Cardapult, Quicker and Easier Method

A lot of people have been making my business card catapult as just a fun little toy to play with and don't really need it to look clean and pretty. It can also sometimes be difficult to glue the cards together well enough that they don't fall apart. For this reason I have made a simplified construction method that needs less tools and time. This method also makes the card a little more durable and forgiving to abuse. The downside is that it is not as attractive as the original method.

This one can easily be made in less than an hour. For the assembly video below it took about 40 minutes, and I was taking my time to make sure and explain everything and get it right. So 30 minutes would be possible even for a first time build.

Here is a PDF of the Instructable that includes all the secondary images and annotations.

Here is a video explaining the assembly

It isn't really demonstrated much in action in that video, but it is pretty much the same as the original card in function.

Step 1: Tools and Supplies

You only need a few things to make this.
Cardstock (the thicker the better, I use 0.012" thick and wouldn't suggest anything below that)
Printer
Scissors
Stapler with staples
Small rubber band

Comments

[yapoyo]

this sucks it just wobbles and its too small but then again i have sweaty hands...

[Iron ninja]

hey could you do this step with tape i stapled both of my fingers trying to do this

[the poodleo]

OMG ASWSOME!!! i was looking all over the website for the templates, because it said it would show you them. thank you SO MUCH for doing this. It's awsome.

[greymatter21]

LOL nice stapler its old fassioned;D

[troym]

what size is the diamiter of your rubber band? and you should do office lines.

[clide]

It's a size 8 rubber band, so it is about 7/8" long when held flat and 1/16" thick.

[troym]

thanks for that i gave up a while ago when my science teacher statrted a trebuchet comp at school soo maybe in the future i guess.......

[imthatguy1125]

 Are you planning on posting your penny shooter anytime soon

[clide]

I'm not sure, still trying to decide. I kinda got turned off of instructables by what they tried to do with the Pro memberships. They eventually improved their policy a little, but at first they were trying to strong-arm people into Pro memberships by taking away features necessary to use many instructables. And I'm not entirely convinced that they won't try it again in the future.

[danm95]

is there any place where we can find the disgns other than instructables for the penny shooter?

[clide]

The Penny Shooter design files area available at Thingiverse http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1581

No detailed how-to but I do give a brief explanation.

[danm95]

thanks

[imthatguy1125]

 Yeah I agree

[qwerty123969]

lol when in doubt... ...use staples.

[Spotman]

Do u have an image file than PDF

[Spotman]

how do i resize it the only cardstock i have is 3.5 by 2 inches

[ninja_maker]

i dont get how to make the thing it turns on

[clide]

It is just pivoting around one end of the staple, so you just have to make sure that only one side of the staple is going through the arm so it can rotate freely.

[ninja_maker]

does the picture of the pattern make more than just one cardupult

[clide]

Yes, it makes 2 cardapults

[ninja_maker]

you should make one on version 2

[EnigmaMax]

you should make an instructable on the penny shooting card.

[user1997]

can u  please post a version of the adobe file that can be accessed by non pro users????

[clide]

On step 2 there is a link right above the pictures for a .zip file that contains the drawings.

[stevenx590]

Where can i print the paper thingy ?

[building king]

I thought it would be cool if you could enlarge it so it is almost as big as a normal piece of paper.  It would give you more add space.
I was also thinking that you should make a valetine cardapult.

[tehgreatiam]

i did this with the cardboard you find on the back of the notebooks. i found it easier to staple the margins of the printed sheet to that and cut it out instead of printing it on the kind of paper you have, which not many of us have. But a fall back on this is that the cardboard will strain and sometimes bend into an unfixable state. A great alternative are the plastic gift cards, old library cards, credit cards, etc. anything that will not bend from pressure. the catch with plastic cards, is that you cannot staple them. Use super glue. And for the axles, heat a needle with a lighter or stove and stick it through. repeat it over until you burn it through. If you need to cut through the 5 layers of plastic, use the same method you did with the needle to slice through. It may take longer, but trust me, the final product won't turn into mush if sat on, left in the rain, etc.

[clide]

Good tips, thanks for adding them. Got any pics of your plastic Cardapult?

[uytksa]

cant you like email me the pdf plzz

[kid1717]

am not the guy that made the plastic one but ill try it and upload but until then I made a multicolored cardstock one I used the quick template and just glued it and it works great!! I would be willing to pay about 5 bucks if u would send me a set of regular cardapult parts not assembled but probabily not more than five cause i dont want to get stiffed on my money no offense my email is [e-mail] if u would contact me it would be great but untill then heres the multy colored

[uytksa]

hay can u email the parts or cut outs

[clide]

There is a download link that you don't need a Pro account for at the end of step 2 right before the pictures.

[tehgreatiam]

will...upload...as soon as...i fiiinnnd myyy cameraaaa

[dombeef]

When? lol

[tehgreatiam]

yeah, it really pissed me off to find it mangled by my dog (damn you oreo!!!). i should really get them a chew toy or close my door when i leave. i tried to build second one, but i lost interest and now its sitting in a small basket on my desk with some pencils and pens gathering dust. maybe ill get back to it one day.

[dombeef]

Oh ok

[superhornt]

i just made one- it works great! the wad of paper hit the ceiling. there's only 1 complaint i have- the legs won't come out, so it is now a handheld unit.

[wonder4]

This is so great! (a lot greater than using circular pieces as pivots and having to make sure not to accidentally glue them on.) The only drawback is that when the legs are out, the rubber band cannot be too powerful, or the small space risks being crushed. This is not really much of a problem though, considering that some staples are on the side for support. thank you so much for posting this instructable!

[macktns]

i just printed the template right onto one of my old 5 flex binder... i just cut out a paper sized portion of the plastic cover and stuck it in the printer. it can go way farther than my paper one because it can handle a way stronger rubber band, across a classroom at least :)

[emdarcher]

you should make one with laminated parts it would probably be really strong