I wish I had one of these when I was a kid, could have done a lot of mischief with it!

Let’s make an extendable scissor arm toy, or reach-out grabber, for your kids.

I used a laser cutter for the pieces, but you can use the templates to cut it with a scroll saw, CNC router, or even a jig saw.

Supplies

1/4” Pywood

3/8” Dowel rod

Wood glue

Laser Cutter, Scroll Saw, CNC, or Jig Saw

Sander

3/8” Drill

Step 1: Cut the Pieces

Cut the required pieces from 1/4” plywood. The svg files are attached. You will need:

4 handles

2 handle spacers

4 grabbers

2 grabber spacers

8 washers

4 dowel pieces 3/8” diameter by 1-1/2” long.

Step 2: Parts Assembly

Glue up the two handles as three stacked layers: handle - handle spacer - handle.

It helps aligning the three pieces if you insert dowels through the two pivot holes in the handles.

Glue the two grabbers as three stacked layers: grabber - grabber spacer - grabber.

By doubling up the handle and grabbers and using spacers the scissor arm toy will be stronger.

Step 3: Cleaning and Sanding

Since I used a laser cutter I ended up with black edges on each piece. So after glueing the handles and grabbers I used a sander to clean up the edges.

Glue-up the dowel pegs that make the joints/pivots: washer - dowel. You will need 4 of these. Sand and clean the edges.

Step 4: Final Assembly

Now assemble the complete scissor arm as shown, using the dowel pegs, handles, and grabbers. Pay attention to how you layer the pieces! Don’t glue washers to the top layer yet. Test the scissor arm to make sure it functions as intended.

Now glue on the top washers to the top of the four dowels. You may also glue them to the adjoining handle/grabber for added stability. Before the glue dries make sure the scissor arm still moves, that is: Don’t glue together the wrong pieces! Cut/sand the dowel tops flush with the washers, round over any sharp edges, and clean up for finishing. The last picture shows the layering of the parts.