PVC Bow and Arrows

I spent the weekend with my family, and we went to a local street fair at the park. Every kid in attendance was carrying around these simple bow and arrows. My nephew asked me, "if I promise to pay you back, will you buy one for me." I told him I would consider it, but then quickly realized that I couldn't purchase for just one, I would need 4 of them to keep all of the kids happy. We approached the booth that had the wares, and my brother got a mischievous grin on his face. "Let's make them ourselves, it'll be more fun!" The kids were doubters at first, but after we bought the supplies, they were ready to help out. To top it all off, we spent 1/3 less money, and our arrows worked better than those at the fair!

Here is how it happened:

Shopping list:

1/2" PVC Pipe

Pipe Insulation

Styrofoam balls 3"

Dow rods 1/4"

Nylon Twine

Fabric Squares

Glue Gun

Hand Saw(hack saw)

The PVC Pipe came in 10ft lengths, so we cut them down to 4ft pieces. If your kids are smaller you can make them smaller, or keep them at 5 ft for a larger bow. Then, we slid a 5-6" piece of pipe insulation onto the pipe and taped it into the center with red duct tape. Making the hand grip.

Next we cut notches in the two ends, about a 1/2" deep. Then wex knotted the twine on one side, bowed the plastic, and then tied the knot at the other end, and slid that into place. Voila...you have your bow. 

Now onto the arrows. I simply made a hole that went halfway into the Styrofoam balls with the dow rod, added some hot glue and then placed the rod into the ball. Then you place the fabric over the ball, and tie it into place. The last step, is to saw a notch into the back of the arrow, so you can line it up with the bow string when you shoot it! Finally, you can slide the "arrows" onto the ends of the bow, for storage as seen in the photos.

Enjoy!