posted August 06, 1999 12:05 AM            

You will need to procure, from an art store some of the large ROUND paint brushes with wooden handles used by artists.

In your clandestine workshop, cut most of the handle off of the brush. Leave perhaps two inches of wood. If you have a large pencil sharpener taper down the rest of the handle to about a half-inch in diameter. If you don't have a sharpener you can either carve, cut or saw the handle down or perhaps put it in a your vice and take a sander to it.

Now you are going to need to insert the metal tip. For this, place the dart into a vice and drill a hole dead center into the half-inch wooden end, about an inch deep. Then cut the head off of a finishing nail, place some glue on it and insert it in the hole. Let dry overnight.

You now have perhaps the most powerful and heavy duty dart in the world. Insert the dart down the barrel of the fully charged F.E. Air Cannon. Point the barrel at a piece of ply wood, or your neighbors wooden fence, and fire!
This can become addicting.

Special Note: Smaller versions of this dart can of course be constructed. For something to be shot out of a blow gun, pea- shooter or spit-wad shooter you can make darts as follows:

Go to the art store and buy some of those cheap little plastic-handled paint brushes. They must be ROUND. At home cut the handle off each brush leaving only about a quarter inch of plastic showing.

Then take some sewing needles and cut the heads off with wire cutters. With pliers hold the dull end of the needle over a flame from a cigarette lighter or stove until its red hot. Then melt it directly into the end of the plastic paint brush so the point of the needle is sticking out. Thats it.

You now have a finished dart. Make several. Use brushes with bright colored handles so the darts can easily be found.

As we all know from the Makeshift Arsenal, the shaft of a Bic writing pen makes for a fine spit-wad and dart shooter when you remove the ink barrel.