DIY Nerf Darts

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By Adam Flaherty
Posted 2011/08/31 @ 2:00 am
Category Fun & Games

If you’ve ever owned a Nerf dart gun, you’re aware that you’ll eventually lose a majority of the darts after a couple of epic battles or some lazy day target practice. Nothing a trip to the store can’t handle, right? Well, if you’re like me, you’ll have a hard time shelling out the not so insignificant funds for what is essentially little pieces of foam that you can pick up in a spool at the local hardware store for a fraction of the price. Follow along with YouTuber freeridemtb2 shows us how to assemble Nerf Stefan darts using some poly foam caulk saver and a hot glue gun. [via YouTube]

In the Maker Shed

15 Responses to DIY Nerf Darts

Timothy Gray on August 31st, 2011 at 11:40 am said:

Why cant you guys disable the trackback ping spam that fills the comments on stories? it ruins the comment section.

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anne speck on August 31st, 2011 at 1:24 pm said:

Nice! Lots of steps, but being able to crank out batches of replacements for little more than labor makes the guns conceivable around my house

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kennedy2 on August 31st, 2011 at 2:14 pm said:

Stick that straw on a drill bit, and the hard part becomes almost automatic!

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kennedy2 on August 31st, 2011 at 2:14 pm said:

Stick that straw on a drill bit, and the hard part becomes almost automatic!

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kennedy2 on August 31st, 2011 at 2:14 pm said:

Stick that straw on a drill bit, and the hard part becomes almost automatic!

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LDM on August 31st, 2011 at 2:36 pm said:

Seems like mounting the straw with a centering rod in my drill press and making a template to center the hole would make it go much easier/faster. I suppose doing it by hand would work fine if you have lots of time and don’t have the tools already.

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LDM on August 31st, 2011 at 2:36 pm said:

Seems like mounting the straw with a centering rod in my drill press and making a template to center the hole would make it go much easier/faster. I suppose doing it by hand would work fine if you have lots of time and don’t have the tools already.

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LDM on August 31st, 2011 at 2:36 pm said:

Seems like mounting the straw with a centering rod in my drill press and making a template to center the hole would make it go much easier/faster. I suppose doing it by hand would work fine if you have lots of time and don’t have the tools already.

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Nathan on August 31st, 2011 at 3:45 pm said:

If the straw is not stiff enough, or you plan on making many batches, you may try a cork cutter:
goto… and search for…
http://www.sciplus.com/ a corker

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Nathan on August 31st, 2011 at 3:45 pm said:

If the straw is not stiff enough, or you plan on making many batches, you may try a cork cutter:
goto… and search for…
http://www.sciplus.com/ a corker

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Andrew Dodd on August 31st, 2011 at 4:00 pm said:

Careful with Stefans – since the hot glue tip is a bit harder than the soft rubber of factory Nerf darts, they can really hurt. I put a small dent into a wooden door from 30-40 feet using a Stefan in a modded gun around a decade ago.

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James Tepper on August 31st, 2011 at 5:07 pm said:

First off, if you remove the silly pegs from the Nerf blasters, then you don’t need to bore holes in each dart, which will save you a LOT of time, and actually makes the darts fly much better. Second, standard stefan darts are pretty much the bottom rung of do it yourself darts. Current accepted technology darts for big wars are generally based around the “Slug” style darts, named for one Captain Slug, the originator of the design. Essentially, Slug darts use a flat washer for the weight, capped with a thick felt or foam tip, adhered to the foam blank with hot glue, silicone, or some other durable adhesive. The community has moved to this style partially because of some issues with safety. Some of the imbecilic teens from the Chicago and Boston areas were using stefans with 1/4″ – 3/8″ ball bearings as weights. Many injuries were had, and morons banned from play. Some of us are working on molded silicone domes as well. The group of nerfers from Australia has actually commissioned a batch of commercially made silicone tips, but do end up being a little expensive (comparitively) once shipped overseas. If anyone is interested, head over to http://www.nerfhaven.com for the latest in blaster modifications, news, and community event planning.

-Draconis-

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James Tepper on August 31st, 2011 at 5:07 pm said:

First off, if you remove the silly pegs from the Nerf blasters, then you don’t need to bore holes in each dart, which will save you a LOT of time, and actually makes the darts fly much better. Second, standard stefan darts are pretty much the bottom rung of do it yourself darts. Current accepted technology darts for big wars are generally based around the “Slug” style darts, named for one Captain Slug, the originator of the design. Essentially, Slug darts use a flat washer for the weight, capped with a thick felt or foam tip, adhered to the foam blank with hot glue, silicone, or some other durable adhesive. The community has moved to this style partially because of some issues with safety. Some of the imbecilic teens from the Chicago and Boston areas were using stefans with 1/4″ – 3/8″ ball bearings as weights. Many injuries were had, and morons banned from play. Some of us are working on molded silicone domes as well. The group of nerfers from Australia has actually commissioned a batch of commercially made silicone tips, but do end up being a little expensive (comparitively) once shipped overseas. If anyone is interested, head over to http://www.nerfhaven.com for the latest in blaster modifications, news, and community event planning.

-Draconis-

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Becca on January 26th, 2013 at 3:44 pm said:

Great article and also some great info in the comments!

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random1234 on January 31st, 2013 at 4:02 pm said:

hey,i really need to know how to make a nerf gun do you know how?

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