HOW to MAKE a SPIDER SCARE BOX. HILARIOUS PRANK!
Check this out Guys!! How to make a Spider Scare Box that will scare the living bejeebers out of your family, friends and work colleagues but before l show you how in a few simple steps, make sure you connect to DIY For Knuckleheads on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook to keep up with all the latest and greatest in the World of DIY For Knuckleheads!
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Here it is..My Latest How to Make a Spider Scare Box Video! Enjoy.
Like many people, l love a good prank and nothing compares to the simplicity and effectiveness of the Spider Scare Box! Just hand the box to someone, preferably a friend, nosey work colleague or one of your kids and they will naturally want to open up the lid to see inside and BAM!!…they get the scare of their life ? Harmless but fun…..unless of course you have a heart condition ?
Place the Scare Box on a kitchen bench or side table and let people discover it on their own. Chances are everyone who sees it is curious as to what’s inside! And that’s just what you’re hoping for with this hilarious prank box. As soon as someone pulls the tab towards them to open the box, a spider, mouse or some other disgusting insect/rodent will jump out at their finger and scare the crap out of them!
Maybe even set up your video camera to capture the moment!
Display your curious wooden box on your desk at work to scare your co-workers. You’re really only limited by your imagination!
To kick the Project off, you’re going to need a few tools which are listed below.
Tools and Resources:
Drill. Cordless or corded…doesn’t matter.
Makita Sanding Disc Pack. Contains 80, 120 and 240 Grit Sandpaper.
Please note that all of these tools are available from my Recommended Tools and Resources Page.
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Materials Required.
Ply: 12mm thick for construction of the box. Please note that you can use any scrap material you like. Pallet wood would also be a good choice.
Ply: 6mm thick for the sliding lid and the bottom of the box. Please note that you can use the same 12mm ply that you used for the box if you want. I’m only using the 6mm because l think it looks a little better.
Dowel: You will need some dowel roughly the diameter of a wooden broom handle which is most cases around the 22mm or ¾ of an inch. With that in mind, just cut a piece off the end of the broom around two inches, or 50mm long.
Dowel: Two lengths of 6mm, or ¼ inch dowel, roughly cut to a length of 70mm or three inches.
One wire coat hanger.
One Scary Spider: You can pick these up from a Dollar Store.
Let’s Get This Show On The Road.
Step 1:
Before you cut any pieces to size, we need to cut the rebate for the sliding lid on both sides of the scare box. The reason being that it’s much easier to cut a rebate into a larger section of wood than to try and clamp down smaller, separate pieces and then cut the rebate into. See picture for rebate location and measurements.
Step 2:
Cut the rebate into the ply with your circular saw cutting down to a depth of half the thickness of the ply. Obviously, if you have a router or table saw, you can cut the rebate using those tools, but since this is a limited tools project we’re just sticking with the circular saw.
Run the saw through a number of times, continually adjusting the fence on the saw until all the material you want to remove has been cut.
As you can see from the picture above, the lid can now slide in that rebate.
Step 3:
Cut all the required pieces to size. Refer to the pictures below for those dimensions.
The bottom of the Spider Scare Box
The two sides of the Spider Scare Box.
The front and back of the Spider Scare Box.
The sliding lid for the Spider Scare Box.
Folds up into a box like in the picture below where l have roughly dry-fitted the pieces together.
Step 4:
Time to assemble the inner workings of the Spider Scare Box starting with making an axel for the spider to swivel on. You will need two different sizes of dowel . For the larger dowel, l just used the end off an old wooden broom handle which most people will have in a broom cupboard somewhere. If you don’t, buy a wooden broom handle from your local hardware store which will set you back around five dollars.
For the smaller diameter, l found a length of 9mm diameter dowel in my scrap wood pile that should do the job. If you can get your hands on some 6mm (1/4″) dowel that would be ok as well.
Cut the dowel (wooden broom handle) to a length of 90mm (approx 3 1/2″). Find the centre of the dowel on both ends and proceed to drill a 9mm hole into each end the depth of roughly 12mm or half an inch. Start off the hole drilling process with a smaller pilot hole as you will have a better chance of drilling the larger diameter drill bit straight if a smaller hole has been drilled first.
