How to Make a Mechanical Pencil Staple Shooter

Remove the plastic tip from your mechanical pencil. Some tips screw off, while others will require more force. If you can't pull the tip off with your fingers, try using a pair of pliers.

Press down hard on your stapler to fold a staple into the characteristic shape. Alternatively, you can fold the ends of a staple inward yourself, but using a stapler removes the possibility of pricked fingertips.

Press the eraser tip of the mechanical pencil inward. You will notice that when you do so, a pair of plastic arms protrude out of the opposite end. These plastic arms usually push pencil lead through the pencil tip, but you're going to use them for more nefarious purposes.

Insert one end of your staple between the plastic arms while holding down the eraser. Slowly release the eraser to pull the arms back into the pencil body. The staple should prevent the arms from withdrawing completely.

Aim your staple shooter at a safe target and pull the eraser end. Doing so will force the plastic arms inside the pencil body, thereby snapping the staple forward, toward your target.