Skip to main content

Weekend Workshop: Become champ of your office with this DIY Nerf rocket launcher

How To Make A Nerf Style Artillery Launcher
Need something to keep you busy this weekend? We’ve got you covered. The Weekend Workshop is our weekly column in which we showcase a badass DIY project that you can complete with minimal skills and expertise. We’ve dug through all the online tutorials and gone the extra mile to pinpoint projects that are equal parts easy, affordable, and fun. So put on your work pants, grab your tool belt, and head to the garage. It’s time to start building!
Recommended Videos

Few things are as synonymous with a casual work environment than the playful hiss of a Nerf dart whizzing through the air. A toy manufactured (likely) for kids, Nerf guns and their foam dart counterparts have become a staple among office buildings all over the country – the team here at Digital Trends is just as guilty as the next office, too. But when that next big Nerf war breaks out, why just bring an ordinary pocket-sized launcher to a fight when you could bring a full-on foam rocket launcher?

If your eyes lit up as bright as they should’ve while reading that last sentence, then do we have a solution for you. Thanks to some PVC-themed engineering by an Instructables user named NightHawkInLight, anyone with a hefty dose of piping, a few self-tapping screws, and some cooking oil (seriously) could be well on their way to building their very own single-shot foam dart launcher. We recommend hiding this from your co-workers once it’s complete.

To help you get started on this completely over-the-top but necessary Nerf accessory, we’ve sifted through the original walkthrough to find everything needed for pulling off the build. As is typical with any weekend project requiring a bit more elbow grease than usual, it’s imperative you heed all safety precautions and wear protective eyewear – a pair of gloves wouldn’t hurt either. With that said, here’s what you’ll need to get started:

Tools:

  • Sandpaper
  • Hot Glue
  • Self-tapping screws

Materials:

  • PVC Pipe – 16” x 2”
  • PVC Pipe – 12” x 3/4”
  • PVC Pipe – 24” x 1 1/4”
  • PVC Pipe – 2” x 1 1/4”
  • Coupling – 2”
  • Coupling – 1 1/4″
  • Reducer – 2” x 3/4”
  • Threaded female adapter – 2”
  • Threaded reducer – 2” x 1 1/2”
  • End cap – 1 1/4” (2)
  • O Ring – 1 5/8” x 2”
  • L bracket – 1”
  • Cooking oil
  • Foam pool noodles
  • Craft foam sheets
  • PVC primer
  • PVC cement

With the entire list of tools and materials at the ready, it’s now time to start piecing together this innovative Nerf launcher. Simply follow NightHawkInLight’s comprehensive walkthrough and before you know it, you’ll be dominating your next office Nerf battle with ease. Happy building!

The entire walkthrough for building this DIY Nerf rocket launcher can be found over at Instructables.

Rick Stella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rick became enamored with technology the moment his parents got him an original NES for Christmas in 1991. And as they say…
The best portable power stations
EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Read more
CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation
Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.

Read more
This AI cloned my voice using just three minutes of audio
acapela group voice cloning ad

There's a scene in Mission Impossible 3 that you might recall. In it, our hero Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) tackles the movie's villain, holds him at gunpoint, and forces him to read a bizarre series of sentences aloud.

"The pleasure of Busby's company is what I most enjoy," he reluctantly reads. "He put a tack on Miss Yancy's chair, and she called him a horrible boy. At the end of the month, he was flinging two kittens across the width of the room ..."

Read more