Introduction: Rubber Band Powered Paper Airplane Gun
this is a super easy Simple Rubber band powered gun that can shoot many things, mainly paper airplanes, but you can also use many other things, such as pencils or sticks. I searched all over the web to find something like this when I wanted to make one myself, but the most I could find was one little video that doesn't have any measurements, and was pretty plain, so I decided to make one myself, following the techniques from the video but adding my own little adjustments and measurements, plus, the person in the video probably used some tools to cut so perfectly, I don't have such tools, and you probably don't either, so here, I try to simplify the designs and find ways to do these things without any machines. There are also some videos above showing how they work, the videos are also in these two links: One and two
Step 1: Materials and Tools
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
All these materials can be bought at stores for very cheap prices, or you probably have some of them at home. these materials are easy to find and use. The picture of all the materials are on top.
Materials:
- Rubber bands
- Popsicle sticks
- Skewer sticks
- Zip ties
- A little bit of wire (or just zip ties)
- Strong/super glue
Tools:
- Scissors (small or big, just strong enough to cut Popsicle sticks)
- Pocket knife or craft knife (any knife that is sharp enough to cut sticks, you really only need scissors OR knife, but it's recommended to use both)
- Screwdriver (for drilling a hole if you don't have a drill at home)
- pencil (for drawing and marking lines to cut)
- hands and skill to not get your fingers glued together by super glue, otherwise use gloves or something that won't let super glue stick to your fingers.
Step 2: Cutting the Popsicle and Skewer Sticks
On top, I have drawn a template that says everything you will need to cut and they have precise measurements. I will also talk about them all here.
As you can see, the first one on the top is labeled (a) The others are also labeled (b) (c) (d) (e) and (f). They are in no specific order, but just so I can tell you about them easily.
lets start with (a): it is the longest piece, the middle piece, and it holds everything inside, basically like a base. cut some Popsicle sticks and stick them together to that size (about 16-17 cm). with another one to support them so they don't break too easily. cut out two of these identical ones.
(B): this is the handle, it goes on the back, it doesn't do too much, just support your hand so it doesn't fall off while trying to shoot. cut two of these out.
(C): This is the trigger. As you can see, there are two triggers of the same shape but you only need to do the circled one, since you might not have a drill or anything that won't break the stick, and they do indeed look like faces. you will need to cut these on an angle so they fit. cut two of these out so they fit in after we have stuck the handle on.
(D): These are also very important for putting the airplane in, it acts like a land or a launch pad or plate. cut two of them.
(E): these are not Popsicle sticks, these are skewer sticks. you stick Zip ties on them (cut zip ties so they fit) and then stick them onto the gun to hold the rubber bands, this is why super glue is good for the job.
(F): this is an optional part, it only adds another handle in the front.
remember, if you don't have a drill, then soak the popsicle stick in warm water and use a screwdriver or something sharp to poke it through. you can also use a soldering iron and burn a hole.
Step 3: Sticking the Pieces Together
after you have cut all these out, just stick all the pieces together. On top is a picture of all of the pieces in order from left side to right side, starting from the top is the piece on the very left, while on the bottom is the piece on the very right. and remember the templates I drew? the one labelled (D) or the launch pad/plate. are on the side, they go on top of the two longest pieces like a T with a gap in the middle. Do (D) for last, the next part will also show you how D goes on. If you have a problem, feel free to write down in the comments, as this part is pretty hard to understand sometimes.
I also color coded them, green is part (A), blue is part (B), purple is part (C), and red is part (D). part (E) is just a skewer stick, and part (F) is optional, so you just do it yourself as a 2nd handle, however long you want it.
remember, if you don't get it, just go on to the next step to see if you got it right.
Step 4: What It Should Look Like So Far
as I mentioned above, here are some pictures to how it should look like. You might also see some parts that look different, I added these on to support some parts because they wouldn't go on properly, you can put these on too.
Step 5: Putting on the Rubber Bands Part (a)
here are some pictures to putting on the rubber bands, I can't really describe them but I will try.
I have put a number and letter on each picture, showing which is which step.
so for a1, put the rubber band around the left stick, not inside the zip tie hole, but more inside, at the edge.
a2: put it around the "mouth" shaped thing on the trigger and put it over the stick on the right side to form a triangle.
a3: pull the part on top to the "mouth" to form a V shaped object.
how (a) works: this makes the trigger mechanism, when you pull the trigger, the rubber band pulls it back. I recommend you put a cut part of the zip tie (only a flat little part) and put it in front of the trigger so it doesn't pull too much
Step 6: Putting on the Rubber Bands Part (b)
this time we are doing the rubber band that will shoot the paper airplane.
b1: tie the rubber band on one of the zip ties, do this by putting the rubber band through the zip tie hole and then putting the rubber band through it's own hole.
b2: now tie it on the other sip tie on the other side, this will be a little harder to tie since it is impossible to do the same thing here, just try fiddling with it until it doesn't fall.
b3: put the rubber band in the middle to the "mouth" or corner of the top piece of the trigger
now when you pull the trigger, the rubber band will get released, but it won't shoot out unless you insert a paper airplane into it.
Im sorry if my handwriting was bad, it wasn't easy doing it with a rough finger that has dried strong glue on it, it was also done on my phone
Step 7: Shooting the Paper Airplane
now you are done, you can make a paper airplane of any kind, I prefer and recommend origami paper, since they are small enough to fit in the gun. here are some links (not mine) to some paper planes you could make:
bionic plane(this is from a4, but you can do the same with origami)
you can search any up if you are not satisfied with these recommendations.
If you don't understand, say it in the comments below, i might not be fast at replying, but I will reply!
enjoy!
Participated in the
Rubber Band Speed Challenge
