How to Make a Decorative Wire Birdcage
Creating a decorative wire birdcage is an intricate and enjoyable pastime. Wire bird cages came into vogue as housing for pet birds in the mid-1800s. The delicate designs soon entranced the greater population, and owning a birdcage became a great way to decorate certain rooms in an eclectic manner, with or without a bird. Creating your own birdcage is challenging, but with the right tools and plenty of patience, you can create a beautiful accent for your home in a couple of hours.
Instructions
1
Put on the gardening gloves before handling the wire.
2
Make a 4-by-4-inch square out of one 16-inch wire. Solder the ends together, melting the solder onto the two sides with the gun. Bend the other 16-inch wire and solder it as well. Set one of the squares aside.
3
Lay out five 25-inch, six-gauge wires spaced 1 inch apart, perpendicular to your body. Place one of the squares on top of the wires in the middle so the top and bottom are aligned with the top and bottom wires and the three wires are spaced at 1-inch intervals within the square. Solder the top and bottom wire entirely to the square. Solder the three inside wires to the square where they meet.
4
Repeat the previous step with the other five 25-inch, six-gauge wires, but align them so they are perpendicular to the other wires. Solder them to the square as well.
5
Bend all six-gauge wires upward so they are perpendicular to the square.
6
Measure 4 inches up from the bottom square and make a mark with the pencil on all the six-gauge wires.
7
Place the second square at the 4-inch interval markings so it sits parallel to the bottom square. Solder it to each six-gauge wire where they touch.
8
Bend all the wires inward at a 45-degree angle over the top of the square toward the middle.
9
Twist all the wires together in one hand where they meet in the middle of the square. Continue to twist all the way up to the end of the wires using the pliers if necessary.
10
Bend the twisted wires into a hook shape.
