Boomerangs: How to Make and Throw Them

This is an excellent introduction to making and throwing boomerangs, but is a little out of date. Unless you want to make a left handed boomerang, this book will show you everything you need. I found the section on tumblesticks especially interesting.

I loved this book as a kid so I purchased a copy for my kids. Everything you need to know to make boomerangs of all types is covered here. The book does show its age some, as do many Dover reprints (you are unlikley to find the wooden sticks used by service stations for checking gas level anymore... use a thick yardstick instead).

Would you like to make a boomerang? This book will teach you how to do that. And it tells us plenty about all sorts of boomerangs and how to throw them. You start with a stick. You round the top side to a roughly convex shape while the bottom remains flat. And you bend the ends slightly towards the convex side. If you do it really well, it may already be a boomerang (called a "tumblestick"). You can try it. But it is better to make two of them and attach them to make a "cross-stick" boomerang. These tend to work very well indeed, unless they get caught in a wind. You can even put three of these sticks together, to get a "pinwheel" boomerang. And Mason describes a bunch of variations on all these designs. Of the variations, the most interesting are the "boomabirds," which look like birds. There is some fascinating material on how to make them. The book also includes a section on Australian boomerangs. There are two types. One is called the "return" boomerang. When thrown vertically, it makes an arc and returns (unless it hits something). The other is misleadingly called the "non-return" boomerang. When thrown horizontally, it returns. But when thrown vertically, it just keeps going until it lands. Australian boomerangs are weapons, and birds (which generally do not realize that they need to avoid them) are the prime targets. I enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it.

Mason tells how to build and throw an assortment of throwing objects besides the boomerangs, built out of wood or cardboard. As well, he suggests forms of competitions and judging. He puts a big emphasis on safety -- boomerangs and throwing sticks were designed to bring down small game, or even enemy warriors, so they require care in use. This would be a great addition to the after-school or summer fun program of your park, club, or school. It's also fine to do by yourself during the hours the playground is empty.