DIY Cap Gun

The fireworks season is on! Diwali followed by Karthigai followed by Christmas followed by New Year, followed by Pongal! WOW! For next three months, there will be lot of dazzling colors and sounds (and also smoke and bit of paper!). What to do if the kids are demanding for lot of crackers and sparklers? How to divert them to do something useful and at the same time less polluting and cheap? This Do It Yourself (DIY) cap gun is one. When I was a kid, during a Diwali time, one of my friend introduced this in our street. Soon, everyone of us were bugging our parents/brothers/friends to help us in making our own cap guns and we almost lost our interest in everything else (sweets are exceptions as usual!). Let us see how to make it!

What you need?

Things you need

1. A hollow stick (I don't know the name of that plant we used, but any hollow stick that is strong and not so thick is suitable)

2. A large nail (4 or 4.5 or 5 inch nail according to the size of stick or availability)

3. A small nail (1 inch nail)

4. A bicycle wheel spoke with the nipple (screw like part that connects the spoke to the rim)

5. A rubber band

6. A knife to cut the stick

If you are below 15 years old, you also need an adult supervisor (preferably parent/elder sibling).

Steps:

Don't forget to get adult(s) help in case you are younger than 15!

1. Cut a 2 to 2.5 inch wide rectangle in the middle of the length of the stick up to half of the thickness (refer image).

2. Insert the large nail in the stick through the slit which we have cut. The head of the nail should be facing the opening of the slit (refer image). You may need some bits of paper or card to hold it tightly in place. You can use any suitable thing like large screws, flat head pins etc, preferably made of metal, in this place if you don't find a suitable nail.

3. Drive the small nail on the stick so that it is in the opposite side of the large nail (refer image).

Nipple end should be straight...

4. Bend the bicycle spoke as shown in the image.

5. Insert the bicycle spoke in to the stick, with the nipple facing the large nail and put the rubber band over the small nail and bent end of the spoke.

6. Drag the spoke and insert a spot cap or a single bit of torn roll cap in the space between the nail and spoke's nipple. Release the spoke, “Tzzaap!”

You can try with different shape of sticks. Also you can paint your gun or stick some color papers to improve its look. I once tied an empty soap box to the bottom and pasted black paper to give it a better look!

Advantages:

This gun will soon break or may need frequent tinkering. So this will keep the kids engaged in taking care of their home made guns and improving the same instead of demanding  you to buy another 1000-wala. Also it will make them proud that it is the gun they themselves have made and hence their happiness is much more compared to those who own costly cap guns and crackers. As the parts are fully bio degradable and caps cause relatively miniscule pollution, this is Eco-friendly too! You can think of lot many improvements and other such DIY toys. If you have any ideas, you can also share it with others! So have a creative, safe and responsible festival season ahead! Enjoy!