How to create an up-cycled bird feeder
  • Difficulty
    Medium

Introduction

You can tell it is springtime now as birds begin to migrate back in your area. Attract birds into your backyard after their long flight by creating an up-cycled bird feeder!

You need
Step17

Step 1

Use all of the Carbide Teeth to remove the nail or staple
Remove the lid of the wine box
Easily remove any staples or nails remaining
Set your speed to 10 and set your accessory flush to your crate
Use all of the Carbide Teeth to remove the nail or staple
Remove the lid of the wine box

You need:

Using a screwdriver, gently remove the lid of the wine box. Reserve the lid pieces later as you'll re-use them as a shelf. If you notice any staples or nails remaining, you can easily remove them without damaging the box by cutting them off with a Multi-Max tool and the NEW Dremel Carbide Blade. This blade has high-performance carbide teeth which can cut hard materials easier than ever before. Mount your QuickFit accessory onto your Multi-Max tool & plug your tool in. Set your speed to 10 and set your accessory flush to your crate. Working the tool side to side, use all of the Carbide Teeth to remove the nail or staple.

Step27

Step 2

Saw wood
Draw on wood
Saw wood
Draw on wood

You need:

Next, we created shelves to support the wine bottle feeders inside of the box. Measure the interior of the box to determine the width of the shelf. Mark your line of cut. Here, we are re-using a plank from the top of the box that we removed in step 1. Clamp your plank to your workbench and use a Dremel Saw-Max tool to cut along your marked line. To do this, mount a SM500 Wood and Plastic wheel onto your SM20. Plug the tool in and follow the notch at the front of the tool to match your cut with your marked line.

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Step 3

Dremel multimax
Draw line
Dremel multimax
Draw line

You need:

Next, mark the center of the areas that you wish for your bottle feeders to fit through. Making circular cuts with the Dremel 4200 is easy, especially when using the Circle-Cutting Guide included in your kit. First, create a pilot hole on the center mark you made in the last step. Then, Pull back the levers on the 4200, insert the 561 Multipurpose Cutting Bit, secure the levers forward on the accessory. Set your tool to high speed and make a plunge cut into the mark you have just made.

Step47

Step 4

Intesert circle size
Trace circle
Measure circle
Intesert circle size
Trace circle

You need:

For extra accuracy, mark your circular line of cut you'll need to make around that initial plunge. Measure the width of the neck of your wine bottle. Adjust your circle cutter to match the width of your bottle neck. Our bottle neck was about 1" across. We used the same 561 bit, mounted the Circle Cutter onto our tool, set the diameter to 1-1/2" and began cutting at full speed. Cut in a clockwise direction using consistent, moderate pressure. Repeat this action to complete both circular cuts for your wine bottles. Tip: To assemble the Circle Cutter Guide, unscrew the pivot foot knob and turn the pivot foot over so that the center point is down. Next, remove the nosecap of the 4200 tool then thread the Guide onto the threaded portion of the tool, turning clockwise until tight (do not over-tighten)

Step57

Step 5

Dremel multimax cutting

You need:

Next you'll need to create supports for the shelf you've just worked on. We made our supports out of extra scrap from the top. Measure and mark two 2" lengths of board from the lid. Using your Saw-Max Tool equipped with the SM500 wheel, cut along your marked lines.

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Step 6

Final inside
Hammer in nails
Final inside
Hammer in nails

You need:

Using wood glue, secure the supports into place and let them set (up to 6 hours). Next, secure your shelf into place. You can use screws, however we opted to use a hammer and finishing nails to prevent any possible splintering of our shelf.

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Step 7

Circles on top
Dremel multimax
Circles on top
Dremel multimax

You need:

To add a finishing touch, we decided to drop in two small flower pots into the top of our birdhouse. To create the circular cut-outs for the pots, use the same method as step 4, adjusting the Circle Guide to the same width as your pots. Secure your feeder into place. Here, we used a series of screws to secure it to our porch post. Before setting your pots into place, we recommend first inserting your feed bottles. We washed and re-used our empty wine bottles, and filled them 3/4 full of feed. Cover the lid with cloth and flip them upside-down into their respective holes. Remove the cloth from the bottle tops, place your plants into the top holders and and there you have it! An up-cycled gravity feeder.


Warning

To reduce the risk of injury user must read instruction manuals for all tools used in this project. Wear eye and respiratory protection. Use clamps to support work piece whenever practical.