Barrel

• A 4-foot-long piece of half-inch diameter PVC pipe will form the main shaft of your dart gun. Visit your hardware supply or plumbing store and ask an employee to cut a piece to length for you. Use fine grit sandpaper to smooth both ends of the pipe. Round the mouth end until it fits comfortably between your lips. Spray-paint the other end of the pipe with a bright color so it is easily recognizable as the firing end. Create three small notches at the tip of the mouth end as an added safety precaution against inhaling darts. Do this by heating the tip of a knife and pressing it softly on three equidistant places on the rounded tip. Allow the mouthpiece to cool and the spray paint to dry while you fashion some ammunition.
  
  

Darts

• Gather a few wire coat hangers, a pair of wire cutters, three sheets of white card stock paper, scissors, a pen, clear tape and rubber cement. Use the wire cutters to cut three 6-inch sections out of a wire coat hanger. Snip one end of all three sections at an angle to make the tip of your dart sharp. These sections need to be as straight as possible so they will fly straight. Avoid using the twisted and curled parts of the hanger. Curl the card stock into cones that resemble paper water cooler cups and secure them with the clear tape. Place the tips of your paper cones into the firing end of the barrel and draw a circle with a pen where the pieces meet. Remove the cone cut along your pen lines. Force the sharp end of a wire section into the cone and out through the tip until approximately an inch of metal remains in the cone. Use rubber cement to securely glue both ends of the dart where it touches the cone.
  
  

Use

• When the glue has dried completely on your darts, you can use your dart gun for the first time. Set up in a safe area where there will be no chance of someone walking in front of you. Draw a paper target and tape it to an old pillow or piece of solid foam. Stand about 10 feet away from your target for your first few shots. Once you are good at aiming and shooting your dart gun, you will be able to stand much farther away. Load your first dart into the mouthpiece so that the sharp end is pointing toward the painted firing end. Take a deep breath with your mouth away from the mouthpiece. Aim the dart gun by holding it up to your mouth with two hands and pointing it toward the center of the target. Then wrap your lips around the mouthpiece and blow in one strong burst. Continue practicing and you will improve your technique quickly.