Superheroic Wrist Gun (made of Plastic Trash and an Old Leather Boot)

If there is something I love in superhero movies, comics and cartoons, is when the hero (or villain) has some kind of wrist mounted weapon. Even I can forgive the usual plot hole of the character having a normal non-bulky arm in one scene, and then suddenly, he has a batarang launcher mounted in the glove (however, I can't do the same for the rest of "Batman & Robin", Mr. Schumacher!). And now, after watching "Batman: Assault on Arkham" and looking how awesome was Deadshot in that movie... Man! I want to have my own wrist gun too!

But, of all the wrist mounted guns you can find in movies and cartoons, the best one, the gadget that makes Batman jealous, is the Glovatrix anti-personnel weapon from SWAT Kats. That cartoon was seriously AWESOME! and I loved the design of weapons and vehicles. Specially the Glovatrix. My favorite paart was always when T-Bobe and Razor had to use it!

So, I built this prototype, using ordinary stuff. VERY ordinary stuff. Batman has CNC machines, 3D printers, titanium alloys, special polymers and Lucius Fox for building his gadgets. Me? a dirty mop, a broken umbrella, an old boot and two cats. It has to be enough.

The wrist gun has a spring-loaded projectile, with a metal tooth as a trigger, retaining it. The trigger has a handle, and when the hand grabs it and moves down, the tooth releases the projectile. I made four different projectiles, including some kind of "batarang" experiment. To charge the projectile, it's necessary to introduce it into the nozzle, push and insert the tooth (the metal one, not one of yours) inside a gap carved on it. I put two extra springs (optional), for an elastic articulation between the barrel and the wrist base, taking advantage of the mop's joint, so I can charge the projectile in a more comfortable way.

But, before you make this one-shot weapon and fantasize how you will stop that criminal gang of the news and rescue the beautiful reporter, read the safety warning:

WARNING: this project is dangerous and there is a risk of injuries, especially in fingers and face. Don't aim or shoot to humans or animals. Not recommended for children. Don't put sharp or pointy things in the projectiles. Always wear personal protection elements, including but not limited to safety goggles and gloves. Always keep attention on this weapon and the surroundings when you charge it or shoot it. This is not self-defense equipment. DISCLAIMER: M.C. Langer, Instructables.com and Autodesk, Inc. are not responsible for any injury or damage caused by the elaboration, use or misuse of this project.

Ok, let's do it!

When I was walking in a shopping mall, thinking about what stuff could be good for this wrist gun, I saw this janitor moping the public restroom, and I realized how amazing are modern mops. Good plastic, nice colors, even movable parts. This thing absolutely has to be the main body! Let's take a look of the materials list:

• 1 Plastic part of a mop: like the one shown in pictures (preferable new or very, very desinfected).
• 1 Big umbrella: we need it only for the spring and the plastic parts that slide in the pole. If you can get a spring that fits inside the mop's pipe, much better!
• 1 Old leather boot: from my wife.
• 1 wall socket: we will need the metal part.
• 1 window wiper: for the projectiles.
• 1 thin rod: like the ones used to measure oil in cars. For the trigger.
• 1 metallic angle: for the nail.
• 1 hard plastic wheel: I used a black one, for reinforcement and aesthetics.
• 1 damaged airplane toy: for the bumerang-style projectile.

• A bunch of hard plastic pieces, especially cylindrical (optional): for the projectiles.

• 2 small coil springs (optional): I extracted them from cheap manual epilators. The springs make less complicated and safer the charging process. Besides, I like the aesthetic effect. But these springs don't affect the launch. If you don't want, you can skip that part.
• Nuts, screws and washers
• Superglue (only for fastening the nuts to the screws and for aesthetic effects)
• Black thread and needle (for adjusting the leather part)

TOOLS:

• Dremel rotary tool
• Screwdrivers
• Pliers
• Scissors
• Knife

It's easy: remove the wings of the mop and leave the main piece, the one with the pipe where you fit the pole.

Oh, I almost forgot: probably you will need to use a hammer and some thin rod to push out the metallic axis from the plastic hinges. Be careful.

Remove the plastic nails from the mop's pipe.

This pipe has a two axis movement. Put the pipe in the firing position, and then fix the main axis to the base, using screws. If you don't want to do the optional two-springs thing, then fix both axis.

