Reclaimed pallet bird feeder

Winter is almost upon us and I thought this might be a nice time to put some reclaimed wood pallets to good use. I picked these up a while ago and have been looking for an excuse to use them. Making a bird feeder using reclaimed wood pallets seems like a good idea and I will be able to feed our local wildlife at the same time!

 

 

YOU WILL NEED:

Reclaimed wood pallets, or any reclaimed timber
4 x 40mm cut screws

TOOLS:

Drill / Driver + assorted bits
25mm spade bit
Jigsaw, circular saw or handsaw

HERE'S HOW:

Note: What a surprise to discover that the pallets were made of meranti and not pine. It's unusual to come across pallets made of meranti, which is not quite a hardwood but definitely not as cheap as pine.

1. Make a rectangular base about 250 x 400mm in size. You don't need to be exact with your measurements since we are making a rustic bird feeder. Attach the long sides onto the short sides with two screws at each corner.

2. Cut two centre uprights approximately 250mm in length. Use a 25mm spade bit to drill a hole in each of the centre uprights. The hole can be used for mounting a strip of wire or skewer for putting fruit in the feeder to attract fruit-eating wild birds.

3. The top of each upright is cut at a 45-degree angle for fitting the roof in place. Each upright is screwed to the inside of the frame.

4. Now you can attach the base for the bird feeder. In hindsight, it is probably better to add the base before you attach the uprights. It just makes it a bit easier to work with.

5. Time to add the roof for the bird feeder. I was lucky to have two different widths of timber from the pallet, and these fit perfectly when overlapped to create the roof. 

6. Since my bird feeder is going to be mounted on a length of reclaimed wood from the pallet, I made a box that is screwed to the bottom of the bird feeder and that fits over the top of the support. As an alternative you can add some chains to the sides of your bird feeder and hang in a tree.