How to Make a Minecraft Sword From EVA Foam

I have two kids that love Minecraft and they both wanted swords. I decided to make them some out of EVA foam floor mats and I documented my process. I will be honest they were not thrilled at first since they didn't look exactly like the ones in the store but after a few minutes of playing with them they didn't care anymore and started making up different Minecraft quests and games to role play. When ever we have any friends or family kids come over and they see the swords and they always ask me to make them one. So all in all I would say they are a hit.

Materials:

EVA Foam floor mats (these colorful ones I purchased from Sam's Club but they can be found on Amazon)

1/4 inch wooden dowel

Large piece of cardboard

Marker

Razor Blade

Hot Glue Gun

Printer

Printer paper

Build video:

Step 1:

First I found an image online of a Minecraft Sword so that I could make a template from it. I used my printer to print an enlarged version of the sword. Basically I used a setting called "Tiling/Poster" to print out the right size sword. This took some trial and error but I ended up with a sword that was 21 inches long. After printing out the template I taped the pieces together and used my razor to cut out the template.

(For full instructions on how to enlarge a print out check out Step 1 of this Instructable https://www.instructables.com/id/Spider-Man-Wall-Art-Limited-Tools/ Its a long read but I try to be thorough in the explanation.)

Step 2:

With the template cut out I traced it on to the foam mats using a marker. If you plan on only making one sword then a paper template is fine. But if you are going to make more than one I suggest tracing the template on to a thick piece of cardboard and making the template out of that instead.

Step 3:

I was planning on making more than one sword so I opted for the cardboard template. To keep the template in place I used some thumb tacks, this is optional, and stuck the template to the foam mats, then I traced it with a marker.

Step 4:

I used my razor to cut out the shape. I do this twice but I use my first foam sword cutout as the template for the other side. I do this in case there was any variation in my cutting this way the two sides will match up and line up better when glueing.

Step 5:

To reinforce the swords I used a 1/4 wooden dowel. I made the dowel about 19 inches long and rounded off the ends, with sand paper, so they wouldn't poke through the foam once glued inside. I used the dowel to mark the cut line on the inside of the foam. I set the depth of my razor to less than the thickness of the foam. Then with the razor at about a 45 degree angle I cut a "V" shaped groove in to the foam to accept the wooden dowel.

Step 6:

I test fit the dowel to make sure there was no bulge in the foam and then hot glued it in place. I used the blunt end of my razor blade to push the dowel in to the groove. Next I glued both halves together with the hot glue gun. An alternative to the hot glue gun would be to use contact cement which would work just as well if not better. You just have to be very careful when using contact cement because once the two pieces make contact they are stuck and there is no room for adjustment. Once the two halves were glued I used a couple of heavy books to weigh them down for about an hour.

Step 7:

As you can see in the picture I also shrunk the pattern and made them small daggers from the scrap EVA foam pieces. This was a fairly easy project that can be done in an afternoon. I hope you enjoyed this instructable and found it helpful.

I plan to enter this Instructable in the "Minecraft Contest" if you think I deserve a vote please do me the favor and place a vote for this project. Thank you!

Build Video: