I found this plan in the Scroll Saw Gadgets and gizmos Magazine. I
actually did not buy the magazine for this plan but it was a nice little added
plan. It can be done over a weekend. The concept is sound but there
are a couple of small changes I would do to the design. First, the crank
arm is too long. I would shorten it up. Second the small dowels on
the back side to keep the rubber bands from slipping off the dowels are
completely useless. Third I would remove the sight. The string
seems to encounter a lot of friction through this part. I would put the side
mount. Granted, this would cause the rubber bands to fire from the side
instead of the top, but,who cares, it is not like it is very
accurate.
It looks like the plans are available online for free. It says that
100 rubber bands can be loaded on the barrel if done correctly. I have
been able to load 80. It does take a little while to load and has a rage
of about 20-30 feet. I will link to a couple of videos.
I made three, two of which will be sold on my Etsy
account. I hope to list them the beginning of December. I am
going to make a couple of the changes I mentioned above.
A couple of things that are were nice about this build. It was
easy. It was nice just to build. I tend to over design and over
complicate things. I did dowel in everything so the barrels will not com
off. Sometimes it is nice to unload a bunch of rubber bands and loading
them can be relaxing too. My wife does say no guns allowed, so the one
that I am keeping is now at the office.
Video 1
Video 2