Prototype Grapple Hook, Gun, and Winch

For a long time I have looked for a design on how to make a grapple hook gun the you could shoot, and then it would pull you up. The more I searched for it, the more disappointment I got. It seems no one has ever made it! So I started to think about how I could make something that could pull a person up a wall or tree. One day I had an idea on how I could do it. I thought about a fishing pole, and how it winds up the line with quite a lot of force. So I decided to build a prototype of the setup thought about making.

For this project you will need several things:

A continuous rotation servo (you can buy one, or google how to modify a normal servo to make it rotate continuously)

A 18650 battery (or another 3.7v battery)

Popsicle sticks or thin wood or something of the sort

Cardboard

Cloth (optional)

Fishhooks (optional)

Paperclips

Skewers

A small tin can

String or yarn

Rubber bands

A small piece of strong plastic tube or pipe (like from an old marker)

A straw

Hot glue

Tools:

A drill and bit

A hot glue gun

Knife

Scissors

Pliers

Screwdriver for the servo screw

First you will need to drill two holes in your wood pieces about 1" apart. the cut the wood so it looks like the one in the picture. Also cut two other pieces about the same length. Then put the two skewers into the holes in the wood, and space them far apart as shown. They are used to space the skewers first. Then glue the piece without any holes about 8" from the edge of the skewers. After it cools, move the other two pieces of wood with holes (that are on the skewers) together. Then take the last piece of wood an glue it on top of the two pieces of wood. Now you have two skewers that are glued together, and you have the pieces in the middle that can slide.

After you have completed step one, you need to cut a piece of straw, and your small pipe/old marker, that can fit in between the two skewers. Then cut a piece of skewer that is long enough to cover across both skewers. First put the straw on the small piece of skewer, and the the pipe. After that, glue the short skewer to the end of the two long skewers as shown. The pipe should be able to rotate freely. Then glue a piece of cloth as show, and put the rubber band in it. Then glue it over itself, holding the rubber band in it as shown. After that, cut a piece of skewer about 2 1/2" long, and a pice of straw about 1 1/2" long. Glue the straw about 1/2" over the skewer as shown. Then glue the skewer to the outside of the two pieces of wood that slide. Then glue a piece of sting to the wood at the bottom, and pull the rubber band over the pipe (which is used as a pully). The tie the rubber band to the string so that it is always a little tight, but not too tight. Now you should be able to pull the sliding part down, and when you release it it should spring back up. If not, try to tighten the rubber band.

The grapple hook is relatively simple to make. You will need to straighten the hooks a little, so they are like the ones in the picture. If you don't have hooks, you can bend paperclips to look like the hooks in the picture. Then cut another piece of skewer about 2 1/2" long, and glue the hooks to it as shown. After gluing all the hooks, then you should add some more glue and wrap it up in cloth to make it stronger, but that is not necessary as long as you glued it good. Then you will need to cut half the skewer off (longways), about a 1/4" up as shown. Then put a little glue where you cut, and put the string there. When finished, where you put the string should be flush with the rest of the skewer.

Now for the main part: the winch. I already started the project, so I am taking photos after already gluing the servo in. You need to drill the right sized hole for your servo, and then glue it in (make sure it is centered). Then bend a paperclip to form a loop as shown, and measure it on your can to start installing it on your servo. you should take a good look at the finish servo and loop, and the make yours just like it, but measured to your can.