In this tutorial, we'll take a boring clothespin and transform it into a powerful match shooter for matches and toothpicks, capable of sticking them into apples and dartboards.
Step 2: What is a match gun?
The match gun is required element your tabletop weapon :) This is small pocket device capable of shooting matches 6 meters away and sticking toothpicks into apples and dartboards.
Moreover, this pistol can be assembled very easily with virtually no cost.
Step 3: What you'll need
All you need for a clothespin crossbow is:
- Wood glue
- Simple clothespin (wooden with a metal spring)
Additional things that may help with assembly:
- Waste paper
- Wooden lists
- Wooden toothpicks
Step 4: Create a small crossbow
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To create the gun, you will first have to remove the spring and place the wooden pieces of the clothespin back to back so that their notches are in the center.
Make a mark on the top of the clothespin at the notch about 1/2 inch long and another mark at an angle on the bottom of the clothespin (see pictures for clarity).
For convenience, I colored the areas that need to be cut with a blue marker. Take a knife and carefully cut off all the blue colored areas.
The long channel cut in the center will be used as the barrel of the gun, so work on it until the match slides along it without difficulty while both parts of the clothespin are pressed together.
The angled mark marks the spot where you need to make a small notch. This notch is needed to hold the spring when you move it from its original location.
Step 5: Glue the Wooden Parts
It's time to glue the gun body together.
Cover the flat parts of the wood with a layer of glue and press them together. I applied a mound of glue to the paper and then carefully ran the flat parts of a clothespin over the mound, spreading the glue evenly over the surface.
After 5-10 minutes, the glue should set firmly enough to install the spring.
Step 6: Put on the spring
When putting the spring on, I found that it worked best to first place the top hook over the outer notch, then bend the spring "open" so that the second spring hook could slide into the center cavity.
The spring should snap into place without any problems. The gun is now ready for use.
Step 7: Ammo Options
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The gun is designed to fire matches, so they must slide well down the barrel.
If the barrel is too narrow, you can widen the hole using a thin drill bit.
To load our gun, simply insert a match and push it until the spring reaches the rear notch. The pistol will cock automatically and be ready to fire. If the trigger system doesn't work as expected, don't get discouraged - just work on it and adjust it until the pistol starts to cock. Each pistol is slightly different from the others, so each one needs to be modified separately.
You can hold the device like regular pistol and when you're ready to shoot, simply pull the trigger. You will be surprised how powerful such a small spring is, it unfurls in a split second and fires charges up to 6 meters away.
Now you can try shooting with toothpicks - just remove one of the sharp edges, making it flat. From a distance of about 15 cm, the gun will have enough power to stick a toothpick into an apple. Of course, the closer the gun is to the apple, the deeper the toothpick will go into it.
Step 8: Simple Improvements
If the barrel of your pistol is too large and awkward to shoot, then feel free to modify it until it suits your needs.
Now you know how to transform an ordinary clothespin into an interesting little tabletop gun.
A match shooter from a clothespin was invented back in the days Soviet Union. The common people also called him “pugach”. Schoolboys gladly used this “weapon” in their battles. Due to the simplicity of the design and components that are always available, the crossbow was very popular among high school and junior high school students. Everyone knew how to make a scarecrow. This device is compact and can be fired with both conventional and incendiary ammunition. It depends on individual desire. Although shooting fire shells had a more psychological effect, as it also caused physical harm. The effectiveness of such a charge is negligible. Now this weapon has lost its former popularity. To a certain extent, this was influenced by the fact that now clothespins are mostly made of plastic, and wooden ones have a very weak spring. Plus, kids these days are lazy and not particularly hardworking. But there are still true connoisseurs of this simple weapon who would like to know the process of its manufacture. For them, further on we will talk about how to make a scarecrow with your own hands. In the hope that they will pass on this secret to others, as a result of this it will not be lost.
Basis of the device
How to make a scarecrow from a clothespin - children's weapons from the times of the Soviet Union? The answer to this question is quite simple. Some people still use wooden clothespins.
One of them can be taken as a basis in the manufacture of this throwing weapon, which can shoot lit matches like a real military weapon.
Available materials
IN in this case the following is required:
- Wooden clothespin.
- Rubber.
Tools
Here you will need:
- Penknife.
- Protective glasses.
Ammunition
In this regard, you can use:
Manufacturing process
Now let's move directly to the question of how to make a homemade scarecrow.
To do this you need:
Disassemble the clothespin itself into three parts. Namely: two halves made of wood and a spring made of metal.
With help you need to finish both halves. It's not difficult to do this. To start, you just need to cut a small groove on one of the wooden halves. Take your time, your fingers are much more valuable than any clothespin. Then divide the other half into two parts.
Then the spring must be pulled back to the indicated groove. This must be done carefully. So that its protrusion fits into this very groove.
Then attach the short piece to the long one. To avoid mistakes when assembling, before making the scarecrow, be guided by the factory grooves. After everything is in place, you need to fasten the elements with an elastic band. That's all. The clothespin scarecrow is ready.
