Office Bricolage

Micro-Claymore

Materials and Tools

	Parts: One Note Pad with Cardboard Backing One Small Paperclip Several Large Paperclips Two Small, Strong Rubber Bands One Ball Point Pen ("stick" pen) One Avery Hi-Liter (no substitutions) One Roll of 3/4" Tape One Roll of 1/2" Tape
	Tools: One Leatherman Multi-Tool (or similar folding pocket pliers) One Permanent Marker One Lighter (for heating wires for hole boring) One Thumb Tack (for boring pilot holes in plastic, if needed) One Large Paperclip (for boring small holes in plastic) One No. 1 (Large) Ideal Clamps (for boring large holes in plastic) One Pair of Scissors One Ruler (or similar measuring implement)

Construction

Micro-Claymore: Expanded View

The micro-claymore is a small device designed to deliver a short-ranged, dispersed payload from a concealed location. The mine is created from commonly available office materials. It may be either manually fired or fired by a tripline, depending on the orientation of the firing pin. (Follow links for step-by-step instructions.)
Several different types of ammunition may be used. Some suggestions include:

Lengths of cut wire (shown above). Several dozen 1-1/2" lengths of paperclip wire can be fit into the barrel. Wires should be cut on a diagonal, to create sharp points. A stiff cardboard wadding (cut from the back of the notepad) should be used to prevent wires from jamming the plunger. Wires will launch in a dispersed pattern, as shown in the tests below.
Pencil pieces. Three short segments of wooden pencil will also fit side-by-side in the barrel, if longer ranges and narrower dispersion patterns are required.
Irritant powder. Fine powders, such as toner or pepper (if available, perhaps scavenged from the break room), may be loaded into the barrel. A cardboard wadding should be used to assure that all powder is ejected on firing. If used, the mine should be installed at head height, to strike the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Micro-Claymore: Loaded and Ready

Operation

One Installation Method

To load the micro-claymore, first the plunger must be cocked. This can most easily be done by placing a pen inside the barrel, and pressing the mine and pen down against a table top. Once the plunger is fully compressed, the firing pin should be installed. The orientation of the firing pin should be adjusted based on the intended deployment. The pull-ring should face forward for tripline firing, and backward for manual firing.
Once cocked, the selected ammunition should be loaded. If the ammunition is small/narrow, a stiff cardboard wadding should be loaded first, to prevent jamming the plunger. Then, once the payload is ready, the original highlighter end plug should be inserted. The plug should only be inserted to the first lock ridge, so that it may be easily grasped for removal upon deployment.
To deploy, the mine should be affixed to a stationary object using tape. A door frame or piece of furniture is often a good choice for mounting location. If a tripline is to be used, a length of 1/2" tape should be run from the firing pin pull ring to a stationary object on the opposite side of the doorway, corridor, or other area to be trapped. Transparent tape is particularly useful for this purpose, as it can be difficult to see, especially in low light conditions. Refer to the picture above for a sample installation.
Once the mine is set, the end plug should be removed. If a powder is used as a payload, the plug can be modified to keep the ammunition in place. Simply cut or file the lock ridges off of the plug until it slides out of the barrel easily. Then, on firing, the plug will be pushed out of the way.

Testing

Dispersion Test

Mine was loaded with 1-1/2" wires and fired at a cardboard backstop 60" away. The spread was 12" at appoximately 48", yielding an estimated arc of fire of 28 degrees.

Impact Test*
(Paper Target at a Range of 12")

* Simulated, based on the designer's initial optimism. Actual tests were considerably less impressive. As might be expected, rubber bands don't rate high as ballistic propulsion devices.

Acknowledgements

This project would not have been possible without the inspiration and support of the Bleach Eating Freaks.