Wooden Bird Feeder Plans

Wooden bird feeder plans - these easy-to-make free bird feeder plans can make building your bird feeder a simple project. I made this wooden bird feeder exclusively from old fence boards, so the only cost was a few nails and screws and a 24-inch length of 3/32" diameter Galvanized Wire Rope.

Using old fence boards and other scrap materials for projects like this helps keep the landfills free of craft supplies.

I used a table saw to rip the base parts and a miter saw to cut the pieces to length, but you can use a circular saw, or even a hand saw, to do both if you don't have access to the other tools.

Here's the material list:

Part Name	Size	Quantity

Base	6-1/2 x 8-1/2 x 3/4	1
Base Frame (sides)	1-3/4 x 10 x 3/4	2
Base Frame (ends)	1-3/4 x 8 x 3/4	2
Uprights	8 x 4 x 3/4	2
Porches	2-1/2 x 4 x 3/4	2
Main Roof	5 x 14 x 3/4	2
Roof Cap (Optional)	2-1/2 x 14 x 3/4	1
Galvanized Finish Nails	8d	Small Box
Coated Deck Screws	1-5/8"	Small Box
Galvanized Wire Rope	3/32" Diameter	24" (+/-)
Ferrule & Stop Set	3/32"	1 Set

Wooden Bird Feeder Plans

First, cut the base and frame parts and assemble them as shown in the drawings using galvanized finish nails. You can either miter the joints, like in the diagram above, or butt-joint the pieces, as shown below.

Cut the two identical 8-inch long uprights from a 4-inch wide 1x4 fence board. Measure from the bottom of each side 7 inches and make a mark. Find the center of the 1x4 (should be two inches from each side) and make a mark at the top. Draw a line that connects the top center mark with the 7" mark on each side of the upright; these lines make the roof slope. Cut off the two corners.

From the center of the 1x4, measure up 6 inches from the bottom of the board and make a mark in the center. This mark is the center of the 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" entrance hole. Drill the hole with a paddle bit or hole saw bit. Perform the same steps on the remaining upright.

Cut the two "porch" pieces and attach them to the base of each upright with galvanized nails and wood glue.

Attach the two uprights (with the porches attached) to each end of the framed base using a combination of wood glue and 1-5/8" screws.

Cut the two main roof sections to the dimensions indicated, beveling one long edge of each piece **26.6 degrees.

** I used the Roof Pitch Calculator to determine the pitch and angle of the roof based on a 1-inch rise and a 2-inch run. The roof pitch calculator even works on small projects!

Cut the remaining pieces of the bird feeder and assemble them as shown in the drawings using galvanized finish nails or screws.

To hang the bird feeder:

Drill two 1/8" holes through the center of the roof between two roof supports.
Cut a piece of wound cable about two feet long and thread each end into the roof holes.
Crimp two aluminum stops on each end on the underside of the roof and pull up the slack on top of the roof.