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Back in the days when kids made a lot of their toys, some
devious little mind came up with a way to fire rubber bands off
more than their own thumbs. Thus was born the rubber band gun.
Today, they're enjoying such a resurgence of popularity, that
you can even buy guns carved from wood, that replicate actual
weapons such as repeating rifles, pistols and more.
But for a simply weapon to give your friends a snapping good
time, try this. Gather up a piece of wood, such as a short
section of 1x2" lumber, a wooden clothespin, some Crazy Glue, a
nail and a hammer.
You're going to want to glue the clothespin at the rear of the
1" side, which should be on top. But first, take a nail no more
than 2" long, and 1/8" thick, and cut the flat head off, and
file it down. Mark on the piece of wood, where the end of the
clothespin will be, and drive the nail into the wood, sharp end
down, about 1/3" from where the mark is. Leave about 3/4" of the
nail sticking up.
Now drill a hole through the end of the clothespin, with a bit
that is slightly larger than the width of the nail. Make sure
you drill through both sides of the pin. Apply glue to one
narrow side of the clothespin, from the open end, down to the
drilled hole. Don't get glue in the hole. Now place the
clothespin on the piece of 1x2", making sure it's got the nail
fitted through the hole. You might want to try the fit, before
applying the glue.
Cut a notch in the end of your wood, just below the top, so you
can hook one end of the rubber band there. Now pull it back, and
hook the other end over the protruding nail. To fire, just open
the clothespin. There should be enough motion to allow the upper
part of the pin, to push the rubber band off.
For more zing to your gun, cut a second shorter piece of wood
and glue it underneath at a 90-degree angle, to approximate the
shape of a pistol. Insert your nail and glue your clothespin to
the back of the "grip". This will make for a longer stretch to
the band, and more snap when you fire.
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