As a British plumber working in the late 1800s, Thomas Crapper (no joke, that’s his name) probably knew that people were loath to speak of such delicacies as bathrooms and toilets. But Crapper nonetheless excelled in his craft, coming up with ways to make modern plumbing—especially the flush toilet—work smoothly and reliably. Thanks to him, we have the humble but genius floating ballcock—the device in your toilet and other water tanks that prevents overfilling. Part of the ballcock is the round, hollow “float.” You can find surprisingly elegant ones for a few bucks in the plumbing section of your hardware store. The prettiest ones are fluted copper and add a handsome Art Deco aesthetic to the innards of your toilets. But why hide it away? Since the float is hollow, we think it makes a great bird feeder. Just snip an opening, add a sturdy perch, and finish with a braid of twine.

Make this project!:
Plumb-Good Feeder