If you have come looking to make TRULY dangerous toys for boys you are at the right spot! Or maybe you have finally succumbed to the constant whining about "needing" a bullwhip since the release of the new Indiana Jones movie.
Thank you to Wesley Scoggins Indy Mogul for the clever idea to use duct tape!
You will need:
- Brown "duck" tape (we found this at Wal-Mart) cut into 3- 12 foot lengths
- 10" piece of 3/8" wooden dowel rod
- a foot or so of twine for the "popper" if desired
Begin by placing two chairs 12 feet apart. Place three strips of tape between the chairs.
Fold each of the pieces of tape in half length ways-leave attached to chair
Leave tape hooked on one of the chairs and begin braiding. Braiding 12 feet of duct tape isn't really pleasant but is certainly less painful than paying $50.00 plus for a bullwhip! We tried several methods: hanging it up high, laying it on the ground. We found it easiest to leave it attached to the chair and have another person help untangle the strips of duck tape as you braid. My eleven year old was able to do most of the braiding.
Once you have reached the end take another piece of tape and wrap around the braid to fasten off.
Remove the other end from the chair and attach these ends of tape to the wooden dowel.
Begin wrapping the dowel with tape until you have completely covered the handle. When finished we took a small piece of tape and covered each end and then wrapped a small piece once again around the dowel to make it secure.
If you want to make the popper you tie it on like this
Finished! How does it work?-----probably not well enough to kill someone or allow you to hang from a tree (we're trying though) but well enough to cause some damage to your house and possibly harm to a friend, so please be careful!
Thanks for that – currently my 8yo is not wanting one, but I am sure when we get through the series and see the new ones, we will have a need for two of them (one for my 4yo daughter too) – thanks for a cheaper alternative. I agree, two rolls of duct tape is much cheaper than $50 each for something that may have a shelf-life of about a few weeks.
Very cool. I sent it to my daughter who does home school for my 12 year old grandson. He’s home schooled, and it looks like a great project.
Oh thank you soooooo much for this post. My 9 year old has been using everything immaginable to fashion a bullwhip(since I refuse to buy one) and this looks just perfect! He will be so pleased!
Wow…that’s cool.
especially for kids who will knock around the yard with it. Professional made bullwhips can go anywhere from $400 to over $900 or more depending on the work..
[...] How to make a duck tape bullwhip « Skip To My Lou looks like a fun idea. I wonder how long it will take before the first sibling gets hit with a whip and I have to take the offender’s whip away? (via GeekDad) [...]
[...] How to make a duck tape bullwhip If you have come looking to make TRULY dangerous toys for boys you are at the right spot! Or maybe you have finally [...] [...]
that is so cool looking. I am sure if I made it my son would love it.
Thanks for posting this….my 34 year old cousin will love it! He’s always looking for new toys to play with. Stu will really appreciate it.
But does it add the theme music? http://www.target.com/Indiana-Jones-Electronic-Sound-Whip/dp/B000XUBHC2/sr=1-2/qid=1212285817/ref=sr_1_2/601-9240720-9952952?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Aindiana%20jones&page=1
May I make a suggestion? If there is only one person working on the braid and that person needs to detangle the other end, how about using clothespins to secure the work you’ve done so far?
Totally love this! I’m the mother of five boys and four of them are oohing and aahing as we read through your instructions…now my oldest is asking if you have any other cool ideas…like making a storm trooper mask???? etc….
Thank you for a GREAT DIY project!
What a good idea – I’m filing this one away for an Indiana Jones Halloween costume.
Haha oh wow that’s wicked! Much much better than the crap whip Hasbro put out. Thanks for sharing this!
Creativity at it’s best moment. I admire your patience. The stickiness of the duct tape is the number one enemy here.
[...] a Duck Tape Bullwhip for your Indiana Jones [...]
This is great, the boys are doing an Indiana Jones themed father’s day gift and this will be a perfect addition. I’m sure they will all want one of their own too.
I was wondering does it matter what the popper is made out of? Thanks
[...] so you don’t think we are only about weapons around here, we made felt doughnuts too. My eleven year old was amazing with his needle and his sister was [...]
My son was literally begging for an Indy whip today! How lucky am I to have found you?? THANK YOU for saving me sooo much money and for giving me an excuse to go shopping at Wal Mart!
wow, genius
now i have something to give to my nephew (and it gonna be so worth the effort to see his reaction!)
[...] How to make a duct tape bullwhip [...]
My 6yo and I were planning his Halloween costume…I’m sure you can guess what he wants to be. I knew I was going to make the whip, just wasn’t sure how. Thanks for saving me a couple of months of experimenting.
[...] DIY Duct Tape Indy Whip Instructions [...]