Cut two lengths of 9mm dowel to a length of 50mm (2″). Once you do that, glue each piece of dowel in either end of the cut off broom handle and BOOM…you have an axel ready for action!
Step 5:
On the two sides of the scare box, you will need to drill a 10mm hole that will accommodate the 9mm dowel.. Make sure you don’t drill all the way through the ply if you want a nice clean appearance on the outside of the box. The holes are slightly larger than the 9mm sections of dowel as you want them to spin freely inside the box.
Start off by drilling a small pilot hole first.
Finish off the hole with the 10mm drill bit. This will give the axle a little bit of play to spin freely inside the hole.
Step 6:
Using a wire coat hanger, cut off the bottom section. Locate the middle of the wooden broomstick and then direct the drill toward the bottom of the axel. Refer to the image below the coat hanger picture for clarity. Drill the hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the coat hanger wire. Once that’s done, wriggle one end of the coat hanger into the freshly made hole which will hold the wire in place.
Cut the bottom out of the coat hanger.
Drill a small in the axel for the coat hanger. Don’t make the hole to big as you need the wire to be a tight fit.
This is how it looks after the wire has been inserted into the axel.
The magic behind the spider leaping out of the box has to do with the wire, the axel, and how well they operate together after you have bent the wire. Bending the wire is one of the trickiest parts of this project but l have tried to simplify it for you below.
If you intend to build the Scare Box exactly the same as mine, l have a PDF Diagram that you can copy off. Just click on the image below. You may need to tweak it a little depending on the size of your spider etc but it’s still a good start. ??
As with the broom handle, drill a hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the coat hanger wire into the rear end of the spider. Do the same to the mouth of the spider. Wriggle the wire and insert it into the spiders backside until it just emerges out of its mouth. To secure the wire, l just added a dob of superglue to both ends.
Step 7:
Attach some string to the wooden broom handle as shown in the picture below using either staples or a hot glue gun. I used a hot glue gun. Make sure that when glueing the string to the axel that the end of the string faces the spider. The reason for that is that we need to loop the string afterwards around the axel in a clockwise direction. Attach the string to the underside of the lid using staples or a hot glue gun.
Using the hot glue gun to attach the string to the axel.
PRO TIP:
Cut a small groove into the axel for the string to sit in. This makes glueing easier and more secure. Enlarge the image below to see what l mean ?
STEP 8:
With the box assembled (clamped together but not glued or screwed), attach the string to the underside of the lid. This is a trial and error exercise. Refer to the video at the top of the blog to see how l did it.
Dryfit the box by clamping it together. Make sure the string comes out between the top of the front of the box and the underside of the lid.
Once you have found the sweet spot for the spider to pop out, attach the string with the glue gun to the underside of the lid
Step 9:
Dry fit all the pieces together to make sure they all fit. If everything works as you’d like, screw the box together. I used screws without glue for the reason that if something goes wrong down the track, l won’t be able to get inside the box if it is all glued together.
It’s a good idea to pre-drill and countersink the holes if using screws. That way the screws will have a nice flush finish
Step 10:
I applied some homemade image transfers to the lid for added curiosity to lure your victims in to open the box! The lid was then varnished prior to assembly of the box.
Step 11:
Attach a knob to the top of the lid. For extra effect, position the knob so that when the spider springs out of the box it touches the user’s finger! Awesome ????
Step 12:
Screw the Scare Box together and then apply a coat of Clear Polyurethane.
STEP 13:
Check out your Evil Handywork ??
So what do you think? I reckon it’s an absolute Rippa and it’s so simple to make!
This is a very SIMPLE & EXTREMELY effective way to prank someone you know. Best of all you can use it over and over and over! It is the prank that keeps on pranking!
And that’s it Folks!! I hope you enjoyed and found this Blog Post useful. As per usual you can find me on all the Socials…just scroll to the bottom of the page for all those links.
Alrighty, be safe, and till next time, I’m outta here….Cheers!
