Use office supplies to make a working blowgun.
Easy to make and use, blowguns are one of the oldest known projectile launching weapons. Most scholars believe that these air-powered armaments date to the Stone Age. Today, aficionados use high-tech blowguns for hunting and paintball tournaments. Practice your marksmanship with an inexpensive blowgun and rubber-tipped darts made from common office supplies.
Instructions
Blowgun
1. Cut a 20-oz. plastic soda bottle in half with scissors to make your blowgun's mouthpiece. Discard the bottom section of the bottle. Trim the remaining portion to fit comfortably around your mouth.
2. Stack two pieces of 8½-inch by 14-inch copy paper together for the barrel of your blowgun. Starting on a 14-inch side, roll the sheets into a tight tube. Grip the tube to keep it rolled tightly. Place one end of the tube into the small opening of your blowgun's mouthpiece. Release the tube to allow it to adjust its diameter to fit the mouthpiece. Place a small piece of clear tape along the seam of the paper tube and remove it from the mouthpiece. Secure the tube by covering the seam with clear tape. Repeat this process so you have two 14-inch long paper tubes.
3. Assemble the barrel by joining the two paper tubes together with clear tape. Wrap a sheet of 8½-inch by 14-inch copy paper around the barrel to cover the seam where the two 14-inch tubes connect. Secure the paper with clear tape.
4. Laminate the entire barrel of your blowgun with clear tape to eliminate any air leaks.
5. Hold the barrel perpendicular to the floor to attach the mouthpiece. With the wide end facing up, slip the mouthpiece onto the barrel. Loosely wrap a medium-sized rubber band ½-inch from the top end of the barrel. Gently pull the mouthpiece over the rubber band to form an airtight seal. Secure the mouthpiece to the barrel with clear tape.
Dart
6. Break off a straight, 1-inch section of wire from a paper clip.
7. Wrap one end of the wire section with a medium-sized rubber band.
8. Roll an 8½-inch by 11-inch copy paper into a cone. Place a piece of clear tape on the seam so the cone retains its shape. Trim 1/8 inch of paper from the point of the cone.
9. Hold the cone point down. Drop the rubber-band-wrapped wire into the cone, rubber-band side up. Pull the wire through the open point of the cone until 1/3 inch of wire is exposed. Wrap clear tape around the wire and cone point.
10. Hold your blowgun perpendicular to the floor. Place into the dart, tip side down, into the barrel of your blowgun. Trim away the excess paper and remove the dart from the gun.
11. Remove the eraser from a pencil. Stick the pointed wire end into the center of the eraser to add a rubber tip to your dart.
12. Place the dart, tip first, into the barrel through the mouthpiece end to use the blowgun. Aim the blowgun at your desired target and blow through the mouthpiece.
Tags: clear tape, your blowgun, with clear, with clear tape, barrel your, barrel your blowgun, copy paper
