Children love pretend play. Even children without access to toy guns will use their hands or a stick to play cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians. It is important, however, to ensure that a toy gun does not look too realistic. Rubber band guns give your child an opportunity to learn marksmanship without doing the damage that BBs or pellets can, although they will sting a little. Be sure to teach proper safety rules before allowing your child to use a wooden toy gun of any kind.
Lay out the shape of the gun on the 1-by-6 inch by 12-inch stock wood. Cut along the outline of the gun using a jigsaw. Make a notch in the nose of the gun with the jig saw. Use jeweler's files to round the notch until it is about ¼-inch wide and ½-inch deep.
2
Use a drill press and a 1½-inch hole saw to cut out the trigger ring. Sand the entire gun using coarse, medium, fine and extra fine sandpaper.
3
Paint the gun with several coats of orange fluorescent paint. Allow paint to dry 24 hours between coats.
4
Sand entire gun with extra fine sandpaper, then apply two or three coats of clear acrylic deck coating.
5
Glue a clamp-style clothespin to the top of the gun, with the jaws of the clothespin facing the notch in the nose. Load the gun by stretching a rubber band from the notch to the jaws of the clothespin. Release the rubber band by pressing on the legs of the clothespin.
Tips & Warnings
Use only bright or fluorescent colors for toy guns.
According to Ellen Booth Church, former professor of early childhood education, education consultant and author, "Pretend play...promotes abstract thinking. The ...
