Lets actually learn something

I think I've been spending too much of my time telling you about stories from my past and not enough time telling you how to actually make cool stuff, which is the purpose of this blog.

So I've decided that I will purposefully try to be unfunny. I shall be serious in hopes of actually accomplishing something useful.
For my first project I'm going to teach you how to make a blowgun out of paper.

Impossible you say?

BAM (still being completely serious)
A blowgun and 4 darts!!!
Buuuuuttttt!
Know whats better than a blowgun and four darts?

A blowgun, and four darts that you've shot into the math assignment you failed!!!
Yeaahhhhh, math homework didn't stand a chance!

Enough of this, it's time to actually show you how to make this thing.

Step 0 (materials)

You'll need two sheets of paper, clear plastic tape, and a pair of scissors (lol this isn't relevant, but if you type scissors as scizzors, the auto-correct suggests replacing it with Scorsese).

Step 1 (making the tube)

The first thing you need to do is make the tube.
Arrange the paper so that your rolling it up hotdog style (so the tube is long and thin).
Try and make it so that the holes on either ends are of equal size or else the dart may get jammed halfway down the tube.
Also keep in mind that the darts are custom made to fit the tube.
The thinner the tube, the thinner the dart. The thicker the tube, the thicker the dart. if you want it to be sharper and faster, make the tube thinner. Even so, I advise you not to make the tube any thinner than your pointer finger.

Once you've gotten the tube to dimensions you like, tape the outside along the fold (where the paper ends) and your paper blowgun is complete.

The inside should be smooth, if there are any creases or wrinkles on the inside, you'll need to roll another tube.

Step 2 (making the darts)

First thing to do is cut the second sheet you have into four sheets of equally sized paper.
I find that it helps to crease it both hamburger and hotdog style before cutting.

Then crease the lower right hand corner of one of the sheets. The crease should be between 150 to 170 degrees from the edge of the paper. (the closer the crease is to horizontal the thinner the dart)
Remember, the dart has to fit the tube, and what I mean by that is that the dart cannot be thinner than the tube, it can be wider and thicker, but not thinner. Don't bother trying to roll a dart that fits the tube perfectly it takes to much effort and its not worth it.

What you want to do is roll the paper sheet along the crease you made until you get a conical dart. It should be  thin and long (longer=more accuracy).

Now place the dart into the tube and push it in. Don't try and shove it in all the way, just enough for it to hold without any creasing on the dart.

Try and center the dart so that it hangs, without you holding it, with the tip floating parallel to the center of the tube.

After centering the dart you can grip the tube and cut the excess off the dart so that it fits the tube.

Step 3 (usage)

To fire the dart, place the dart into the back end of the tube (so that when firing its wide end should be close to your mouth) hold the paper lightly and blow down the tube with full force. If you find that the dart is jammed you may need to check to see if your dart is too wide, trim some excess off and try again. It also helps to tape the area where your mouth touches the tube so your saliva doesn't destroy the paper.

There you have it, you now know (assuming that you've actually read the steps) how to make a blowgun ,with darts, out of paper. The dart in the photo above is the one I made in the example photos. it was short and fat so it smashed the paper instead of penetrating it. It went about an inch or so through.

The ones I made before (first picture) were long and thin and they went a good two inches or so through the paper.

There are many interesting ways to change the blow dart, but I'll add that to a later post devoted to ammo modifications (presumably after several more tutorial blogs).