NotchLoading plan…
Loading plan…
The bottle is the mechanism, not just a filler — it holds and doles out the birdseed through its own opening, so the floor piece has to be positioned and cut to match your specific bottle rather than to a fixed measurement, and it's worth test-fitting before committing to glue. Small scrap blocks along the bottom edge are what actually keep seed from spilling over the sides as birds feed, so don't skip them even though they're easy to treat as an afterthought.
Cedar is worth the small extra cost over pine here, since this piece lives outside and unfinished cedar resists rot far better than an unfinished softwood would — and a bird feeder is exactly the kind of piece nobody wants to varnish, since a fresh chemical coating right next to a food source isn't something to put near birds.
| Item | Qty |
|---|
| Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" wide, 6 ftA dogeared picket works fine. | 1 each |
| Plastic beverage bottle, 52 ozReused/upcycled — the seed reservoir. | 1 each |
| Exterior self-tapping screws, 1-1/2" | 25 each |
Overall cost: $. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| SidesCedar fence picketCut into a house shape with a jigsaw. | 2 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 16" |
| Roof panelsCedar fence picket | 2 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 8 1/2" |
| FloorCedar fence picketCut a hole to fit your bottle's neck — test-fit before finalizing the cut. | 1 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 9 1/2" |
| Seed lipCedar fence picket | 1 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 5 1/2" |
Buy 1 board at 8 ft.
1 board
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Cut the two sides into house shapes with a jigsaw.
Cut a hole in the floor piece sized to your bottle's neck, then attach the floor to the sides with the hole facing where the bottle will sit. You may need to adjust the floor's position depending on your specific bottle.
Attach the two roof panels together, then attach the assembled roof to the top of the feeder. Attach the seed lip to the bottom of the sides — a small scrap wood piece keeps birdseed from spilling out over the edge.
No reviews yet
Sign in to review this plan or share your build.
No reviews yet. Be the first to build this.