Exploding Outhouse Bank

Grab yourself a 1/4" sheet of plywood. You don't need much, only about 1/2 a sheet. Cut all the pieces for the bank/outhouse. You will need a front door, two sides, backside and an oversize base.

Now the front and back are two different heights, so you need to angle the sides to match the rise. Place the sides in-between the front and back and connect the dots. The angle I found is about 5°.

Then cut some 1/4" & 3/8" diameter dowels for the assembly and function of this bank/outhouse.

Now, I used to make these in bulk for craft shows. So with the help of assembly jigs, you can locate the dowels in the right place. I glue these all in with hot glue. Glue a mousetrap centered on the base. Then glue in dowels that are same length as the trap separated from the sides the width of the plywood. This will create a slot for the sides to stand up in.

One last thing to do is to cut a slot in the top for the coin to drop through. This slot needs to be placed so the coin drops right on the mouse trap trigger plate.

As you can see, the sides have two short 3/8" diameter dowels that are positioned over the spring trap so it will fly open when the trap is sprung. Place the back on which also has a locator dowel to keep the sides from collapsing inward. The front also has such a locator dowel. Now the top has two locator blocks to locate it in place.

Note: Remember the top must line up with mouse trigger plate.

Test your bank/outhouse with a simple coin (I recommend a quarter). Once the coin hits the mouse plate, it will cause the mousetrap to spring the many parts of the outhouse apart.

Tip: To make it more fun to unsuspecting money givers, make sure the outhouse/bank front door points in the direction of the person. When the trap is sprung the parts will fly directly at them. Now that is funny!!!

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