How to Make an Atlatl

This is an instructable on how to make an atlatl and a dart to go with it. The atlatl and dart were once used as a hunting weapon, and are now used for sport. In this instructable, I will show you how to make an easy atlatl that can be done in a day. I am going to call the throwing part the atlatl, and the spear-like part, the dart.

The first thing to do is to get a branch selected for the atlatl. The one that I selected was forty centimeters (sixteen inches), but the main thing to do is to get the size that fits you. The piece that I selected had a bit of a natural curve to it, which in my opinion is good for an atlatl.

After that, cut off all the little branches.

Then start thinning down the sides. Once you are done with that, start thinning down the top and bottom. Make sure that you know where you want your handle to be so that you don't accidentally carve it some of it off. If you are wanting a curve in the atlatl, then this is where you want to start carving it.

Next, start making the stop cut that the dart will rest in. 

Next, make the last refinements, sand the whole thing down, and voila! You are done with the atlatl.

Now, it is time for the dart. I cut a long, straight piece of wood, and then cut it down to the length that I wanted. It was about ninety-three centimeters (thirty-six inches)  

Then I trimmed off all the little starts of branches.

Then I removed a bit of bark off of the end that will rest in the stop-cut of the atlatl, for the feathers.

I then got three feathers, cut off the smaller sides with a pair of scissors. After that I glued them just enough to hold them on, got some string, (I would have used twine if that had been available to me.) and proceeded to wrap the feathers onto the now-fully-fledged-dart. Also, when you are doing it, try to make to end of the feathers curve to the side a bit, and it will spin when thrown.

I now took the other end of the soon-to-be dart, and carved a tip, making sure to make it off-center so that the tip was not made out of  the fluffy inner wood.

Then I hardened the tip with fire. 

Have fun throwing the dart with the atlatl! Here is a diagram that I found on the internet that shows how to throw it. And also a picture of the completed project.