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How to Make a Pinball Machine Using Stuff From Home

You can make a simple pinball machine without spending a lot of money. It's possible you already have some or all of the items you will need for this quick and easy project in your home or recycle bin, such as plastic bottles, marbles, nails and foam. Items such as rubber bands become the game's border, and marbles become pinballs.

Things You'll Need

Wooden board (9 x 14)
Rubber bands
Small nails
Foam core
1 marble
Doll pin
Craft sticks
Hammer
Bottle caps
Plastic bottle
Bottle tops
2 wooden cubes (3/4 inch)
Tacky Glue
1 large nail

Instructions

- 1
  Sand and paint the wooden board. Gently tap nails into the perimeter of the board. Stretch rubber bands around the nails to form the sides of the pinball machine. How far apart you place the nails depends on the size and stretch of the rubber bands. Tighter rubber bands yield more bounce. You can either mount the board at an angle to a piece of wood, or prop it up to keep the ball in play.
- 2
  Hammer a nail into the side of each wooden cube, leaving about a half inch exposed. Glue the blocks to the bottom right side of the board, leaving enough space for the doll pin to slide easily between them. Nail a small piece of foam board to the tops of the blocks.
- 3
  Wedge two crafts sticks into the doll pin slot, like the wings of an airplane, to make a shooter. Secure the shooter between the two wooden blocks with a rubber band by looping it around the nails and around the cross section of the shooter. With the shooter in place, practice shooting the marble several times to determine where to place your obstacles.
- 4
  Nail your obstacles where desired. You can cluster a patch of nails for the marble to weave through by spacing them appropriately. Cut the top of the plastic bottle and glue to the wooden board to form a funnel. Bottle tops that have been snipped in half create point cups. Bottle caps that have been loosely nailed can be spinners.

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