How to Make a Match Flinger With Clothes Pins

Take apart two spring-loaded wood clothes pins. Take a half-clothespin and place the utility knife blade in the cavity where the wound spring had previously been. Cut and carve the wood at the top of the cavity into a right angle.

Put the spring back on to the half clothespin that was just carved out with the utility knife. To do this, push the nose of the clothespin through so one bent metal prong is on top of the wood and one is underneath it. Keep pushing the wood through until one of the bent prongs locks into the pivot groove where one of the prongs was originally lodged before the clothespin was taken apart. If you're not sure what groove that is, look at a clothespin that hasn't been taken apart.

Cock the match stick shooter to check the trigger tension. Position the clothespin from Step 2 so that the original groove with one of the bent prongs locked into it is facing down. Take another half clothespin and use the front rounded nose to push the metal spring straight back until the bent metal prong has slipped down into the notch in the wood that was cut with the utility knife.

Hold the cocked mechanism in your hand as you would a pistol and place your index finger under the horizontal wood and pull back on the metal spring. The top bent metal prong will pull out of its notch and will slide forward on the wood. Slowly back off the pressure on the spring with the index finger.

Lay a second half-clothespin on top of the half that has been modified. Look at the surfaces of the clothespins that have been factory notched to receive the bent metal prongs. The one with the metal trigger should have the notch facing down. Lay the second half clothes pin on top of the first one with the notch facing up. Take the rubber band and wrap it around both halves in front of the metal spring trigger to lock them together.

Take another half clothespin and shove the rounded nose between the clothespins rubber banded together from back behind the metal trigger. Push in towards the trigger to cock it as in Step 3. Remove the third half clothespin once the shooter has been cocked. Stick a wood match head-first into the mouth of the match shooter until it's securely wedged in. Hold the shooter like a pistol and pull the trigger with the index finger. The match will ignite and fly through the air.