Pocket Sized Grappling Gun

Grappling hooks are overated, they are big and bulky, obnoxiously loud when firing, and are very pricy with a price tag that can be as much as 200$! Sometimes even more. Then one day I found this instructable, I was instantly inspired! After three prototypes and some tweaking I feel confident that my grappling hook can hold it's own against mikeasaurus' design. Now you can build a grappling hook that is light, maneuverable, and practically free! These pocket sized grappling hooks are definitely the way to go in the world of grappling.

Now that we have all that down let us begin are mission debrief.

1. We are going to build a launcher for our grappling hook.
2. Then we will build the grappling hook itself.
3. then we shall launch the grappling hook at sturdy items that wont break.  

What does every project need? What's that you say? Materials? Well your wrong, you need ingredients! In this case all your ingredients for this project should be found in your junk drawer, except for the drill and bits. Well this is what you need-


1. Film canister- or just any tiny cylinder with a lid, a pill bottle would also work. If you are adventurous then feel free to try a square box, just be sure to tell me how it works out!

2. Thread- just some sewing thread, just be sure it's not to thick or it won't run properly due to the friction and wieght of the thread.

3. Pencil or pen- whatever you due do not use a pencil with an eraser, your project will fall apart rather quickly if you do.

4. Rubber band- anything thick will due, just make sure that it is not thing, do as I say and not as I do.

5. Paper clips- not jumbo sized, not mini sized, but just right sized, just like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You will need about four.

6. Tape- scotch tape should work, duct tape should work, masking tape should work, as long as it's tape it should work.

7. Scissors- anything sharper than safety scissors will be just fine.

8. Drill bits- they should all be about the same size, but slightly larger than the thickness of the rubber band.

9. Power drill- just needs to be strong enough to drill through your film canister.
    

This step will detail how to prepare the body for the launcher. It involves a lot of drilling, some drilling, and alittle more drilling for good measure.

1. Take your rubber band and cut it in half, don't worry, it will be O.K, just cut it in half.
2. Wrap the rubber band over the cap to see how far each end will reach on the sides of the canister, drill a whole, that is the size of the rubber band, below that point on each side. Do your best to keep them on opposite sides of the container.
3. Using a slightly larger bit than previously used, drill two holes on opposite sides of the lid.
4. Find a drill bit that is slightly larger than the pencil that you are going to use and drill stright throught the canister the long way, make sure that you drill dead center throught the canister and that you also manage to drill through the lid.
5. Make a really tiny whole anywhere on the container, all this whole has to do is have a piece of thread run through it.


Congratulations! You just finished preparing the body for your grappling hook!    

This step is simple, but tricky, you may find yourself drilling some extra holes in order to make this work properly. What you are going to do in this step is put the rubber band in place.

1. Run the rubber band through one of the holes you drilled in the lid.
2. Then run it through one of the side holes that was big enough for the rubber band to fit through, then tie it off so the rubber band won't slip back through the hole. Another option would be to tie it off then run it through the hole, then the lid, whatever works for you is just fine.
3. Do the same to the other side of the rubber band in the other hole, the rubber band should be taught now.
4. Now put the lid back on, the only rubber band you should see is the knots by the holes on the side of the container, and the stretch of rubber band that runs over the large whole on the lid.


Congatulations on finishing the launching mechanism, double check that the rubber band is crossing the hole on the lid, it is imperative that the rubber band crosses over the hole on the lid.

The biggest flaw of my grappling hook is the hook! This means I won't be givng much instructions on how to build the hook, if anybody has any great ideas to help me out with this then feel free to post them in the comments.

1. Making the hook is difficult for me, so I'll  just give a brief explanation. I took four paper clips and bent them all to have equall angles then taped them to the end of the pencil.
2. Take the spool of thread and run an end through the tiniest hole in the container, then open the lid so that the end will pop out the container end, close the lid so the thread is caught. Now cut off the excess string that is poking past the lid and begin to wind the thread around the container, make sure that you do not wrap the thread between the lid and the knots. Continue doing this untill you get a fair amount of thread wraped.
3. Cut off the thread you have wrapped around the container from the spool, use a small piece of tape to attach the end of the thread to about halfway up the pencil.


Congratulations on finishing the grappling device, be sure to comment with brilliant ideas of how to improve the grappling hook!  

This last step basically makes sure that you know how to safely use the grappling hook.

1. Be sure to not shoot at other people or animals, no matter how "weak" or "painless" your grappling hook is a stray shot could hit an eye. I know this sounds basic but I need this to be in here so I don't get sued over stupidity.

2. Launching is simple, put the grappling hook in the main hole, pull back the the rubber band along with the grappling hook, and release. Once again do not shoot at people and animals.

3. What you can shoot at is, paper airplanes that are stuck, lightwieght action figures, cardboard boxes, basically anything that isn't breakable and is light, can be shot at.

4. This is the second most important thing (first is safety) have fun!!!