this week I'm going to show you how to
make stick bombs
a stick bomb is any configuration of
flat sticks that are woven together and
held under pressure when one stick is
removed the whole thing flies apart they
range in size from small handheld bombs
to massive displays made of thousands of
sticks to build them all you need is a
bunch of flat sticks most commonly
tongue depressors or popsicle sticks
let's start by making some small single
cell bombs the most common configuration
is the triangle bomb to make it take a
stack of three sticks and fan them out
with a center stick on top now insert a
horizontal stick that goes over the
center stick and under the two side
sticks then add one more horizontal
stick on top that goes under the center
stick and over the two side sticks now
you have a basic stick bomb to set it
off just drop it so that it lands on a
side you can even increase the force of
the explosion by doubling some of the
sticks
another common configuration is the
square bomb to make this lay to sticks
on the table parallel to each other next
lay two more sticks on top perpendicular
to the first two then lay another stick
across them in the center lastly we have
one final stick through the center so
that it goes under the first two sticks
and over the center stick this makes a
square bomb there are a lot of other
configurations that you can try so feel
free to experiment once you've had some
experience with single cell bombs you
can start combining them into multi cell
bombs to do this just build two bombs
next to each other so that they share a
single stick they need to be in the
opposite orientation so that they press
against each other then just remove the
joining stick now you have a two cell
bomb now you're ready for the fun part
chain reaction stick bombs these are
made by stringing together a long series
of bombs when one cell detonates it sets
off the cells next to it this kind of
chain reaction can detonate hundreds of
stick bombs in only a few seconds the
simplest chain reaction bomb is a string
of square bombs
these are linked together just like the
two cells square bomb you just continue
adding cells until you have a long chain
this is called the ortho weave pattern
probably the most popular chain reaction
pattern is the Cobra weave it's called
the Cobra weave because when it's
detonated in the right direction the
chain lifts up off the ground like a
rearing snake to make it start by
placing one stick on the ground at a 45
degree angle place a second stick on top
so that they intersect at the top third
of each stick then place a third stick
on top of the second so that they
intersect at the bottom third of the two
sticks now we have a fourth stick
between the first three on the left side
to lock this end in place continue
adding sticks to the right side weaving
them together at 45-degree angles until
you have a long chain then set it off
interwoven
sticks can store a surprising amount of
energy but you can get even more
explosive force by adding rubber bands
this configuration is called clever
levers two sticks are placed on either
side of a block then rubber bands are
placed around the sticks on one side to
hold the sticks together the free end is
inserted between another set of clever
levers continue adding levers until you
have a long chain you can even add props
on top of the levers that will be thrown
into the air these are just a few
examples of stick bombs you can find a
lot of other designs online if you want
to see examples of large-scale stick
bomb displays I highly recommend
checking out the work of Tim fort the
kinetic King Tim fort developed most of
the designs that are popular today and
hold several World Records for the
largest stick bomb displays well thanks
for watching and check back next week
for more DIY hacks and tattoos