clip-fed rifle

The ammunition clip for this rifle is gravity-powered. The rifle has fully automatic and semi-automatic capabilities. By pulling back the bolt and locking it in the trigger, it is semi-automatic. If you pull back the bolt and quickly release and repeat the cycle, it is fully automatic. The nice thing about this you don't have to re-load it for a very long time if you've made a big magazine, as I have. The magazine shown here holds 54 rounds.

This picture is a close-up of the back of the bolt. The neon green piece with the white rod is the trigger mechanism. The yellow connector with green rod sticking up is the bolt. If you pull the bolt back, the firing pin (gray rod) moves back from the chamber, allowing a round from the magazine to slip into the chamber. For semi-automatic, you pull the bolt as far back as it can go and release. For fully automatic, pull the bolt back so its front end is just behind the trigger mechanism, then carefully and slowly place it against the back of the blue rod of the trigger mechanism, which crosses the firing chamber. Release with the trigger.

I made the bipod for the rifle so I could play nine pins with it. I made nine little K'nex targets. I was even thinking about using nine soda cans so that when I hit one, even if I don't see where I hit it, I would know because it would give a very satisfying clang!

railroad

"I've been working on the railroad, all the live long day!"

I set this train up in my room and you can see the Gatling gun in the background. As you might expect, the train is a moving target rig I invented. The blue box on the train is the motor. The ram rod sticking out the front is to counterbalance the weight of the motor in the back so it doesn't flip off the track on a bend.

K'nex electric spinning wheel

This spinning wheel does not function, but with a few modifications, it might work.

I went to Spa Knit and Spin in Maine with my family this weekend. There were about a bazillion different kinds of spinning wheels. One of them looked very much like this, except it was pedal-powered. Mine is operated by a K'nex motor.

The problem here is that the spindle and flyer assembly does not work. It is too flimsy. The bobbin is attached to flyer assembly and all the weight rests on a single rod, so when it's in action, it snaps the connection. I'm trying to figure out how to fix this. Please send a comment if you have ideas.

Meanwhile, I've been spinning on my sister's wheel. There's a picture of my most recent bobbin on my family's blog, Live and Let Learn.

belt-fed machine gun

This is a K'nex belt-fed machine gun. I got the plans from Instructables and made a few slight modifications.

This is a very small portion of the 34-round belt. Each piece with a white rod sticking up is a barrel. As the belt goes around, the white rods hit a piece inside the firing compartment that fires each one in turn. Each barrel is rubber band-powered.

The version on Instructables uses a crank for power. I added a motor instead.

crossbow

This is a crossbow. You slide the power plunger back along the stock and the neon green piece (trigger) snaps into place to hold the bolt. The yellow bump at the top center is a spring-loaded loading gate. You open this, slip in your round (any K'nex rod, except whites or greens), and let go and it automatically snaps shut. Warning: the blue rod that crosses inside the crossbow, connected to the trigger, should be replaced occasionally because it gets worn down and won't hold the bolt. The loading gate also acts as a sight. Pull the white trigger (below neon green piece) to fire. The gray rods at the front were just added for support while taking the picture. There are 8 rubber bands for the bow string and 1 for the loading gate. You can load up to 2 rods at a time.

spit ball gun

For ammunition, it uses gray tube spacers with toilet paper mixed with spit. Use 2 yellow rods to mash it inside until it's a tight packed bit of toilet paper inside the gray spacer.

It shoots about 15 feet.

In the comments, Max wanted to know more about the ammunition. The rounds are not shown in the picture, but they are small gray tube spacers. Each one gets packed about half full with the toilet paper and spit mixture. To load, you pull back the gray piece on the rear of the gun and that pulls back the plunger that is inside the barrel. The trigger will then click into ready to fire position. You insert the round into the top of the gun, right at the base of where the blue rod is sticking up. You click the trigger to fire, then pull back the plunger again and push the blue rod to the side. This will eject the spent cartridge. Then push the ejecter to the opposite side, insert a new cartridge, and you're locked and loaded.

p.s. Have fun. Don't shoot your eye out!