BUILD A BETTER MOUSETRAP
There's more than one way to nab a mouse, as our two simple (and humane) traps prove, including the wooden cell, can trap, diagrams, construction directions.
Issue # 078 - November/December 1982
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WOODEN CELL
This "Old World" model is based on a Danish design . . and—although it fairly screams "Rube Goldberg"—it's functional (and even sort of fascinating).
To make it, you'll need an all-wire coat hanger . . . a strip of pine measuring 1/4" X 2-1/2" X 54" . . . another scrap of softwood with 3/4" X 1-1/4" X 4" dimensions . . . about two dozen 16-gauge, 5/8" wire brads . . . and a 3-penny finishing nail. The only tools required are a coping saw, a ruler, a hammer, a nail set, a pair of wire cutters, and a drill with an assortment of bits.
Begin by cutting up your 1/4" plank to produce the pieces called for in the illustration. Once you've done so, use a No. 48 bit to drill lines of holes—keeping the individual bores about 5/16" apart—with each series parallel to and 1/4 inch from one of the short ends of the 1/4" X 2-1/2" X 9-1/4" and the 1/4" X 1-1/2" X 2-1/8" X 5" panels . . . and drill yet another hole through each of the latter parts, at a point 1 inch from the straight edge and 3-1/4 inches from the wide end. (To keep the openings lined up, it's best to clamp the matching pairs of pieces together, then bore the necessary holes. Note, also, that the lines of openings in the ends of the two wedge-shaped panels don't extend all the way across the pieces, but terminate 1-1/4 inches down from the peaked corners.)
Next, clip apart your coat hanger to form bars of two different lengths. (You'll need six that are 1-7/8" long and seven that are 2-3/4" long.) With this done, tack the box together using some wire brads (make sure its walls are positioned between the top and bottom boards, and that the bar holes in the upper and lower panels are at the same end of the box), then tap the seven hanger rods into place. Complete the cage by drilling a 1l8" hole through the bottom board, being certain it's centered and 3/4 inch from the end opposite the bars.
To assemble the ramp mechanism, first tack the narrow ends of the wedge-shaped pieces to the sides of the softwood block (the lower edges of the 1/4" walls should be flush with the bottom of the 3/4" X 1-1/4" X 4" plug, and the joint should be 1-3/4" long), then tap five more bars into the aligned openings. Also, make a security pin by cutting a 3/4" piece from the finishing nail and driving it into the bottom of the softwood block at a point 1 inch from its inside edge.
