Cicip Working

Make a wooden piggy bank

Last week I got an email from Janae Myers, suggesting I make a piggy bank. I liked the idea so much that I decided to focus my attention on designing and building one. Its really very simple to make, but with plenty of opportunities to offer your own artistic flair.

The construction is similar to a bandsaw box, with the sides glued on to a hollowed-out center. Using the entry point from the bandsaw makes for a great coin slot, albeit perpendicular to the direction coin slots normally run, I think.

To plug the bottom, I used a plastic grommet I picked up at the hardware store. Its the same one I used in my skull and crossbones candy dispenser. You could also use a cork.

The biggest decision I had to make when designing this, was how to deal with the pigs head. Traditional piggy banks look more like real pigs and have the head facing forward. I played around with various ways of doing this, but they all looked odd since my components are all essentially two-dimensional. By placing his head and face on the side, it compensates for this and gives it more of an appearance of a round, not flat head.

Its important to round over all the edges to make him as as soft and cuddly as wood can possibly be.

Free plans

Here are the templates I designed. You can print them all out on single sheets of paper. Use spray adhesive to affix them to the wood.

• WWMM Piggy Bank (pdf)