I built this ping pong catapult for the kids but they are a great stress reliver in the office you can have some real fun with these

I looked at a few good designs over the internet and everyone i saw had a tendancy to use standard lolly sticks, i wanted something a little stronger and more durable so i used the large ones.

There are some reall good designs on here but here is mine

Ping Pong catapult

You will need

approx 20 large Lolly sticks (15cm long)
1 normal lolly stick
Some 1”duct tape
1” bulldog clip

Hot melt glue gun and sticks

Or a wood glue will work it will just take longer you will need to bind with tape whilst they set probably best overnight

Time about an hour to two hours max i have made about 4/5 now and can do them in about 25 mins!

Step 1: Step 1 the Base

Step 1

Lay out a lolly stick, glue two ends down onto the first lolly stick to create a triangle the ones at the top do not overlap they just stay side by side

Now place another lolly stick under the front two and glue them together

Carefully lay a lolly stick over the front of the crossbow and draw a mark where they need to be cut on each side see photo 3

Cut up the lolly stick and glue the two front pieces down and the small middle piece glue in the middle at the back, finally stick another stick over the front and back to create a really strong base

Step 2: Step 2 the Laucher Arm

The catapult Launcher arm

Take the bulldog clip and on the first clip handle glue a lolly stick on each side to create the catapult

When doing the second side lay out the first stick, glue it really well and place the handle on the stick now butt over the stick up to the handle carefully and again using another lay this over the handle. Whilst this is drying you could start looking at what you have to do next

Note
it is important to let this dry and set properly, i stuck glue all around the edges so that it was really secure and strong

Step 3: Step 3 Launcher Arm Sides and Supports

The sides

Stick the sides on very careful to secure the sides down. Cut a lolly stick in half and carefully stick the lolly sticks upright to create the support,

now stick a small lolly stick over the front after bending the stable in place. Make a mark at about 2cm down and glue the diagonal supports on each side……looking good

Step 4: Step 4 the Safety Bar and Front Cover

Step four

Cut a lolly stick to about 5 cm and put the round end facing forward to cover the bulldog clip so that it cannot hurt anyone

Carefully cut and glue a piece inside the two so that fingers cannot get trapped

Carefully draw back the catapult and glue a bar across to stop the catapult going too far forward

Let it dry for a few minutes test that the catapult draws back ok

Step 5: Step 5 Launcher Bucket, Fett and Decorate!

Step 5

The launcher bucket
Using a milk bottle top carefully draw either side of the stick on the bottle to use as a guide to cut two slits in the bottle

This will enable the bottle lid to slide onto the launcher bar

Step 6 stability

I put some duct tape around each leg to stop the bow from slipping when in use, my 5 year old daughter has one of these. I also put some tape around the launcher and where the hand/finger goes to control the launcher

There you go virtually finished

Go decorate it with a felt tip of your choice of colours

You can fire ping pong balls all round the office or the house have fin and be safe!