{"id":589,"date":"2021-03-03T04:42:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T04:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/?p=589"},"modified":"2021-03-03T04:54:48","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T04:54:48","slug":"unique-bird-feeder-from-upcycled-used-military-ammo-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/03\/unique-bird-feeder-from-upcycled-used-military-ammo-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Unique Bird Feeder From Upcycled Used Military Ammo Box"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1134\" height=\"1512\" src=\"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1200_CRTG_5.56mm_M1071_Marking_Blue_Cartons_Training_Only.jpeg\" alt=\"1200 CRTG 5.56mm M1071 Marking Blue Cartons Training Only Ammo Box Upcycled Bird Feeder\" class=\"wp-image-590\"\/><figcaption>1200 CRTG 5.56mm M1071 Marking Blue Cartons Training Only Ammo Box Upcycled Bird Feeder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I was looking to make a simple low-cost, but unique bird feeder from an ammo box. Some of the reasons for using an ammo box include that it is watertight, will hold a large amount of birdseed, and will be long-lasting due to being made of metal. Also, it is magnetic and the metal can be easily bent once it is cut into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Supplies Needed for the Ammo Box Bird Feeder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Used ammo boxes can be found relatively cheaply at Army Surplus Stores and, of course, online. I used a PA-108 &#8216;Fat Fifty&#8217; (SAW Box), but you could definitely use the very common 50 caliber box here for this project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<center><iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=tf_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=jediwompa-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B07C58GSV2&amp;asins=B07C58GSV2&amp;linkId=57a260448e2339ae714321e50fb4d475&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=false&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\">\n    <\/iframe><iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=tf_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=jediwompa-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B00C2YELAC&amp;asins=B00C2YELAC&amp;linkId=ad27e4d2b26da164c7ecd48875234db8&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=false&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\">\n    <\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, in order to create a perch for the birds to land on, you can take advantage of the metal box by using magnetic hooks like the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=tf_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=jediwompa-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B07W71WJ8C&amp;asins=B07W71WJ8C&amp;linkId=325ddc7a8c14dc54feb5bc4899295aa6&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=false&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\">\n    <\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Then, you&#8217;ll need a couple of small dowel rods to put in the magnetic hooks. I upcycled old flags from the yard that were past their prime to make this an extra patriotic bird feeder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To wrap things up, you&#8217;ll need<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>a block of wood to mount the feeder<\/li><li>screws<\/li><li>a T-Post<\/li><li>a couple of smaller pieces of wood to use as spacers inside the ammo box<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Instructions for Assembling Your Bird Feeder Ammo Box<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First, mark out a &#8220;window&#8221; in the box to make a &#8220;U&#8221; shaped cup about 1&#8243; from the left\/right\/bottom edges of the long sides of the ammo box. Then, make some pilot holes with a drill, so that you can cut out the &#8220;U&#8221; with a metal cutting jigsaw blade. Take a block of wood and clamp it inside the box  at the top of the &#8220;U&#8221; so that you can bend the flap that was cut out inside the box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, you&#8217;ll want to wedge two spacers inside the box the left and right sides of the box with some wood (I used some 3\/4&#8243; MDF). You&#8217;ll want to do this to keep the birdseed from falling out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, take the T-Post and place it in the center of the block of wood you want to mount the box on. I used a piece of 2&#8243;x6&#8243; pressure treated wood. Trace around the T-Post and then drill out the material, so that you can insert the T-Post into the void you create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, fasten the ammo box to the block of wood with some screws. I would suggest drilling a few extra holes to allow rain water to drain out. Then, drive the T-Post into the ground and place the mounted bird feeder on top of the T-Post. DONE!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Ideas for Improvements on this Bird Feeder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This was a quick project and I have been using it for several months with great success. The birds love it! Even so, there are some design flaws that I wanted to list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>be careful how far you bend the flaps in the box. I had a bird get stuck inside it shortly after I put it up.<\/li><li>More water than I would have liked got in the box. I would add several more drain holes to the inside of the ammo box. Also, I may add some sort of overhang on top of the openings to keep the rain out (possibly magnetic HVAC vent deflectors)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In the end, I really enjoy this bird feeder and plan on making one or two more this spring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was looking to make a simple low-cost, but unique bird feeder from an ammo box. Some of the reasons for using an ammo box include that it is watertight, will hold a large amount of birdseed, and will be long-lasting due to being made of metal. Also, it is&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"continue-reading-button\"> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/03\/unique-bird-feeder-from-upcycled-used-military-ammo-box\/\">Continue reading<i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[199],"tags":[408,409,412,413,410,411],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":594,"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions\/594"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kevinmichaelcoy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}