*notcot in nature , 11:53

Laser Challenges #9 + 10: Bird Feeders- 04.27.13

birdfeeder0.jpg This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: The ground rules are: Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!

Laser Challenges #9 and #10 are here! We’ve slipped behind a tiny bit, but the rules still hold that each project goes from idea to post in less than a day… so today we teamed up for a pair of projects that complement and grew off each other. Looking around NOTlabs, i’ve had glass bottles around that are too pretty to throw away, but we also couldn’t figure out what to do with them (other than vases and as “future projects”) ~ including these Aladdin Sake Bottles and the Sofia Coppola Bottles… we also have a yard full of birds, from finches and jays to parrots and hummingbirds and more… so we decided to try turning them into bird feeders, with just laser cut acrylic and paracord. Of course all of this turned into a fun late night experiment playing with finding the perfect curves (and my learning more rhino from shawn), mastering snap fits down to such tiny measurements, and then a late night bird feeder hanging and photoshoot! Shawn’s #9 turns the wine bottle into a beautiful feeder that plays off of the curves so nicely! My #10 plays off of his ideas and takes them one step further with the stacked sake bottles of food and water (yay for the magic of surface tension) which can also be turned into a finches and little birds on top - hummingbirds downstairs set up. Just took the picture above while sitting here waiting to see if the birds come today… but for now, see the process and details of our two bird feeders on the next page!

p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.

It took a bit of experimenting to get our curves and fits laser cut just right… birdfeeder1.jpg

Then, like the Puppy Platter ~ we heated… birdfeeder2.jpg

… then stretched the acrylic for the bases of the feeders. birdfeeder3.jpg

Love the way Shawn incorporated the elegant Sofia Coppola Bottle! birdfeeder8.jpg

… the more the birds eat, the more comes out! birdfeeder9.jpg

birdfeeder10.jpg

Finally! I get to to put these adorable Aladdin Sake Bottles to use! birdfeeder4.jpg

Just like Shawn’s above… the more they eat, the more comes out… birdfeeder5.jpg

And same for the water! But thanks to surface tension, it doesn’t all come flowing out… (even tested this with a straw to make sure) birdfeeder6.jpg

birdfeeder7.jpg

More pics to come perhaps as we try to catch the birds in action!

Lots of action with the bird feeders! But tough to get pics… here’s one… birdfeeding.jpg

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4 Notes

very nice and beautiful. This was a great idea.

----- susan 19.05.13 21:14

Wow, those are beautiful! Would seriously buy a few, where’s the NotShop??

----- The Slapster 05.05.13 17:06

Thanks, Raphael. A big part of the goal was actually to make use of the bottles :)

----- jean/NOTCOT 29.04.13 19:07

Hi folks!
Great work!
I’ve 2 suggestions for your design:
- you could have saved some cutting time & material if you used the same cutting line for the front & rear of your “legs”, since they have the same shape front & rear
- instead of a bottle, you could have laser cut an inverted pyramid or used a cone

----- Raphael 28.04.13 08:41


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