Dismantle the umbrella. You have to remove the plastic point at the top and then the fabric. Then unbend the wires that keep the structure together. Harvest the spring (for the launcher) and the plastic pieces (for projectiles).

Install the spring inside the pipe. The spring has to fit almost perfectly, but a little bit loose, so it can be easily compressed. Fix it to the pipe with a long screw.

Maybe this is the most complicated piece to find in this project (I found it in the street, near a garage). If you can't find it, no problema, just find another way to strengthen the base, like some metallic piece or another kind of hard plastic piece.

From the hand epilator, take the spring, cut it in halves and transform it into two springs. And then, attach each end, one to the reinforcement disc and other to the main spring's subjection screw. It will perform like some kind of rattrap or catapult, with no effect to the launcher.

Take away the nozzle (the gray piece from the mop's pipe) and start fitting plastic cylinders until you find the ones that match perfectly for making projectiles. Not too tight, not too loose. And look out for cylinders that match (loose) with the spring.

I found the plastic pieces from the umbrella and the pieces from the window wiper are the perfect ones for the job.

This is your best chance to do it, because in the next steps, you will have to fix the nozzle to the barrel.

Take the wall socket and extract the metallic frame. Then, cut it with the Dremel and bend it in the way indicated in the pictures.

Fix the nozzle to the pipe. Now it will be the barrel. Make a gap in the nozzle, where you can insert the metal nail of the trigger. In the top part of the trigger frame, insert a long screw and a metal tube (optional).

Using the rod, make a handle for the trigger.

With the metal angle, make a better nail for the trigger.

Install the trigger frame in the nozzle and use some screws as rails, for keeping the frame in place.

Take the boot and cut the leg part ("tube"? "bootleg"? "hight"? I don't know, Google wasn't useful to find out the name of that part. In Colombia, we call it "caña") trying to keep the zip's integrity. Then wear it in your wrist, to check where you will install the launcher and where do you have to make adjustments to the gauntlet.

Attach the launcher's base to the gauntlet, using nuts and screws. When you get sure if that's the right place, cut the remaining parts of the screws and cover that area with some kind of pad (I used the tongue from the other boot).

Using the knife, the scissors, the Dremel, thread, a needle and all your strength and patience, start with the adjustments. The gauntlet have to be firmly adjusted to your arm.

The wrist gun is finished. Let's go to the projectiles.

(NOTE: I left the boot's metal pins in the gauntlet of the wrist gun. If you love the idea, it was because my delicate artistic sense told me that it will give a more "heavy metal" and "punk" look to my project.

If you hate the idea, I'm with you, bro. It was my wife's fault. I tried, but I couldn't do nothing to discourage her).

Before going fancy with the projectiles, I built a simple one for testing the device. I used the plastic handle from the rod, the two biggest plastic pieces from the umbrella and a plastic cap from a sunscreen (remember Step 8).

This part is important and you have to keep it in mind when you design your own projectiles: it has to perfectly match the nozzle and it needs its own gap, where the metal nail will retain it. And it has to be a good and deep gap, where the whole metal nail can fit. If it's not a good gap, there will be a big risk of accidental firing.

The best way to determinate where is a good point to make this gap is to carefully charge the launcher with the missile until it reaches the maximum compression point. Then, watch the gap in the nozzle and mark that spot in the projectile. Then, make the gap there. Follow the same principle for the other projectiles. Or, having this missile as reference, make the gap at the same place.

I used the window wiper, two piano keys (I still have a lot from my previous project), a plastic cylinder from the umbrella, screws and nuts.

If you don't have piano keys, don't worry! use Lego, toy pieces or whatever you think will look good.

I used the hand from a previous project (Step 5) and I attached it to a cylindrical section of the window wiper. This is my favorite projectile of the ones I made, and the one with the best performance.

I used the wings from a broken toy airplane, the handle from the window wiper and a small hair-dyer container. If well I think it looks awesome in pictures, I have to keep experimenting, because its performance is still far from optimal. Probably it's because the projectile needs extra wings for stability. Or I need to play with the weight of the missile. Or the wings have the kind of aerodynamic performance you can expect from a 5 year-old children toy.

How do you want to do your missiles?