How to Make a Rubber Band Gun at Home

One advantage of the rubber band gun is the ammo is cheap and reusable.

A rubber band gun is a gun-shaped toy or device designed to shoot rubber bands. Commercially available rubber band guns range from simple single-shot guns to designs that can fire more than 40 rubber bands per second. Building your own rubber band gun is a relatively quick, inexpensive and easy alternative to purchasing a commercially made gun. This rubber band gun project is something you can build with your kids.

Things You'll Need

• 1-by-1 inch plywood, 36 inches long
• Tape measure or ruler
• Saw
• Hammer
• Finishing nails
• Wood glue
• 3 clothes pins
• Rubber bands

Instructions

1. Cut two 4-inch long sections from the 1-by-1-inch plywood. These pieces will be used for the grips of the rubber band gun. The rest of the plywood will be the main body of the gun.

2. Glue one of the grip pieces at the end of main body so it resembles the letter "L". Glue the second grip piece 8 inches ahead of the first grip piece. If you have done this right, the pieces should now look like the letter "F". Once both pieces are glued, set the pieces aside to allow the glue to dry. Refer to the glue container for drying times.

3. Stand the gun up so it is resting on the grips. Put two nails through the main body above each grip. This will reenforce the glue.

4. Hammer three nails approximately three-fourths of the way into the square shape tip of the "barrel." The nails should be in the shape of a triangle with each point located half-way between the top, left and right sides of the square. These nails will be holding the front of the rubber bands.

5. Glue a single clothespin on the top, the left and the right side of the gun near the rear grip. The back end of the clothes pins should be between 1/2 inch and 1 inch from the back of the gun. The clothes pins will hold the back end of the rubber bands and when you press down on the outside of the clothes pin, it will open and act as the trigger that allows you to shoot the rubber band. Refer to the glue container for proper drying time of the glue. When the glue is dry, your rubber band gun is ready for action.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use paint or stickers to customize your rubber band gun.

References

• Blue Yonder: Rubber band gun