How To Make Homemade Rubber Band Guns

This rubber band gun is one you will make with just your hand and a rubber band. I understand that a rubber band is not free, but most people have some rubber bands lying around. If not, you can get a whole pound of rubber bands for less than $4.

First way to make a rubber band gun:

- Form your index finger and thumb into an L shape.
- Wrap the rubber band around the outside of you thumb.
- Stretch the rubber band so that the other side of the rubber band is on the tip of your index finger.
- Quickly lower your thumb so that it is parallel to your index finger.
- The rubber band should fly toward the direction you are aiming.

Second way to make a rubber band gun:

- Form your hand so that all your fingers are out and parallel to each.
- Pull your pinky finger in like you're trying to grip something.
- Wrap the rubber band around your pinky finger.
- Bring the other end of the rubber band around the outside of your hand.
- Place the other end of the rubber band on the tip of your index finger.
- Straighten your pinky finger out
- Watch the rubber band fly!

This rubber band gun has a little more umph, but isn't the most accurate. The video below is a bit dorky, but easy to follow if you have a hard time following my gibberish.

You will need some wood (even pressed wood will work) ¾ inch thick. A 1" by 2" is best, lumber is measured before it's dried, so a "one by" is ¾" thick. I used dowels, also made the handle separate and glued it to the body of the gun. You could just cut the whole thing from a piece of 1X4. Make sure to sand the wood if you use plywood. The handle should be about 2 ¾" in length and the barrel should be about 9" in length. Measurements aren't overly important. As long as you are close, the gun should still be easy to use. I dowel the handle to the body, if your dowel hole isn't perfect, you can always sand the parts to match.

- Glue the handle to the body. Put a light coat of wood glue on both pieces and the dowel, then clamp. If you don't have the clamp, use rubber bands to hold the pieces in place.

- When dry, you could tape a clothespin onto the handle, connect it with dowels, or use tiny screws. I would recommend the dowels because it tends to last the longest, but every method works fine. When screwing or placing dowels, make sure to make two holes so that the clothespin doesn't spin.

- When everything is all done, I usually add a notch at the end of the gun so that the rubber band will stay in place while I stretch it and place it in the clothespin. I also round the corner where the rubber band is released so that it won't get caught up on the gun.

Happy Hunting!