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Cost: $ $ $ $ $

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Time: 1h00

Rubber Band Engineer
This box appears to open and close itself—just the thing for spooking your friends. The Magic Box is easy to build, yet the smooth pneumatic action gives it a satisfyingly sophisticated movement. Start with a ready-made box with a hinged lid or construct your own as shown here.

Posted by Creative Publishing international • Published 6th July 2016 • See Creative Publishing international's 96 projects » © 2024 Lance Akiyama / Quarry Books · Reproduced with permission. · Rubber Band Engineer: Build Slingshot Powered Rockets, Rubber Band Rifles, Unconventional Catapults, and More Guerrilla Gadgets from Household Hardware by Lance Akiyama, published by Rockport Publishers (£14.99), is out now.

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Nalani R. favorited Pneumatic Magic Box 25 Jun 17:41
Sequoia R. favorited Pneumatic Magic Box 09 Jul 07:35
Creative Publishing international published her project Pneumatic Magic Box 06 Jul 09:00

Step 1
Hot glue the edges of four pieces of cardboard together, one as the base and three as the sides of the box. Make the box’s hinged lid by attaching a fifth piece of cardboard with duct tape.
Step 2
Use a long piece of tubing when you create your pneumatic box, but if the tubing is longer than 5' (1.5 m) then you might want to use a hydraulic system, instead. Pneumatics lose their efficiency with greater amounts of air in the system.
Step 3
Push in the plunger to empty the syringe of air and center it just under the hinged edge of the lid.
Step 4
Secure the syringe by taping only the tubing to the inside of the box. Do not tape the syringe itself to the box.
Step 5
Wrap a cable tie around the syringe plunger.
Step 6
Extend the syringe’s plunger. Lift the box’s lid and tape the cable tie to the lid about 2" (5 cm) above the hinge. Cut off the excess cable tie.
Step 7
Make a discreet hole in a back corner of the box and lead the tubing through it. Glue the final piece of cardboard into place. The box is complete, and you may now cover up the corners and edges in duct tape.
Step 8
Attach the second syringe and try it out! Once you have it working, invite an unsuspecting guest to inspect the box, and then magically open it before them. It’s 100 percent sure to surprise!