Creatively Sourced TP Dispenser

Hey listeners! I have constructed a toilet paper dispenser out of unique materials you would not have thought of. I believe this prototype is quite fun to build and I hope you think similarly. This project takes quite a bit of materials and you will need a nice working space and a lot of time on your hands. The materials needed will be specified on the next step, I hope you enjoy this machine!

This design uses many different materials and they are all equally important for the design so make sure that you have all the specified materials. The materials needed are as follows:

Materials you will need

You will need a cardboard box with a width of 8 1/2 inches, a length of 16 inches, and a height of 9 inches. Important! This box will be referred to as Box one for the rest of the instructable, keep this in mind. You must also acquire a box with a width of 16 1/2 inches, a length of 20 inches, and a height of 15 inches. This box will be referred to as Box two for the rest of the instructable.

You will need 1 roll of duct tape

cardboard tube that is 20 inches long

You will need a wax paper cutter (off the front of a was paper box) This is shown in the picture above if you do not know what this is.

3 rolls of any toilet paper you desire (as long as it has a standard diameter of about 4.5 inches).

Tools that you will need

You will need a standard pair of scissors (any kind so long as they work sufficiently)

You will need one hot glue gun

You will need a box cutter ( if you prefer that over scissors)

And finally you will need patience and perseverance as many of these steps may take multiple tries to perfect.

The first step to constructing the box one contraption is to cut out the flaps attached to the box down to the very edge so that there is only a hollow carcass. After doing this, completely cut out one of the long sides so that it only has three sides. To accomplish the next step you must trace the circumference of the tube onto the box exactly 3 1/2 inches up from the bottom of the box. After you do this on both sides, slide in the cardboard tube in to make sure it fits. If your tube does not fit then you will have to widen the circle in the box slightly, it does not necessarily need to be precise. All three toilet paper tubes should easily fit onto the tube. You will need to make dividers in between the toilet paper tubes. These dividers will be 5 1/2 inches in from each side, the dimensions of the dividers will be 4 1/2 inches in width and 5 inches in length. After doing this you must make tracks for the bottom of the cardboard roll to sit on. . These tracks will need to have half of the cardboard tube cut out of the top so that the tube can go through (this is similar to what we did to slide the tube into the box initially). The dimensions of these tracks are 9 inches in length and 4 inches tall, the circle cut out should be in the middle. After you make these attach them with hot glue, duct tape or both so they make a path for the cardboard tube to go through. After this you are ready to move onto step 3: building box two. Box one completed: The pictures above depict what box one should look like when finished.

To create box 2 you will need your second box with the dimensions of 16 inches in height, 20 inches in length, and 17 inches in width. After you have this box you will need to use a box cutter to cut out one whole side of the box out (on the smaller end), leave 1 1/2 inches in the bottom. Next you will need to cut out a segment out of the whole box. Measure 7 inches up and then cut all the way across the box so you have a section that has a height of 8 inches and a box that has a height of 7 inches. You will need to put the box that has a height of 8 inches in side the box that has a height of 7 inches. Doing this step provides you the box with support which is needed for later. After doing this you will have to make the cardboard pieces for a ramp. The dimensions of the ramp are approximately 18 inches long and 15 inches wide. To lay the ramp in the box correctly, measure out a straight line across the width of the box (on the bottom) 3 1/2 inches out. Then you can match one end of the ramp to the top edge of the box and on the line you just drew. You can hot glue or duct tape it there and then your ramp is set. Here is a picture of approximately how the ramp should be attached to box two. Now its time to mount the toilet paper dispenser (box one) onto box number two. To do this you need to cut out two identical cardboard pieces. The card board pieces need to be 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. After you make them you need to attach these cardboard pieces onto the rim of box two. Put these cardboard pieces on so that the rim of the box is centered across the bottom of each cardboard flap, the flaps should be attached 3 1/2 inches from the back of the box. (the side opposite from the big square hole you cut out) Attach these cardboard flaps on the same spot both sides and then you can mount on box one. The second, third, and fourth above pictures show what the cardboard flaps look like when box one is mounted on them. Put a line of hot glue on the middle of each flap and set down box one so that the holes are facing downwards towards the ramp, and the box is facing forward towards the hole in the front of the box. After this is attached you will need to make supports in the back (addressed in the next step.) Box two completed should look something like the first picture shown above.

The design can be slightly unstable so you will need to add some supports. I would recommend duct taping the inner 8 inch high box to the smaller outer box to add support. After that you can cut out two cardboard pieces with the dimensions of 9 1/2 inch tall 6 1/2 inches wide. You can then center them along the back of where box one attaches to box two and you will duct tape or glue these supports to the back to keep it from falling off the cardboard flaps we made earlier. Picture one at the top shows one example of what the back supports might look like. As the second to last step we need to make cardboard flaps that will act as filters to push the toilet paper to the middle. These flaps have dimensions of 5 1/2 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches long. After making two of these flaps you will need to attach these flaps to the box at a 40 degree angle facing towards the rectangle hole in the front of the box. Pictures two and three show what the flaps will look like when they are attached. You may want to hot glue these flaps to the bottom and the wall. The final step is to take your wax paper cutter and to hot glue it onto the very front of the box 2 inches from each side (centered.) See the fourth above picture to see if you have done this part correctly. Look how to operate this Toilet Paper dispenser on the next and final step.

Operating this dispenser is really rather simple. All you have to do is you need to pull put the cardboard tube in box one to release the toilet paper rolls one by one. The toiler paper should roll down the ramp and into the piece of cardboard you left at the bottom of the one side of box two. if you so desire you can cut the toilet paper on the wax paper cutter if that is easier. If you have any suggestions on how to better assemble or recreate this device let me know. I hope you have fun making and operating this homemade toilet paper dispenser!