A super fun project (especially for scouts!) for kids. Learn how to make a real working rubber band car!
Supplies
Heavy 12-inch cardboard tubefrom aluminum foil works great
1- 6” x 3/16” wooden dowel
1- 9” x 3/16” wooden dowel
4recycled CDs
4- 1” x ¾” wooden craft spools
2drinking straws
4large buttons
20standard rubber bands
1large paper clip
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Hole punch
White craft glue
Paintoptional
Instructions
If you would like to decorate your car, paint the cardboard tube and set aside to dry.
Hot glue a spool to the center of each CD (be sure they are centered!). It’s easiest if you stand your spool up on the table and place the CD over the top so you can see if it’s centered.
Hot glue buttons to the other side of the CDs as hubcaps. This also keeps the axle from coming through.
Use hole punch to create a hole for the axle on one side of the cardboard tube. Create another hole on the other side of the cardboard tube, using a ruler to make sure they are the same distance from the end of the tube. Repeat these steps at the other end of the tube, again using a ruler to make sure they align with the first axle.
HINT: An easy way to line up the holes in the axles to make sure they are even is to loop a rubber band around the full length of the cardboard tube. Place the rubber band over the center of one hole and use the rubber band as a guide for placing the rest of the holes!
Insert the 6-inch dowel into the holes of the front axle.
Center the dowel and cut a drinking straw to create a “stopper” between the axle hole and the spool on the wheel. This will keep the axle from being able to freely move all the way to one side, keeping the wheels from hitting the cardboard tube body. Ours measure approximately 1-inch each for the front axle.
Thread the straws onto both ends of the wooden dowel. Insert the ends of the dowel into the spools on the wheels. If you are satisfied with everything and your axles turn freely, remove dowel from spool, add some white craft glue to the inside of the spool and replace the dowel.
Repeat these steps with the back axle and the 9-inch wooden dowel. Your drinking straw stoppers will be a little longer on the back due to the longer axle, approximately 2 1/4”.
Use 3-4 rubber bands (depending on the length of your bands) to make a rubber band chain.
Loop the first rubber band in the chain around the front axle inside the cardboard tube and run the entire chain through the loop; pull it tight.
Attach a large paper clip to the end of the rubber band chain and drop it down into the tube.
Reach into the back end of the cardboard tube to retrieve the paper clip.
Clip it to the end of the cardboard tube. The length of the rubber band chain should be about the same length as the cardboard tube, so if it’s too long shorten the chain by one band.
Finally, to give your wheels added traction, attach rubber bands around the CD wheels, four on each wheel.
To wind up the car, hold the car with the back axle toward you and turn the front wheels counterclockwise. The rubber band chain will wrap around the front axle and get tighter. When it’s tight, place the car on the ground and watch it go!
Expert Tips & FAQs
Dowels should fit snugly inside the holes of the spools, however dowels should move freely in the axle holes.