Making Rubber Band Guns
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Gun
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A person can make a simple rubber band gun by cutting a gun shape from a wooden board using a coping saw. The gun should have a handle, barrel and trigger guard. The top of the gun is flat all the way across and a notch is placed in the tip that goes from side to side and is wide enough for the rubber band. Sanding off rough edges prevents injury. The top should be about 6 inches long. Some rubber bands can stretch farther than 6 inches but may shoot a little too hard.
Trigger
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The person uses a glue gun to attach a clothespin on top of the gun on one of the wooden "legs" of the clothespin. The side that opens with a squeeze of the clothes pin faces the tip of the gun barrel and is located at the rear of the gun where the thumb can reach to open the clothespin when the gun is held.
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Shoot It
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The rubber band gun can be loaded by stretching a rubber band over the notch in the tip and back through the mouth of the clothespin, which will keep it from flying forward. Aiming the gun, the rubber band shooter triggers the release of the rubber band by allowing his thumb to press on the clothespin so that it opens. This lets the rubber band fly toward the target with a satisfying sound.
Warning
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A person who builds this type of rubber band gun needs to make sure that the gun is not too realistic looking, because a policeman might think it is a real gun. This gun should never be pointed at people. Anyone near this object should wear eye protection when in the vicinity, including the operator of the device.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Photo courtesy of gracey at morguefile.com
