My wife bought a new set of pans recently to replace the 20 year old ones which were pretty scratched.

I could not throw them to the bin directly and kept them aside wondering what I could do with them. I already have a bird feeder in the garden made from wires on which you just attach grease/seeds balls but it it open to the rain and therefore the balls get damp. So I got this idea of making a new one using the pans to protect the seeds balls from the rain. Here how I made it with only what I found laying around in my storage.

Supplies

1 large frying pan for the rain protection

2 small pans for bottom rest and water cup

1 threaded rod with washers and nuts

some wood offcuts

double-sided tape

But all of above could be changed according to what you have under hand.

Step 1: Cut the Pans Down

for the 2 smaller pans, I cut off the height down with angle grinder. Beware to have eye protection as metal bits are flying around!

file or sand the edges so they get smooth

Step 2: Drill Through

drill a hole in the center of the large pan which will make the "roof"

In one of the smaller pans, drill a central hole and more holes all around for water drainage.

Step 3: Wood Spacers

to adjust the height between bottom pan and "roof", I prepared some wood dowels that I drilled in the center at the threaded rod diameter (6mm in my case)

Step 4: Assembly

use the threaded rod, washers and bolts to assemble the large pan (roof) and the smaller one.

Step 5: Suspension

I had some metal wire laying around, just enough length for a 3-point suspension. I drilled 3 holes at 120° in the roof pan and used electric blocks to fix the cables together.

I used 2 more blocks to keep a length of wire loose under the roof and by adding a bit of wood dowel, this made an easy roost.

Step 6: Seeds Ball Fixing

for this step, I used a small carabiner that I fixed on centre pole with a bit of rope and hot glue so it does not slip out.

Step 7: Water Pan

The second small pan that I cut down in height will be placed on top of the roof to receive water.

I cut 3 wood blocks to avoid the bolt at the top of the roof. I just fixed them with double sided tape under the pan. This water pan can be removed if required as it is not fixed to the roof.

Step 8: Tree Fixing

I used a metal rod which I drilled through and added a key ring fixed through this hole and receiving 2 of the 3 suspension cables.

2 cables ties to fix the metal rod along a tree branch and job is done. this took me about 2 hours to build and the day after the installation, the birds were already flying around it. The seeds ball is fixed up right under the top and I added some seeds in the bottom plate as well.

Hope this will help our little birds to go through the winter.