Marshmallow Crossbows

I completed the "marshmallow crossbows." I got the idea (as well as the plans) from Steve Ramsey, and these were actually pretty fun to build. Most of my woodworking isn't done at this scale, so I used the project as an opportunity to develop my skills with hand tools. I cheated a bit on a few parts, but I used a coping saw, chisels, a file, and sandpaper wherever possible. Technically I believe these are slingshots because the power comes from the elasticity of the cord rather than the flex of the bow, but the name is really more of a reference to the shape. Plus, they're toys so it doesn't really matter anyway.

Making Dowels

I've been practicing my hand tool skills over the past week. For a fun project, I decided to build a couple of 'marshmallow crossbows' that Steve Ramsey featured on his YouTube channel. I have a lot of wood left over from various projects, so I decided to make two complementary crossbows - one for me and one for my daughter. Instead of shooting marshmallows around the house, I'm going to use small foam plugs cut from dense pipe insulation. The crossbows look to be the perfect size for Nerf darts, so I might pick up a pack of those as well to see how they work. Since this is a project that I'm doing for fun, I thought it would be a good opportunity to work on my hand tool skills. I did use the band saw and the combination belt/disc sander a bit, but most of the cutting and shaping has been done with a coping saw and chisels. For this post, I wanted to document my effort to make dowels.