$20 Bird Feeder for $5!

by Anni

7 Materials

I was shopping for new bird feeder and thought I'd take a look at what local discount store had to offer.
My idea was for a type of platform feeder that would allow water drainage and accomodate the Cardinals (the birds, not the team lol). The one I had was homemade (nothing wrong with that!) but it didn't offer drainage and was so open the squirrels kept it empty.
There was one that looked good, but the price was ...well...more than I felt like paying.
So after pondering the design, I shopped around for the items needed.

First I drilled the 1/4" holes in the bottom of both bowls. You may need to jiggle the bit/iron around just a little so the rod goes through easily.Then switch to the 1/8" bit and drill several holes in the bottom of the smaller bowl for drainage. Scrape or cut off any jagged pieces if any.

Sorry I don't have step by step photos. This is my first post EVER! I didn't think of posting until I saw how nice it turned out and how much the Cardinals. Purple Finches, and (unfortunately) Doves liked it.

You can adjust the distance between the bowls to your liking, then tighten the nuts so the bowls are snug on rod. I added the silicone sealant around the nuts on both tops and bottoms of the nuts to prevent coming loose. Also, you can decorate as you choose. The pic below was my second feeder, sold it right after making lol. To help keep out the squirrels. I use Safflower seed in this feeder, squirrels don't seem to like it, YEA!!

Next I added to the threaded rod (in this order)2 of the nuts, one near top and one near the bottom of the rod, a washer, then add large bowl (inverted as in the pic) to the top, small bowl to the bottom, then another washer (top and bottom), and finally the last nut on the bottom and the wing nut to the top (outside bottom of the larger bowl). Cut the length of wire needed for hanging, I wrapped and twisted this around the "wings" of the wing nut, leaving a loop to slip over my shepherd hook.

Supplies needed are listed below. Tools I used were wire cutters, pliers, and drill with 1/4" and 1/8" drill bits. A soldering iron could be used to make the holes instead of a drill. However, please note it will gum up the iron.

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A threaded rod of 15-18" length by 1\4" round (approx. $2) (Orschelyns)
4 metal washers, mine were 1 1/2" with 1/4" hole (sold by the pound, about 25 cents) (Orschelyns)
3 metal nuts that will fit the 1/4" threaded rod (Orschelyns)
1 wing nut that fits the threaded rod, should be at least 1 1/2" wide (Orschelyns)
2 bowls, the one for top needs to be large enough to provide good coverage for the smaller bowl. (Dollar Tree, Love that store!)
Some silicone sealant
Wire for hanging

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4 comments

William on Jun 24, 2016
These are SOOO COOL! The second one is just cute. This is a SAVE! Thanks for sharing.

Like Reply
- Anni on Jun 26, 2016
  William, thank your for kind comments. So glad you enjoyed it!
  
  Like
Cori Widen on Jun 27, 2016
Adorable!!

Like Reply
- Anni on Jun 28, 2016
  Thank you, your comments are encouraging.
  
  Like