Simple Bird Feeder

While on vacation over the winter holiday, I noticed that my dog really likes to stare out the window at the birds. We have a Viszla that is very active and loves to chase the birds. Actually, she starts drooling at the potential of catching one. Currently, our deck doesn't attract many of the feathered friends and the trees we've planted are still too small. So I decided to make a bird feeder for the deck that will attract the few remaining birds that have not migrated south for the winter.

This is a simple project for the beginning woodworker. There are a variety of bird feeder designs available on the web but I wanted to try something a little different. Anyway, this is my try at a simple bird feeder.

Tools/Materials

Tools:

Table or Miter Saw
Drill Press & Bits
Nail Gun (optional)
Sander
Tape Measure or Ruler
Pencil

Materials:

Cedar - 1 x 6 by 33 Inches
Cedar - 1 x 4 by 18 Inches
Dowel - 1" Diameter by 25"
Dowel - 1/2" Diameter by 20"
Waterproof Wood Glue
Nails
Wood Screws (#10 x 1.5" Long)
Paint or Stain (optional)

Drawing

You will be building to this drawing. The parts are color coded for easy reference. Note that the size is arbitrary. You can scale this design up or down without any issues.

Bottom

Cut the 1x6 to 8" long. Add holes and countersink as shown for the pillars.

Sides

Cut the sides as shown from a 1x4 or 1x6. Drill holes in the blue side for the perch. You will make 2 of each piece.

Perch

Cut 1/2" diameter dowel to 9.5" long.

Assemble Tray - Step 1

Start by assembling the short sides to the bottom piece. I used glue and a nails for the attachment. Next attach one of the blue sides.

Assemble Tray - Step 2

Slide the perches into the blue side.

Assemble Tray - Step 3

Add the remaining blue side. Again, use glue and nails.

Pillars

Cut a 1" diameter dowel to 6" long. Make 4 of these.

Find Center of Dowel

I used the "The Dowel Center Finder" from BALES to mark the center of the dowels. The simple jig worked great. Once I had the center, I drilled 1" deep holes into one end of the dowel.

After drilling the hole, add a 30 degree chamfer to the other side. Note that this angle will match the roof angle called out in my plans. You can use different angles but note that you must also change the angle on the roof.

I painted the pillars and perch to add a little color to the feeder. The cedar was left untreated.

Add Pillars

The pillars are attached with 1.5" long wood screws and glue. It's a little tricky to match the angle on the roof so you might want to leave these a little loose until you are happy with the fit. I used wood glue along with the screws to keep a tight connection.