When I was a kid, we had a toy called clackers. My younger brother had a smaller set and I had a larger set. They were made of clear, hard plastic balls with string and a round plastic ring to hold them with. If we smacked ourselves with them while trying to make them click clack, it sure would hurt.
Rather than making them with the hard plastic balls, I will tell you how to make them with tennis balls. While hitting yourself with them will still hurt, the smack won’t be near as painful as the hard plastic solid balls.
Materials
2 feet of twine
1 6-inch nail
1 hammer
Vice or vice grips
2 pony beads
Place a tennis ball into the vice or grips. Clamp the ball just tight enough to hold the tennis ball without squishing the ball.
Hold the nail in the center of the tennis ball. With the hammer, drive the nail straight through the ball. Remove the nail from the ball. Remove the first tennis ball from the vice. Place the second ball into the vice or grips and drive the nail through this ball and remove.
Take the crochet hook and push it through the holes of one of the tennis balls. You will have to wiggle the hook to get it through the second hole. Once the crochet hook is through the holes, places one end of the twine through the hook end. Pull the twine tight around the hook and pull through the holes. This may take a bit of umph to get it through the holes.
After you have gotten the twine through the holes, tie a pony bead to the end of the twine. Do this to the other tennis ball. This will help keep the twine from pulling through the holes.
Find the middle of the twine after the balls have been tied off. After you find the middle of the twine, tie the twine so you have a loop for an index finger to fit through. The tennis balls once you have the loop tied should be even.
NOTE: To use the clackers, extend your arm away from your body. Stay away from objects that can be knocked over. Stay away from other people. Play with the clackers outside. The tennis balls clackers are for children over the age of 10.
Take your index finger, place it through the loop, and bounce the balls so they will hit each other. The fast you bounce the tennis balls the higher in the air they will go. The higher they go, the balls should hit each other above and below the loop and your finger.
NOTE: If you are making the clackers for very young children, use the squishy stress style balls instead of the tennis balls. When using the stress style balls, you could forgo the hammer and nail. Use a metal crochet hook for this step. Push the crochet hook straight through the center of the balls. While the crochet hook is still in the ball, place the twine onto the hook end and pull through like the tennis balls. Complete these clackers in the same manner.
Have fun with your newly made clackers. You can make the clackers for gifts for birthdays or Christmas. You can make them just for kicks and grins.
