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There are many types of fishing line sold, but do not use the
plastic-type. The best one to use is Kevlar braided fishing line.
Tarp straps can be found in the automotive section, some
stores only sell the cloth-covered bungee cords which is not
what you want. This rack was found in an Ace Hardware
store.
Found in a Hobby Shop
There are many materials and methods for building the lever arm.
Because of breakage problems with balsa lever arms, I used ¼”
square oak strip that I found at a lumber retailer on my last car. The
brass tube would not be needed when balsa is not used for lever
arm, just glue to mousetrap wire and spring, then wrap with string.
On my 3-wheel bamboo car I used two bamboo skewers glued
together. The lever arm attaches to mousetrap wire with glue
and wrapping with string.
The brass was glued to the balsa lever arm, the balsa tended to break
just beyond where the brass tube ended.
A rigid but light weight lever arm can be constructed from strips of
1/8” balsa wood glued to form a T-shape.
If you decide to use the balsa lever arm, I would
suggest gluing 1/8” brass tube to balsa for the
mousetrap connection.
A needle nose pliers is good for placing the lever side of the spring in
place over the lever arm. The spring Must be attached to the lever arm.
Attaching the Cable Tie to Rear Axle
There needs to be a loop tied in one end of a length of fish line and
the other end is tied to the end of the lever arm. Tie the loop first
and then tie to the lever arm and it will be easier to adjust the length.
The line needs to be almost touching the rear axle but not touching
the axle and certainly not longer than the axle.
Tying a loop knot that will not slip is not difficult but the line is very
thin making it slightly difficult to handle. Bend one end into a loop,
create a circle with the two sides of the loop and tuck the end of
the loop through the circle.
Pull the knot tight and trim off some of the extra.
The loop should come close to, but not reach the axle. If the line is longer
it will not come off the axle at the end of the lever arm stroke.
Adjust the length of the line here when you tie it to the end of the
lever arm. A square knot will work here. The extra piece of wire from
the mousetrap was glued to end of lever arm.
Winding the Line Up – Running Your Mousetrap Car
Carefully pull the loop forward and hook it around the box part of the
cable tie. It helps to lift the lever arm up slightly first before pulling the
line.
Lift the lever arm up slightly before pulling the loop over the
cable tie.
Wind the string around the axle, if you leave the axles long it is
easy to get your fingers around the axle to wind the line. Turn the
axle clockwise.
Let the mousetrap car go, it will run best on a very smooth
surface indoors.
Be sure to check out my general information article about mousetrap cars
and of course my website: http://www.scienceguy.org