How to Build a Mouse Trap Car for Speed
Building a mouse trap car is a fun and educational experience. A mouse trap car is propelled by a string that is wrapped around the rear axle and tied to the spring-loaded bail of the mouse trap. A fast mouse trap car will be very lightweight, have a large rear axle with slightly larger rear wheels and a short mouse trap bail. The trick is to make the drive wheels of the car fast, but not so fast that the rear wheels spin out.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Mouse trap
- 2 6-inch strips of 1/4-inch thick balsa wood
- 4 2-inch diameter round pieces of plywood
- Coat hanger
- 1 4-inch long piece of 1/4-inch diameter wooden dowel
- Epoxy
- Power drill with drill bits
- Pliers
- Wire cutters
Instructions
-
-
1
Remove the bait holder and wire catch from the mouse trap. Cut the wire bail where it meets the base on the side of the trap opposite to where the bail meets the spring. Straighten out the bends in the wire bail with a pair of pliers.
-
2
Cut two straight 4-inch long sections of wire coat hanger with a pair of wire cutters to serve as axles. Cut another short 1/4-inch long piece of coat hanger wire.
-
-
3
Drill a 5/32-inch diameter hole centered 1/4-inch in from one end of the two pieces of balsa wood, and a 9/32-inch hole in from the other ends. Drill a 1/8-inch hole in the center of two of the four round pieces of plywood to serve as front wheels, and a 1/4-inch hole in the center of the other two wheels for rear wheels.
-
4
Place the two balsa rails on edge, and center the mouse trap on the rails with the long sides of the mouse trap flush with the edge of the rails. Glue the mouse trap to the rails with some epoxy.
-
5
Insert the axles through the holes in the two rails (one in the front and one in the back of the car). Glue a wheel onto each end of the two axles.
-
6
Drill a small hole in the center of the rear axle, and glue a 1/4-inch long section of coat hanger into the hole to act as a catch for the drive string. Set the car aside and allow the epoxy to dry completely.
-
7
Cut the protruding wire bail to 3-inches in length. Make a 90-degree bend in the bail 1/2-inch in from the end of the bail.
-
8
Tie a small loop in the end of a piece of string. Attach the other end of the string to the bend in the end of the bail. Adjust the length of the string so that the end of the loop is just short of the rear axle.
-
9
Bend the bail toward the rear of the car. Slip the loop in the string over the wire protrusion in the rear axle, and rotate the rear wheels of the car in reverse, winding the string around the rear axle. Stop winding when the bail is flat against the mouse trap. Hold the bail in place with your hand.
-
10
Place the car onto a flat surface and release the bail. The car should drive forward very quickly.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
To make the car go faster, reduce the differential between the diameter of the rear wheels and the rear axle. If the wheels spin and don't grip, try gluing a rubber band onto each rear wheel.
References
- Photo Credit conceptual - computer criminal cought - mouse in a mouse trap image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
