Kids Magnetic Fishing Rod

thingiverse

This is a very simple magnetic fishing game I made with my kids to help teach them that you can make your own toys. ## Parts Required It uses some random 12.5mm wooden dowel we had left over from another project, some 43mm M5 bolts with locking nuts, some [7mm x 3mm Neodymium Disc](https://magnet.com.au/neodymium-disc-7mm-x-3mm.html) magnets, and some string/yarn. ## Instructions To anchor the string on the reel, insert the handle piece into the "Reel Inner" piece first, tie one end of the string around the handle and slide it down into the recess with the knot and rest of string hanging out through the channel. When you place the Reel Out on top and bolt it down, it'll "clamp" the string, so no glue is required and you can change the string if they break it or want a different colour. For the fish, I took [this design](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1702602) and cut the back keyring part off, and then glued some metal washers onto the bottom of their mouth so the magnets can stick on. You could use any fish/object design you want though as long as you glue something metal onto it. You can make the rod as long as you want, just print more of the Guide pieces to suit the length of your rod. Ours are about 50cm long and use 3 guide pieces. Lastly, you might want to add a sinkers (washers or anything heavy) above the hook if you want the string to unwind itself when they "cast", the current hook isn't quite heavy enough to do so but my kids just grab the hook and pull the string down between each go. I'm going to redesign the hook to actually look like a hook and add some washers as weights to it soon.