How I Make My Darts (Thanks to Falcon and Pat)
Materials
Low temp. mini hot glue gun
Hot glue sticks
Nerf Tagger darts
15 oz. Plastic cup
Ice water
Step 1
Take the Tagger darts and roll it in between the tips of your thumb and index finger until the glue around the edge of the rubber and foam separates from the dart. Then, lift the edges of the tip of the dart and gently work your way to the stem of the dart carefully separating the tip from the foam. Pull the tip straight up and out.
Step 2
Turn on your low temp. hot glue gun and leave it on until it can easily dispense glue and easily melt the tips of your darts.
Step 3
Using the tip of your mini hot glue gun, melt the tip of your Tagger darts until the tip of the glue gun is completely inside the foam. If you’re using a mini glue gun, then you should be fine, but if you’re using a full sized hot glue gun be sure that you don’t melt past the circumference of the darts. If you do this, your darts will become shorter. While the tip of the hot glue gun is inside the dart, quickly pump out three shots of glue into the foam and hold it parallel to the ground. The hot glue should not be filled to the top, rather enough prevent the next stream of hot glue from pouring down to the bottom of the dart.
Step 4
After you pump three shots of hot glue into your dart, turn it upside down and dip it into the 15 0z. cup filled with ice water. Once it’s in the ice water, count to ten, remove the dart and wipe of the outside of the dart with a paper towel, and get it ready to hot glue again.
Step 5
When you’re done drying the dart, use your hot glue gun to create a dome of hot glue on top of your dart. Because you let your hot glue gun heat up for a couple of minutes, the dome should naturally begin to form. As soon as the dome forms, dip the top half of the dart into the ice water and count to twenty. This step is important, it keeps the dome perfectly round and strangely
reflective. If you dip the for too little or too much time, then the domes will be cloudy. The general rule of thumb is to take the dart out as soon as the dome hardens.
Step 6
Repeat 30 times.
Notes: I’ve made several other batches of darts and the ice water Tagger darts turn out to be the best due to their perfect tip and dart consistency. I usually make six sets of five for a total of thirty at a time. And in case anyone is wondering, I don’t weight my darts. I know that I would get better range but I prefer not to. If you want to, you can add a weight to the dart but it will probably move and become off centered unless your weight takes up the space of the hole.
Pros:
A nice shiny dome that’s been reflective for week now since I made them
Don't have to sculpt each dome
Cons:
Have to wait a little longer
No weights (less range than normal darts)
Edited by Shadow 92, 19 August 2006 - 06:37 PM.