Bird Feeder
Time involved: An afternoon
Materials:
- 1x8x6'\25 mm x 200 mm x 1800 mm redwood fence board (2 pieces). (You can also use S4S lumber, which is sanded on four sides.)
- 1/4"x6"\60 mm x 150 mm wooden dowel (1)
- 3"\75 mm wood screw (1)
- 2"\50 mm wood screws (21)
- 1 1/4"\30 mm wood screws (2)
- Circular saw
- Drill with 1/4"\6 mm drill bit and 1"\25 mm spade bit
- Wood glue
- Utility Knife
- Ruler
- One 15 lb.\6.8 kg sack of high quality millet. Don't substitute greasy-spoon feed here!
We'll be cutting nine pieces of wood out of our two fence boards, leaving almost no waste. Measure and cut carefully! Consult the illustration for guidance on your cuts.
- Measure 7"\17 cm from the end of one of the fence boards, set the miter on your saw to 45?, and make a beveled cut, as shown.
- Turn the same board over and measure 12 1/2"\32 cm from the tip of the beveled edge, set the miter back to 0, and make a straight cut. Label this piece Front on its longer face, which will be on the inside of the feeder when it is assembled.
- Measure 21 1/2"\54.5 cm from one end of the board and make another cut.
- You should be left with a board that is about 28"\71 cm long. Set your saw's miter to 20? and trim off one edge of the board, preserving as much of its length as you can. Label this piece Back on the face that is slightly longer, which will end up on the inside of the assembled feeder.
- Turn the Back piece over so that you're looking at what will be the outside-facing side. From the non-beveled edge, draw a line about 4"\10 cm long down the center of the board. Put a mark at 3"\7.5 cm and another at 3 1/2"\9 cm.
- Now we'll drill some holes. Place the board on some scrap wood so that the drill bits don't make splinters when they come through the other side. Drill a 1/4"\6 mm hole at the 3"\7.5 cm mark, and use a spade bit to drill a 1"\25 mm hole at the 3 1/2"\9 cm mark. These two holes will overlap to form a single keyhole shape, which the feeder will hang from.
- Take the other fence board and cut off a 2 1/2"\6 cm piece and label it Internal Roof Block. Cut a 3 3/4"\9.5 cm piece and label it Lower Front. Cut a 6"\15 cm piece and label it Bottom. Cut the remaining piece in half-you should end up with two pieces that are each about 29 1/2"\75 cm long. You will cut the sidewalls out of these pieces.
- Enlarge the template provided for the sides of the bird feeder by 500%. Cut it out with a utility knife and ruler, then use a pencil to trace the pattern each piece of board and cut out the sidewalls.
- Okay, let's start assembling. Lay the back down on your work surface with the inside face facing up. Now put the sidewalls into position such that their pointed ends are on the same end of the bird feeder as the keyhole. Making sure the sidewalls are flush to edge of the Back, use three 2"\5 cm wood screws per side to attach the sidewalls to its inside face.
- Using two 2"\5 cm screws per side, attach the Bottom piece to the bottom edges of the sidewalls.
- Attach the Lower Front piece to the lower, front-facing portion on the sidewalls using two 2"\5 cm screws per side.
- Find the piece labeled Internal Ramp. Trim its width from 8"\20 cm to 6"\15 cm so that it so that it measures 6"x7"\15 cm x 17 cm. Now slide it into the bottom of the bird feeder such that the 45? beveled edge is flush against the back wall. Secure it to the back wall using two 2"\50 mm wood screws.
- Find the piece labeled Front. This will form the front wall of the feeder, just above the feeding trough. Lay it across the edges of the sidewalls so that the 45? beveled edge is facing up. This beveled edge should line up with the top edges of the sidewalls to form the opening at the top of the feeder. Make sure everything is flush and attach this piece to the sidewalls using four 2"\50 mm wood screws.
- Find the Internal Roof Block and trim it from 2 1/2"x8"\6 cm x 20 cm to 2 1/2"x6"\6 cm x15 cm.
- Now we're going to mount the Internal Roof Block so that it acts as a stop to keep the Roof from sliding off of the feeder. Lay the bird feeder on its back on a level surface. Find the Roof, lay it flush over the top opening of the feeder, and let it slide down until it touches your work surface. Now, without moving it up or down, slide the roof sideways until the opening of the bird feeder is exposed. Mark the side of the roof where it meets the inside edge of the Front. Transfer this line to the inside of the Roof. Using two 1 1/4"\30 mm screws, mount the Internal Roof Block so that it butts up against this line. It should be centered width-wise and will end up on the inside of the feeder when mounted.
- Use a 2"\50 mm wood screw to secure the upper left-hand corner of the roof panel. You'll unscrew this when it's time to refill.
- Lay the bird feeder on its back again and drill a 1/4"\6 mm hole in the middle of the lower front panel. Drill through the Lower Front panel and Internal Ramp, but don't drill through the rear of the feeder. Make sure this hole is perpendicular to the back face of the feeder so that the landing perch is parallel to the ground when the feeder is mounted.
- Drip some wood glue into the hole and insert the 1/4"\6 mm wooden dowel. This will support even the chubbiest of birdseed enthusiasts.
- Find a sturdy, visible spot outside your window. Screw the 3"\75 mm wood screw into your mounting location and hang the feeder. Fill it with about 15 lbs.\7 kg of quality seed and watch the birds make a beeline to their new hotspot.
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