Very Strong Knex Gun Ram Rod

In this ‘ible I will show you how to make a great firing pin for your knex gun. This works in most knex guns but not any with a bullet lock/holder. This works very well in most oodammo guns. It doesn’t work very well in the tr8, tr12, or tr18 unless you somehow make the rod ever so slightly thinner. This is slightly expensive for a knex gun mod but it lasts really well. It costs 5 dollars assuming you already have jb weld.

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Obtain a 1/4 steel rod (not threaded!), jb weld, a hacksaw, file, and a gray/purple knex connector.

Step 2: Cut the Rod

Tape the 1/4 steel rod so one end lines up with the end of a grey, black, neon orange, white, or blue knex rod (the longest standard one). Then clamp it in a vice (not needed but very helpful) and cut it as straight as you can using a hacksaw. After you cut clean up the cut with a file.

Step 3: Cut the Connector and Stick It On

I used an orange connector for this but you should use a dark gray/purple connector. First cut off the top so it looks like the first photo. Then file the other end like in the next photos. After that jb weld it onto the rod. Be very careful to only get the jb weld on the end because excess could prevent the firing rod from working properly. Make sure you put the connector on the least straight end (meaning the one with the least straight cut) to ensure it works properly in a knex gun.

Step 4: Reinforce the Pin

After the jb weld has had about ten hours to cure (it needs 24 but it’s fine if you do this step after only 10) wrap a 2 inch long piece of electrical tap around the top. Then wrap an old, worn out #64 around the top. Then wrap 3 to 4 inches of electrical tape around the rubber band

Step 5: Finished!

You’re done! This firing pin should last a long time if made correctly.

Comments

[TheDunkis]

Very interesting, haven't seen a custom striker design like this before. Though a couple concerns. First off, if you're going to go through the effort of cutting up a metal rod, you might as work out a place to hold the bands instead of binding a K'nex piece (a modified one no less, but you could use a ball socket instead). Second, the range of a K'nex gun is typically dependent on the speed of the striker, which generally means you want as light of one as possible. There are other factors that using metal benefits, but weight certainly isn't one of them.That all said, it's certainly an interesting concept and I'd be very curious to see any further attempts you make. Like, do they make similar sized wooden dowels you could try using next?

[PotatoDemon]

I tried a dowel at first but it didn’t last as long (I might try a stronger one though). Perhaps an aluminum rod might work a bit better because of the lighter weight. I used a modified piece because I only have 2 ball sockets and I happened to have a damaged orange connector lying around. As for a place for the bands maybe I could cut a grove in the end of the rod so pieces can just click on normally. I also have a question about normal firing pins for knex guns, what rods work the best and what ones don’t?