Remember that the indicated wooden parts should still move apart a little. That is, so much so that the upper part makes it possible to cock the spring.
Checking for “combat readiness”
When asking how to make a scarecrow, you should take into account that this device must be ready to fire. That is, it is necessary to carry out verification. To do this you need to do the following:
- Pull the top forward. Until the protrusion of the spring is in the factory groove on its surface. When you achieve this, then pull this part back. Until the protrusion of the clothespin is in the groove you made at the bottom of the match shooter.
- Then select a projectile and load it by lifting the top part of this device. In this case, regular matches or metal clips are ideal.
- After this, pull back the spring so that the trigger bar is released. This will result in a shot. That is, the device works.
Cause of malfunction
It may also be that the match shooter will not fire. This may be because another part of the spring is slipping out of place. Then you will have to further deepen the groove into which it goes. This malfunction occurs because the depth of the groove is not the right size.
Modernization of the device
In the future, you can improve your scarecrow. To do this, you need to glue a fragment of a matchbox with sulfur on it to its lower part. It's not hard to do. After this upgrade, matches will light up when fired. This will add additional efficiency this device. Also, part of the matchbox can be completely replaced with a piece sandpaper. However, in this case you will have to insert the matches into the scarecrow backwards. It won't be very convenient. This problem is much easier to solve by lighting a match before firing. In this case, you should not neglect the danger posed by burning shells. Never use them indoors, do not shoot at flammable objects, and it is advisable to wear them while doing so. And of course, never aim at people or animals. The match shooter is capable of shooting at a distance of up to five meters, and sometimes even further.
Conclusion
Having read the above, everyone will be able to understand the question of how to make a scarecrow - a match shooter. What is needed only in this case is desire, scrupulousness and hard work.
Nowadays, you can buy almost any children's toy in the store, although their quality and usefulness are very questionable. And Soviet schoolchildren often made their own toys. For example, a match shooter. This homemade product shoots close, but is quite simple to make.
To make a match shooter, you will need a thin felt-tip pen and a powerful spring. By the way, the spring can be removed from the lighter. Or from an automatic mechanism ballpoint pen.
Using a hacksaw, cut the felt-tip pen into two equal parts. Then remove from it the writing tip, the rod, and the plug, which is located on the top of the felt-tip pen.
Insert a small metal (or plastic) plate into the spring. This must be done so that when using a match shooter, the match does not fall inside.
Take the bottom of the marker and place the spring in it. Seal the top tightly with the cap.
So, the match shooter is ready. To start using it, insert a match into the hole, press it with your finger and quickly release it. The spring will unfold and push the match out. The firing range of this homemade weapon is about five meters and depends entirely on the length and elasticity of the spring.
You don’t have to be afraid to make a match shooter for your child, because making any craft together is a great time, and a finished match shooter will be no more dangerous than a store-bought gun that shoots plastic or rubber bullets, because matches in this case are not used for their intended purpose and they can be used remove the sulfur head. A match shooter can be made from a variety of available tools and materials, but in this case we’ll make it from a clothespin.
TO MAKE A MATCH SHOOT FROM A CLOTHESPENG YOU WILL NEED:
=>Knife,
=>Clothespin,
=>Narrow tape or spool of thread.
SELECTION OF CLOTHESPENS FOR MAKING A MATCHSHOOTER
Not every clothespin is suitable for making a match shooter, and it doesn’t really matter whether it’s plastic or wooden. It is important to take a clothespin for a match fire that has a specific design. Clothespins with a spring inside used as a spacer and something similar will not work.
For match shooter this option you need to use a clothespin with a spring that does not expand from the inside, but presses the part of the clothespin from the outside. Such a spring will be used as a trigger and a mechanism for pushing the match out of the match shooter.
MAKING A MATCH SHOT FROM A CLOTHESPENG
After we have found a suitable clothespin for the match shooter, we will begin making it.
1. Let's disassemble our clothespin into parts, into a spring and two blanks.
2. C outside Using a knife or other sharp cutting tool, cut a groove out of one part of the clothespin.
3. In the other part of the clothespin we make exactly the same cutout and now you can connect both elements of the match shooter and see how it will look.
5. Now we have to select one of the blanks for making two more cuts, for which the spring from the shooting clothespin will be attached. We make outer and inner transverse cuts and move on to the sixth stage of making a match shooter.
6. At this stage, along one of the parts of the workpiece, we cut a channel for loading and firing the match shooter with matches.
7. In another workpiece we make exactly the same channel.
9. At this stage of work, using tape or thread, we fasten both blanks and get a ready-made match shooter, but without the hammer and trigger mechanism.
10. In order for our match shooter to fire a shot, we will equip it with a spring that was pulled out of the clothespin at the very beginning.
12. Stretch the spring and secure its edges into the previously cut transverse notches. We insert a match and you can shoot from a match shooter.
13.After pulling the trigger inner part The spring will pop out of the notch and push the match out of the match shooter.
In order for a match shooter from a clothespin to fire again, we tension the spring, load it with a match and pull the trigger.
