Introduction: How to Make a Paper Slingshot

By
About: I make weapons, and other things...

Hi everyone, so for Day 3 of Paper Week I'll be showing you how to make a cool little slingshot using a few desktop items; you could use this for office warfare if you fire paper balls, or use it for some plinking fun at home...

As always: I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE OR INJURY THAT MAY OCCUR WHILE USING THIS. Exercise a good amount of caution and common sense while using this if you don't want to get in trouble :-)

Step 1: Gathering Materials

So to make this you will need:

Materials:

  • 6 sheets A4 paper
  • Duct tape
  • Insulating tape
  • 3 large rubber bands

Tools:

  • A ruler
  • A craft knife (I'd run out so I used a razor blade)
  • A pencil

Step 2: Rolling

First check that the paper is approx 20cm wide. Use the pencil to roll up 5 of the 6 sheets and secure the resulting tube with tape. You will probably need another pencil to get the first one out.

Step 3: Cutting

Now use the craft knife to flatten both ends, then make a mark at the halfway point and cut half way through the tube.

Wrap the whole thing in insulating tape and fold it in half as shown.

Step 4: The Middle Part

Take the last sheet of paper, fold it into a square about 1 x 1 inch (2.5 x 2.5 cm) and wrap it in tape.

Put it in-between the forks and secure it with, guess what, more tape! Now the fork is finished...

Step 5: The Duct Tape Pouch

For the pouch, take a 20cm length of duct tape and fold it on itself 4 times to leave you with a 5cm length. Now cut it in half so that you have two pieces which are 2in x 1in (5cm x 2.5cm)

Step 6: The Bands

Fold over the end of the pouch and cut a small semi-circle out - this will leave you with a perfect hole (you could also use a heavy duty hole punch.) Cut 2 of the bands and tie them to the pouch.

Step 7: Finishing Up

Cut the 3rd band into 2 strips and use them to attach the band-set to the frame.

So that's it. If you want a bit more power you can just double the rubber, but don't let it fool you - with a 6mm brass BB you can easily pop balloons and shoot through 2 layers of cardboard. So have fun using this, (as-long as "fun" doesn't mean shooting friends, work colleagues etc) and if you liked this tutorial, please comment, follow and vote for me in the Paper craft and Duct tape contests :-)