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. My son wants one that looks like the real thing and not his sisters pink & purple jumprope he has been “forced” to use in his adventures.
wow this is a very intersesting project. Found it a few days ago looking for things to make out of duck-tape (which was perfect). Got a roll of brown duck-tape the next day and set to work. Take notice to the warning about hurting people and items b/c I caused a few scars and broken 2 vases. But its defienatly worth it (the vases were ugly anyways) =P
[...] Indiana KleinI am SO making one of these for Sammy. And I am SO going to regret it. June 7, 2008 @ 5:09 pmOh, right; email.I meant to say [...]
ok…I spent a little over an hour making 3 of these yesterday. My son’s friend helped w/ his black one but I made 2 brown. Everyone should stop what they are doing and make these! The kids (2 teens and a 10 yr old) LOVED them!!! I lost them for hours after. It’s really not hard and for $2.97 in duct tape?! The reward: priceless! Thank you for awesome instructions and the coolest idea of the year!
I love this! after seeing the 4th Indiana Jones movie I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some suede leather cord, and braided bullwhip v. 1.0 then made my popper out of some fishing line like nylon cord. This whip worked ok, Then I saw the duck tape whip and promptly went out, bought tape and braided this new whip, works great, and it cracks all the time. I would recommend wearing safety glasses if you are going to be doing any serious whipping.
Thanks!
Fantastic..I can use for living history displays.
[...] And if you need a little help getting help on some projects, or your honey-do list, Skip to My Lou shows us how to make a duct tape bullwhip. [...]
Now this is wonderful! My boys would love to make their own. The only things is…does it hurt?
Wow! so creative – I think I’ll have to try this someday.
http://themyrons.eachday.com
[...] Link Tags: bullwhip, duck tape, fan boys, How To, new indiana jones Add to Favorite SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “How to make an Indy bull whip using duct tape”, url: “http://www.techotic.com/how-to-make-an-indy-bullwhip-using-duct-tape.html” }); « Luke Russert pays tribute to dad on Today Show [...]
Wow that is one more thing for dcuk tape awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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[...] This may be the coolest thing I’ve seen all summer! Over at Skip to My Lou they have a fabulous tutorial on how to make a Duct Tape Bullwhip! [...]
This is amazing! My kids will love this (when they are old enough!)
Keep up the great work,
-Matt
http://www.NationalArtcraft.com
Thanks! I write a blog where I do one new thing a day, and I used this as one of my “new things”.
http://ive-never.blogspot.com/2008/06/230-whip-it.html
I made this for my son (8) and my nephew (6). We couldn’t find colored duct tape, so I just used silver and we call them “Super Whips”
Also, I only made them 6 ft long (and the dowel rod was cut to about 3 inches). Perfect size for them.
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[...] “swinging to safety on the other side” move. Maybe he needs a fedora. Special acknowledgments go to Skip to My Lou for this duct tape brilliance, she has detailed pictures about how to do this should you have a [...]
To those who have asked, YES a whip will hurt if you hit yourself, I have hit myself several times and it does hurt, just wear safety glasses and it is still fun.
oh please sir, may I have another!
Thanks, this is perfect!!!,
my 7 year old has already stolen my brown fedora,
he love the whip, 1st thing he asked me while i was making it was “is it 20 feet long like the real one?”
i did make the handle a little shorter, about 3 hands long. easier for him to handle.
did have an idea i’m going to try, you mentioned not suitable for swinging on, think i’ll try to braid it around some rope like a real one is made.
although i’ll probably regret it…
I’ll let you know if it works
Oh My Word!!! I’m so excited to come across this post tonight! My boys have no clue who Indiana Jones is, but they’ve seen those whips in Target and that’s all I’ve heard about since they came out. This is terrific! Thank you so much for sharing!
Best, best summer project ever! After getting supplies, this took just over an hour to make. The toughest part was keeping the ends untangled while braiding. I added a fall (a “tail” at the end of the braid) by extending a single rolled piece of tape several inches past the braid, then attached the popper. Wow! My 7-year-old has been using this non-stop for days and can already crack the whip almost every time. My 3-year-old can crack it about half the time. Protective glasses are a must, but I’ve realld cracked myself several times and didn’t cause much damage with this whip. Awesome, awesome idea! Thanks so much!!!
As per the stickiness of the duct tape – since the actual braided part does not require the tape to stick that well – why not sprinkle baby powder or cornstarch on it to decrease the tackiness? This might make it easier to braid. I’m looking forward to trying this out!
Awesome, I need to make a prop for an event I am organizing and this is EXACTLY what I need! Thank you!
[...] That brings me back to the Internet. A quick search of google takes me right to How the make a duct tape bullwhip [...]
[...] How To Make a Duct Tape Bull Whip – We did this and the kiddos LOVED it! Oh my! This was a fun project. The boys were ecstatic that we were actually going to make bull whips. They had fun and played for hours with them. [...]