How to Make a 3-Blade Boomerang

Draw a template of the boomerang on a piece of paper. Make the blades at least 10 inches long and approximately 2 inches wide, spaced 120 degrees apart. To ensure that the boomerang is balanced, make a template for one blade, then rotate it 120 degrees and trace the second blade. Finally, rotate it a second time by 120 degrees and trace the third blade. Each blade should have straight front and back edges except near the tip of the blade. Draw a slight widening of the tip. At the center point where the three blades join, make a smooth transition from one blade to the next. The center will appear to have a curve between blades.

Copy the drawing to the surface of a piece of 1/4-inch plywood. Choose a good grade of plywood made of a light wood such as birch.

Cut out the boomerang using a scroll saw or coping saw.

Sand the surfaces of each blade to form an airfoil profile with a sanding block. The profile of the blade will have a flat bottom edge and an upper surface that increases in thickness from one edge to the other. The edge with the lowest thickness should reduce to a knife-edge. Make the thicker edge rounded with the thickest part of the blade positioned approximately 1/2 inch from the edge of the blade.

Smooth the two adjoining airfoils together at the center of the boomerang. The center should be uniformly smooth. As you move from the center out toward the blade tip, the airfoil shape of the blade will form within the first few inches.

Sand the finished boomerang with fine-grit sandpaper to remove any roughness on the surfaces.

Spray two coats of clear lacquer on the boomerang from a spray can and allow the correct drying time between coats.