DIY Rubber Band Gun and Target
DIY craft for kids.Your kids will have so much fun with their DIY Rubber Band Gun and target. Great for summer time, rainy days, or weekend kid crafts.
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DIY Rubber Band Gun and Target
Rubber band guns are epic at my house! I have boys.. so anything that keeps them busy with out electronics is completely awesome in my book. This DIY rubber band gun and target took us maybe 45 min to make the target and a day for the gun to dry because we used E6000. If you try to play with your gun before it’s set it will break then you will have to wait another 24 hours for it to reset… bummer!
Supply list for Rubber Band Gun:
- A parent or responsible adult
- any box you have handy
- disposable plastic cups
- box cutter or small knife
- spray paint for your cardboard box
- paint for target circles
- small paint brush
- hot glue gun (& sticks) or E6000
I cut down the side of my box and turned it inside out to hide the black lettering (just an idea for you). The plastic cups will catch your rubber bands so decide where you want your holes and be sure to trace a smaller circle than the size of the cup. You will want to be able to catch the rubber band when its shot into the target instead of bouncing right back out. For safety reasons, an adult should cut your holes out, spray paint your box and use the hot glue.
Time to paint! Take your box outdoors if you are spray painting. We gave ours one good coat of paint, and it took no time to dry. Once dry my son painted his red circles around the target holes. Let dry. Then glue the cups either with E6000 or hot glue. E6000 will take around a day to dry so keep that in mind when creating your target. I glued mine with hot glue but if you use too much it will melt the cup so be careful.
Lastly, my son and I connected the back of the box back together using hot glue so it would stand up. You could also make holes for your target to be hung or lean it against something. We made this target for a playful afternoon or weekend craft then let our imaginations to take control. As of now our target is holding Lego men hostage.. lol.
Supply list for Rubber Band Gun:
- ADULT needed!!! Seriously between the glue and saw.. help or do it for your child!
- 12-inch small wooden dowels
- a small saw or pliers to make a cut in the end for the band to sit)
- 1 clothes pin for each child’s gun
- E6000 ( I love this stuff)
- rubber bands of a good size
When making this rubber band gun our small hand saw was (of course) nowhere to be found. So being the determined person that I am, I used a pair of pliers and took small bites out of the end of the stick until I thought a rubber band would fit comfortably. If you can find your hand saw then make cut a nice slice through the end of the dowel (see picture).
Once finished make sure the cut you made is level with the floor, then using the E6000 glue attach your clothespin on the top of the rod. Be super careful to get this part right, because you will want your dowel and clothes pin to match up. Set on a piece of paper towel in case the glue drips. Your rubber band gun should be dry in a day. We tried ours too soon and had to re-glue it. That was a letdown.. so make sure you wait the full day.
Now you are ready to launch! If you are anything like me, you will want to shoot it first, after all, I made it. Did I mention I can be a giant child? So the best plan would be to make at least 2 (I didn’t think of that ahead of time).
Warning!
Warning! You may snap yourself a couple of times with the rubber band trying to stretch it to the end so be careful!! Don’t ever point a rubber band gun toward someone’s face, the gun could accidentally let the rubber band go and it hurts.. I should know its happened to me! Ouch! You may snap yourself a couple of times with the rubber band trying to stretch it to the end so be careful!!
I hope you have lots of fun with your new toy. My son and I played for hours.
Do your kids love rubber band guns?
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.