Rotating Tiger Cheese Box Construction Tips
 
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Making the Base
Beads of sweat formed upon my knitted brow as I inserted a new battery into the battery holder. The top was placed onto the base. NOTHING happened. There was no sign of life in the rotating box.

A second passed. Another second passed. Still nothing. I changed the orientation, I spun the box by hand, I willed it, through force of mind, to spin. Nothing happened. It did not respond to my mental commands.

Apparently, the circuit would run on ONE VOLT, and no more.
Diagnosis:
reed switch
The reed switch was latching. It was switching on but it wouldn't switch off. What could cause this??
4.5 mfd Capacitor
The addition of a 4.5 mmfd electrolytic capacitor in parallel with the reed switch solved the problem.
Prototype
The completed prototype.

 
I think I put the reed switch so close to the electromagnet that when it was energized it held the reed switch closed. In this case, being that I have the intellect of an anesthetized monkey, why the capacitor helped is beyond my ability to comprehend. On the other hand I accidentally invented a latching relay, so there's that.
Production model
"Production Model"
parts placement
Parts placement. Dashed lines are the
position of the rotating upper box.
Tip: The battery could be moved further to the left. You don't want the magnets to be attracted to the battery. There's no on/off switch.
        Remove the battery when not in use.
 

Have any extra cheese boxes?
 
Mousetrap car
Mousetrap car
Make a mouse trap powered car!
 
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