Bird Feeder

• Cut the Front Window and Rear Window to size from a sheet of .093"-thick polycarbonate (Lexan), as shown in the cutting diagram. You can cut this material using an inexpensive scoring cutting tool that’s available where the polycarbonate plastic is sold.
• Sand the cut flat by hand using 120-grit sandpaper.
• Now lay out the hole locations shown in each Window.
• Then, drill the holes using a 1/8" drill bit. Make sure you have the plastic supported on a scrap of wood to prevent bending, which could cause the polycarbonate plastic to crack.

• Position the Front Window and Back Window against the Dividers so that the upper edge of each is flush with the sloped upper end of the Dividers. Use clamps or masking tape to hold the Windows in place at the top of all three and flush with the faces of the outside Dividers. With a sharp pencil or a nail, mark the hole locations on the edges of the Dividers.
• Remove the Windows, and then drill 1/8" pilot holes in each Divider at the marked locations.
• Repeat the process for the other Window. Don’t install the Windows yet, though.

• Now you can attach the Top Cleats to the underside of the feeder Top. This is done by following the same procedure you used to attach the Dividers to the feeder Bottom. Before you attach the Cleats to the Top, though, position them temporarily to ensure that the cleats will slide into place between the two outer Dividers.
• Then, apply glue to one edge of each Top Cleat, clamp it in place, drill pilot holes, and then drive in #10 x 1 1/2" exterior pan-head wood screws.

Since a bird feeder sits outside, your first instinct is probably to add finish to protect it. If you do that, though, you need to make sure the finish won’t be toxic to the birds. That’s one reason we built the feeder from cedar. It can be left unfinished and will hold up to the elements just fine. It will turn gray over time, though. We decided to wipe on a few coats of salad-bowl finish—but only to the outside surfaces, not to the interior areas where birdseed will sit for extended periods. The salad bowl finish will wear away in the elements outdoors, but it’s easy to renew if you should decide to.

• Once the finish dries, if you apply any, you can attach the Windows by driving #10 x 3/4" exterior pan-head wood screws into the pilot holes you drilled in the dividers. After that, all you have to do is slip the top onto your feeder. If you want to mount your feeder on a freestanding post, one great way is to attach a metal pipe flange to the underside of the Bottom, making sur it’s centered.
• Then you can drive a piece of pipe into the ground, and thread the feeder on to it.