Snowballzooka

Snowball fights are a common occurrence during the winter months. The Snowballzooka is a great way to change up the routine and score some major style points with the kids next door. Included in this Instructable is how to build the Snowballzooka.

Materials include:

- Three sections of PVC pipe

- 24” section with 2 in diameter

- 18” section with 1 7/8 in diameter

- 3 ½” section with 2 in diameter

(Be sure that the 18” section of PVC will slide, with little friction, within the 24” section)

- 2x 3’ bungee cord

- 2x 2x4” wood scraps, 12” long

- 2x cable ties (can substitute with rope)

- 4x steel brackets

- 2x steel L-brackets

- Pipe clamp that can hold 2” pipe

- Tape, any type

- Wood screws, assorted sizes

- 2 washers, as thin as possible

Tools needed:

- Drill

- Screwdrivers

- Saw

- Scissors

- Take the 24” pipe and drill a 1/3” hole, or pilot hole for screw ¾” from the end through both walls of the pipe.

- Rotate the pipe 90-degrees and drill another hole the same as the first.

- Drill two adjacent holes, of the four that are now in the pipe, so that they are large enough to fit the shaft of a screwdriver through. (See image above)

- Place the 3 ½” section of pipe around the 18” section so it is flush at one end.

- Screw in two rows of four screws around the pipe to secure the sections together.

- Drill a 2/8” hole through both walls of the pipe.

- Attach the cable ties together and feed them through the hole you just cut and zip them together, forming a handle. Adjust the cable ties so that they make a comfortable handle.

- Rotate the pipe 90-degrees and drill a ½” hole through both walls of the pipe. These holes will allow the bungee hooks to the plunger.

- At the opposite end of the pipe, tape over the opening to close off the plunger and make a surface for the projectiles to sit.

The cut-off corners of the wooden supports are optional; they are present in the above image because an element of safety was considered. The two larger diameter holes can be disregarded, they were in the scraps previous to the build.

- Mark 4 ½” from each end on one of the 2x10” surfaces for both boards.

- On these marks, make a 2 ¼ in cut at a 45-degree angle so that the cuts meet in the middle, 6” from the end. Refer to the image above.

- Drill two holes on one of the wooden planks

- 1 ¼” from both ends of the planks

- ¾” from the side the angled cuts were made

- Hole diameter depends on the thickness of bungee available to you.

- Place the barrel into the notch of one of the wood supports, so that the screw hole is aligned with one of the edges. (Refer to pictures above)

- Place a washer on the inside of the pipe, over the pilot hole, and screw the pipe into the support.

- Repeat this for the other pilot hole.

The support that was attached to the pipe in the previous step will be referred to as the bungee support. The other support will simply be referred to as the second support.

- Start by placing the barrel with the attached support on the bottom.

- Place the second support on top.

- Drill two holes on either side of the bungee support holes, approximately halfway down the narrow surface of the supports.

- Screw the two supports together using the inset holes, ensuring that the screws are long enough to screw into both supports.

- Place two steel brackets around each support, between the barrel and the bungee support hole.

- Screw the brackets into both of the supports and repeat on the other side of the barrel.

- Place the pipe clamp around the barrel and L-brackets.

- Screw the L-brackets into the bungee support and tighten the pipe clamp until the barrel is secure.

For this build, it is assumed that the bungee cords available have hooks at both ends. If using spooled bungee cord, tie off both ends instead of using hooks. The length of bungee may change but all of the holes will still be functional for their original purpose.

- Place the plunger in the barrel so that the taped end is inside the barrel.

- Take both of the bungee cords and cut and discard one hook from each cord.

- Place the remaining hooks in the larger diameter holes at the end of the plunger.

- Feed the “open” end of the bungee cord through the bungee support holes, shown in the image above.

- Pull the bungee cord through so that there is 10” of overhang and tie off the cord at that point.

There you have it! You have made your very own Snowballzooka! Simply load the snowballs into the end of the barrel, pull back on the plunger and release.