This is a fun and powerful little project. It is a miniature hand-held crossbow that is rubber band powered. And it shoots straws.

You need a few basic supplies like pencils, straws, masking tape, a rubber band and popsicle sticks.

I also have a video tutorial for this project. It is at the bottom of this page.

Things you will need: Scissors Masking Tape Glue hobby knife (x-acto knife) 6 and 1/4 popsicle sticks 4 pencils (unsharpened) Rubber band Glue gun Q-tips (not shown in pic) Empty cereal box ( you only need a piece of it )

Can you make this mini crossbow? You sure can! Here is on made by Yanael! It came out great. My thanks go to him for sending in the picture!!!

And here is one made by Jen and Barb in PA.! They call it the Grape Ape!

There are four major components to the mini crossbow: The barrel, the handle, the crossbar and the trigger. I will take you through the steps to making them.

The Bow Assembly

Take your four pencils and wrap them with masking tape. Just like the one you see in the picture. Trim any excess off the ends.

We are going to make the crossbar of this crossbow so take two pencils and wrap extra tape on each end as shown. These wraps are about 1 inch from the ends.

Now wrap those two pencils together like this. Leaving the ends open. The rubber band will go in those open slots on each end. You can put this assembly aside for now.

The Handle Assembly

Take two popsicle sticks and lay them side by side like this. Then glue down two pieces of cereal box cardboard just as shown.

Now cut a popsicle stick into three parts and lay those parts on top just like shown. Those two at the top jut out half way over the sticks underneath. They are a tab. Glue them.

Now cut and glue two more pieces of cereal box cardboard just like this.

Now put two more popsicle sticks right over the whole thing just as shown. And glue them down. These two are exactly over the first two on the bottom. Now you can see how those two small ones at the top form a tab that sticks out.

This picture shows the completed handle. You can see a gap goiing right down the middle and you can see how the tabs stick out.

Let's continue with the building

This is the video tutorial:

Barnett Bandit Toy Crossbow

- Bart Bandit toy crossbow- Uniquely designed and scaled down- Durable construction- Soft suction cup safety darts- Great fun for all ages 8 and up

Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction: Build Implements of Spitball Warfare

Toy designer John Austin provides detailed, step-by-step instructions for each project, including materials and ammo lists, clear diagrams, and construction tips, for mayhem-loving MacGyvers. The 35 devices include catapults, slingshots, minibombs, darts, and combustion shooters. Build a tiny trebuchet from paper clips and a D-cell battery. Wrap a penny in a string of paper caps to create a surprisingly impressive "bomb." Several of the projects even include variations where combatants mount laser pointer sights to their shooters to increase their accuracy.

Do you like making projects and exploring a variety of hobbies?

Sign up for my free newsletter. I give you regular updates on hobbies and projects you can make. it is totally free and I don't share your email with anybody.