If enough people requested, I’m more than happy to adjust and make additional insert hole sizes. Be sure to print two of the same support for the table and benches.

The top hole screws are sized for M3 by eight and our counter sunk in so they sit below the surface of the benches and table top. I also added some chamfer to avoid our little squirrel friends getting caught up on the screw holes. 

Credit to the original design, the tolerances and fit were pretty precise. Im not very precise with my heat set abilities so I added a millimeter of additional space to all of the cut outs. It still fits together very snuggly, but it adds a little bit of wiggle room just in case a heat set is not perfectly centered in the holes (or you’re like me and don’t get it inserted flush). The one pictured was done with .75 mm of extra space and I got it together though again was a little bit tight on one screw so I added an additional .25 millimeter making it one in total on all six cut outs.

My particular heat sets were a little weird so I used M3 by 8 mm screws and that was plenty to get them secure though. I’m imagining you could probably get away with six or 10 mm screws depending on how deep your insets allow you to screw Into them. Q

It is very strong and secure and if my math checks out should be able to hold about 20 to 75 squirrels depending on their weight and let’s be honest if you have 20 to 75 squirrels on a single table you’ve got bigger issues. 

I've posted the assembled STL as well though I wouldn't recommend printing as a whole object.

Printed in PETG with four walls and 15% infill. 

Attached are all the STL files, including one showing the fully assembled view, though I wouldn’t recommend printing that as one piece.  The original model says no support needed however I still use them for the bridges on the cut outs. There is a 3MF file attached with the painted supports removing them from the screw holes.

I hope you all enjoy!

Modified to allow for heat set inserts and screw together assembly.