From the Publisher

Rubber Band Engineer: All-Ballistic Pocket Edition

From a Slingshot Rifle to a Mousetrap Catapult, Build 10 Guerrilla Gadgets from Household Hardware

Do you have a rubber band handy? Good. As soon as you pick it up, you’ll probably want to start playing with it. You have a choice: You could just pull it back on your fingertips and zing it across the room, but that’s not why you have this book. You’re a maker and a junkdrawer engineer, and you know that rubber band is destined for greater things, like a PVC Slingshot Rifle or a Pyramid Catapult.

This pocket-sized, all-ballistic edition of Rubber Band Engineer is put together just for makers like you. Toss it into your backpack, your bike pack, your shoulder bag, or your glove compartment. You never need to be without it when the irresistible urge for a little guerilla engineering grabs you. Of course, you know that there’s more to life than just rubber bandpowered shooters. We’ve got you covered.

Grab a glue gun, clear a workspace, and prepare for the mild amount of mayhem that is sure to ensue. It’s time to start making!

Lance Akiyama

Projects:

Many-Thing Shooter
PVC Slingshot Rifle
Improvised Darts
Rubber Band Rocket
Pyramid Catapult
Enhanced Mousetrap Catapult
Floating Arm Trebuchet

Crossbow

This project requires some determination to complete, but the payoff is worth it. The crossbow makes a satisfying snap when the trigger is pulled, and it can launch bolts more than 100 feet (30 m)! You can power this crossbow with a piece of string or with a rubber band.

Improvised Darts

Darts may be the simplest project in this book, but don’t be fooled-creating a super-effective dart is more nuanced than you might think. This project isn’t a step-by-step plan, but rather a guide to illustrate what factors contribute to-and detract from-a great improvised dart, whether made from a pen, a pencil, or a drinking straw.

Floating Arm Trebuchet

The Floating Arm Trebuchet is a modern take on an ancient war machine. This variation features a drop channel, which allows the counterweight to fall straight down rather than swing with the arm. This is a more efficient way to transfer potential energy into kinetic energy on a small scale. A pair of wheels allows the arm to roll along glide rails as the counterweight falls. This design is more complicated to build than a traditional trebuchet, but the launching mechanism is more effective and much more gratifying to behold!

Da Vinci Catapult

This type of catapult derives its name from the extraordinary inventor Leonardo da Vinci. He sketched an innovative catapult design that winds rope around a central drum and stores energy in flexing bows. Although aesthetically pleasing, many da Vinci catapult models have lacked power-until now. This take on the da Vinci catapult maximizes the amount of flexing in the bows to deliver a stellar launch while still maintaining the unique double-bow look.

Crossbow

Improvised Darts

Floating Arm Trebuchet

Da Vinci Catapult

About The Author

Lance Akiyama combines tinkering and education into one aspiration: to create a better world by inspiring the next generation of innovators with exciting hands-on projects.

To that end, he has created many project-based learning tutorials on Instructables.com, started a small, after-school engineering service, and is currently employed as a STEM-based curriculum developer for Galileo Learning.

Other than that, Lance spends his free time designing elaborate plans for advanced contraptions, keeping journals in cryptic backwards writing, and attempting to fly by strapping paper wings to his arms and leaping from rooftops.