tipped cross-bow bolts, and slings wooden matches over 30 feet away. In this project

we're turning some ordinary household items, into a surprisingly versatile, micro-crossbow.

To start this project, we'll need a handful of popsicle sticks, and a template showing

how to cut them. You'll see how to get one for free in just a minute. Once the popsicle

sticks are all marked, we can use something like a pair of gardening shears to cut the

pieces to size without ever having to make a single measurement. You can get YOUR free

template by clicking the icon, or by following the link in the description. Alright, now

that our pieces are cut, let's paint them completely black. And that can be done quickly

and easily with a permanent marker. The ink will probably take just a minute to dry, so

now would be a good time to round up some metal hair clips. We're only going to need

2 of them, and you can see that with a little manipulation, the inside clip breaks off cleanly

at the bottom. Now the first step of assembly is securing the clips to the wooden supports

with a bit of hot glue, so that when it cools, the limbs arch away from each other in a bow

shape. Now let's go ahead and add some hot glue to the inside of the arch so we can press

the second support firmly into place. I cleaned up the excess glue with a utility knife, and

now we should be good to set this to the side, and move on to making the pistol grip. The

outer rail needs just enough hot glue to secure the smaller, "rail spacer" flush with the

tip. You might notice I dropped the top down a touch, to form a little groove about half

a matchstick deep. Now, it's important this flight channel stays clean, so we need

to check for any excess glue and ensure it all gets removed. At this point we can attach

the handle support right behind the spacer, then glue the last rail in place. You can

see I left a matchstick in the flight channel, and that's to ensure I get the spacing right.

To finish the frame, all we need to do is glue the "pistol grip" panels so they overhang

slightly at the back. Alright, were going to need a very shallow groove for catching

the bowstring, so let's try using a knife to carefully whittle out a small catch in

the upper rails, in-line with the front of the pistol grip. While we're at it, why don't

we use a bit of sand paper to lightly round the edges of the barrel to help prevent the

bowstring from fraying and breaking. Don't worry about messing up the paint job … it's

super easy to touch up make good as new. Now, the crossbow starts to come together as the

tip of the gun rails are pressed firmly into a dab of hot glue on the inside of the bow.

And about 30 seconds of steady pressure works well to keep the connection strong as the

glue begins to cool. I chose to glue some fillets on the side for added support and

durability, and you should be able to see the flight groove is slightly higher than

the limb supports. Now, when a matchstick's placed in the channel, it will hopefully slide

freely and without restriction. Alright, it's time to pick out a bow-string. This is embroidery

floss from the craft section of a local supercenter, and I'll be using yellow. Now, if we push

one end of the floss through the hole in the tip, tie it in place with a double knot, and

add a bit of hot glue, it should keep the knot from unravelling. Before we go any further,

I'm thinking we need a second string glued to the backside of the bow, and wrapped around

the support 8-10 times on each side. This will reinforce the connections exponentially,

and a small dab of hot glue should keep the string from unravelling. Alright, let's get

back to the bow string. We'll need to twist it around a few times to keep it tight, then

flex the hair clips a little before synching down another double knot. You can see this

will keep tension on the string and increase the draw weight of the bow. Of course we'll

need to add some glue to this knot as well, and trim off the excess thread, but other

than that, our basic crossbow is finished. Let's try it out by cocking the bowstring,

inserting a wooden match for ammunition, and using our thumbnail to press up gently on

the string. You can see the wooden bolts fire off at incredible speeds, and over 30 feet

away. Now, occasionally the string will jump the bolt, and fail to launch. So let's address

that challenge with some pieces from the scrap pile. If we glue them to the back and create

a makeshift "retention spring", it'll fire the bolt every time. The finger holds the

bolt so securely, that it can be fired from any angle, even upside down. I went ahead

and wrapped the handle with yellow thread, and added a couple of mini-clips for additional

ammo. These "side-mount" quivers are simply made from a plastic drinking straw. I cut

two small pieces from off the straw, capped one end with some hot glue, and attached them

to the side of the barrel at a bit of an angle. Now when the bolts are inserted, there's plenty

of tension to hold them in place, even if the crossbow's completely inverted. With this

simple modification, we've tripled our easy access ammo, which should give a nice edge

to our gameplay. Now, let's take it to the next level with some contact explosive bolt

heads. I made these ones by securing individual snappers, to the tips of the sticks with a

bit of electrical tape. This is super awesome because now our bolts make a bang when they

impact a hard target. Of course this should only be done outdoors and with adult supervision.

Well now you know how to turn some simple household items, into a powerful, and amazingly

versatile, micro-crossbow. By the way, if you can't find any embroidery floss, try twisting

about 4 strands of dental floss instead. It works great, and it's slippery enough to cock

and fire a bolt that's already set in place. Well that's it for now. If you liked this

project, perhaps you'll like some of my others. Check them out at www.thekingofrandom.com