How to Make Metal Cornstalk Bird Feeders

If you like watching "...all the happy creatures dancin' on the lawn..." and know how to use a power drill and a 110-volt gasless MIG welder, you can make a metal cornstalk bird feeder in 30 to 60 minutes. Birds, squirrels and deer will give you hours of entertainment as they strip field corn kernels from the cobs; just pop a new cob onto each spike every time you want an encore performance.

1-inch-diameter black steel pipe, 8 feet long
Yardstick
Soapstone marker
Wrap-around eye protection
Welding helmet
Ear protection
NIOSH-approved respirator
Full leathers, including gloves
110-volt gasless MIG welder
1 box 8-inch long, non-galvanized gutter screws
1 piece 48-by-60-inch, 18-gauge weldable sheet steel
Sheet metal cutters
Bench grinder
Coarse grinding wheel
8 ears dried feed corn

Instructions

- 1
  Lay the black steel pipe on a flat work surface. Turn the pipe so that its long side faces you and its ends are to your left and right.
- 2
  Lay the yardstick along the length of the black steel pipe. Mark the pipe 8 inches from the left end, and give the pipe a quarter-turn.
- 3
  Make additional marks every 8 inches, giving the pipe a quarter-turn after each one. Stop marking 24 inches from the right end.
- 4
  Don both wraparound eye protection and your welding helmet, a NIOSH-approved respirator and full leathers, including gloves.
- 5
  Weld the gutter screws points-out along the black steel pipe at the marked positions, at a 30-degree angle.
- 6
  Weld four gutter screws points-up, on top of the black steel pipe, at 30-degree angles to the pipe.
- 7
  Cut the sheet steel into 4-inch-wide strips, 24 inches long. Cut one end of each strip to a point to create a feather-like leaf shape.
- 8
  Grind away any burrs along all the cut edges of each leaf.
- 9
  Bend each leaf in half lengthwise and reopen it. Bend one-third of each leaf to fit around the pipe, beginning at the base.
- 10
  Weld each leaf 2 inches below each gutter crew on the pipe. Bend each leaf into a more natural shape once the welds have cooler for at least two hours.
- 11
  Put an ear of dried field corn on each gutter screw and stick the pipe in the ground at least 24 inches.

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