Wire Bird Table Decor
Introduction: Wire Bird Table Decor
Hii friends...In this instructable I will explain how I made this wire bird with LED on its beak. It's an easy to make craft and doesn't require any power tools or special skills.You can change the design with one of your own.
Supplies
Aluminium or Copper wire(Atleast 0.2mm Diameter)
Cutting Player
LED strip(Any color)
Wood Piece(For stand)
Paint
Insulated copper wire
Tools
Soldering iron
Wood Drill(Not important)
Step 1: Selecting Suitable Design
First step to make this bird is to find a suitable bird drawing.My drawing skills are very poor so I googled some images I searched for single line drawings and there are plenty of design available.I choose this bird design because it was the simplest and easy to draw design.Its better to avoid drawings with sharp points and tight corners because it will be hard to make with thick wire.Complicated designs will be hard to make so choose a simple One as the first project.Once I decided the design I drew it on a paper.My drawing was about 30cm high and 20cm wide which is perfect for a table decor
Step 2: Wire Bird Model Making
Here iam using 2.5mm diameter aluminium wire.You can use any metal wire if it can hold the shape aluminium and copper wire works best because it's easy to bend into shape,it can hold the shape well and it won't break if bend into tight angles.I first made the bird using copper but it was not rigid enough to hold the model straight as soon as I fix it on the stand it starts to bow down because of its own weight.So I choose aluminium.It was 2.5mm thick.To get a rough length of total wire required first place your model drawing on a straight surface and use a thread. Place the thread along the lines of the picture all around and measure the length of the thread to this add 20cm more for the long stand(part below the tail) and a 10 cm more for any adjustments if needed.You can always cut the remaining lenth but you won't be able to attach a piece if you cut the wire too short. 177
130cm wire was needed for my model.Clean the aluminium wire using sand paper before making the model.Next Place the paper which we drew the model on a flat surface and start making the wire bird from the tail.One end of the wire is placed on the start position and start to bend the remaining wire according to the model.Aluminium and wire is easy to bend and doesn't require any tools like cutting players but for the tight corners I used cutting player to make it as tight as possible after bending the tight corner with hand use a cutting player to make it precise.I made some small adjustments like making the wing's a bit more bigger and adding a split to the tail.It took only 10 minutes to complete this step.Finaly starting end of the wire is tied to the ending part using thin copper wire.I tried to solder it on place but I couldn't solder the thicker aluminium wire properly.
Step 3: Stand Making
I actually wanted a wood bark as the stand but I couldn't find a suitable one so i choose this piece of wood.It is 18cm long and 12cm wide.First I removed the wood skin and sanded it lightly.I didn't wanted to make it very smooth,insted I needed all the imperfections as it is but the skin was too soft and deteriorating so I removed it. Slightly sanding with a 150grit paper removed all the soil and soft parts. After that I coated it with two layer of wood sanding sealer this will prevent any further deterioration.To fix the bird on the stand I drilled a small hole.The hole is at 45 degree angle and a small groove is made in the bottom as a continuation to the hole(see pictures) This will secure the model on place and a path to pass the power cable.
Step 4: Adding Lights
I used 5 volt led strip for the light.I didn't needed a long strip so I cut three small pieces from it.You cannot cut led strip from any place,there are soldering points on the strip and you can only cut it from there.Each small piece have three leds on them.I soldered two Wire to each piece sepperatly and soldered all positive Wire together to a point and negative wire to another point(see picture)After this all these LEDs are attached to a small pencil piece using a thread.I tried hot glue for this but the problem was when the LEDs are ON resistors on the strip start to get very hot and it will burn the hot Glu which will make a nasty plastic burning smell.So use a thread or superglue to secure the LEDs on place.Then this piece is put inside a transparent plastic tube. 599