Recycled Patron Bottle Birdfeeder

Patron tequila bottles are beautiful glass, handblown with bubbles, but the squat shape and square bottom makes it a difficult bottle to fuse and slump. Using my trusty tile saw and a few extra items, I made a birdfeeder that doesn’t require a kiln.

Materials needed:

Patron bottle with cork

Cork Borer

Heavy duty wire

weather proof glass glue or silicone

narrow tubing. I used 1/4″ plastic drip irrigation tubing

scissors or razor knife

diamond file

pliers

Step 1.

It’s probably easiest to mark the Patron bottle where you want to cut it before heading to the saw. We want to cut up from the bottom about an inch and a half (4 cm) on a corner and extend the cut about half of the way across each side.

Then we’re going to cut from the top of the bottle to end of each side of the line, to remove an entire corner and create an arched opening.

Step 2.

Saw the bottle. This works best if you cut the line parallel to the bottom first, then cut the sides. Keep the cuts lined up with the saw blade as you switch the bottle around.

Step 3.

File off the sharp edges with the diamond file (under water!), particularly around the arched opening.

Step 4.

Using scissors or a razor knife, slit the tube so you can slip it over the cut edges of the bottle.

I ended up cutting little snips in the outside of the tube so it would curve. The tube provides a perch for little bird feet, as well as protecting from cut edges. Cut the tubing and make sure it fits, then pull front edge back from the bottle and add some glue drops to keep it in place.

Step 5.

The next part needs a cork borer, which is a handy little set of sharpened tubes with a handle on the ends to cut different sized holes in corks. My set cost around 5 bucks at American Science and Surplus.

I’ve used the smallest size and bored a hole through the cork the long way. Be very careful here, these little tools will also bore a neat hole in your hand! To use them, you place the sharp end against the cork, twist and push slightly.

Step 6.

Add the hanger. I’m using copper coated welding rod, since it’s super stiff and I happened to have it hanging around. Galvanized wire would work here, and I suspect you could even use a stainless picture wire, although the process would be slightly different.

I bent a small spiral in the end of my wire to keep it from slipping out through the hole.

Then slipped it through the hole in the bottom of the cork and made a nice curve on the top.

Step 7.

Glue the cork into the bottle using whatever your favorite flavor of glass glue is. I’m testing out this cement stuff, I’ll let you know how it goes (Update:  I don’t like the DUCO cement, use Silicone or UV Glue). Silicone would work very well here, as would Loctite UV glue.

I should note here that you can add the hanger before or after you glue in the cork, it doesn’t matter a bit. Make sure the glue is completely dry before you add birdseed though.

Step 8.

Add birdseed and hang outside. I have not drilled a drain hole in mine, but if you live in a rainy area, it may be a good idea.

If you want to get really fancy, you can add facial features and use the same design for a planter.  The plants make the tail feathers for the bird.

Related Articles:

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Recycled Wine Bottle Drinking Glasses – Advanced

Cutting a bottle with a tile saw

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