[lauregami]

Hey everyone, I've gone full into the deep of slingshots and am now interested in building my own. I've never done woodworking so that will be a first for me. I bought some basic supplies from Harbor Freight (rasps, sandpaper, coping saw, a dremel) and am thinking about where to source my wood. I am grateful to live near a lumber yard that opens before work, so I am able to source good quality wood. But then I got to thinking, I didn't want to ruin some really nice oak or maple on my inevitable early mess ups.

My work is right next to a big stone and tile company and they have tons and tons of pallet wood sitting around that they just get rid of. I was interested in sourcing my wood from there, after asking permission of course. But I remember reading a while back that pallet wood may not be necessarily safe to work with because it is treated with chemicals that are very harmful to humans if inhaled.

With what protection should I arm myself before working with pallet wood? Should I get a full-on respirator? Is it worth the risk at all?

Thank you all in advance for any advice you may have. =)

 

[ForkLess]

I would use something nicer and stronger. You can always sand and cut mistakes away. I like to cut out hard thick cardboard for my test sling. Cheap and easy to cut, until I like how it fits in my hand. Then put a demo on used white HDPE cutting boards. That are pretty dirt cheap. They are easy to cut and carve and can take the abuse of fork hits, also HDPE fork hits can be heated and dent pressed flat and sanded. You might really like your 1st slingshot, you will probably do a great job. I would not want to regret not making it out of something that would not last.

 

[lauregami]

Thank you for the advice, especially the suggestion of HDPE cutting board material. I was only thinking of the chemical part, not the quality of the wood. I think HDPE will be a lot safer to use, and more durable, too. You will all probably see some cutting board test slings from me in the coming months, then I'll upgrade to some really nice wood.

Looking forward to continuing on this journey ' v'

 

[31610]

Need to find the nice tight grain pallet boards the oak or something similar lot skids tossed r pine no good . Look for ones stamped with HT that means heat treated if the wood feels really heavy it’s probably chemical treated . I always use a birch ply core just to be safe

 

[greenwart]

Buy the best tools you can afford. Buy 3M sandpaper. No paper I have ever purchased at harbor freight was worth it. As for pallet I scavanged wood from pallets years ago. If you run in To nails or debris you will ruin your tools. Found it was a lot if work for little return. I scavenge old furniture and shelving units. Found a lifetime supply from some 3/4" veneered plywood shelves.

 

[SLING-N-SHOT]

Hey everyone, I've gone full into the deep of slingshots and am now interested in building my own. I've never done woodworking so that will be a first for me. I bought some basic supplies from Harbor Freight (rasps, sandpaper, coping saw, a dremel) and am thinking about where to source my wood. I am grateful to live near a lumber yard that opens before work, so I am able to source good quality wood. But then I got to thinking, I didn't want to ruin some really nice oak or maple on my inevitable early mess ups.

My work is right next to a big stone and tile company and they have tons and tons of pallet wood sitting around that they just get rid of. I was interested in sourcing my wood from there, after asking permission of course. But I remember reading a while back that pallet wood may not be necessarily safe to work with because it is treated with chemicals that are very harmful to humans if inhaled.

With what protection should I arm myself before working with pallet wood? Should I get a full-on respirator? Is it worth the risk at all?

Thank you all in advance for any advice you may have. =)

Cool, you could always go on the mooch for some natural forks..... build your skills on those before messing up nice woods ?

I've been eyeballing a pallet at work with thick boards that are that deep gray, weathered barn wood looking stuff

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[flipgun]

I have used and still grab pieces of pallets and never had an issue. As mentioned, a lot of pallets are Oak and are quite durable in a board cut. If you want to insure strength, cut two pieces that the grains are 20 degrees from each other and laminate or glue. If this makes it a bit thick for your taste? Anything you don't need will carve or sand off. BTW Harbor Freight cheap white wood glue works great but takes a day to dry. Their 5-minute epoxy is pretty good too.

 

[Void]

Pallets can have really great and beautiful wood. But some is better than others. Some wood is harder And stronger, but that also makes it more difficult to work. And some people find that the work to disassemble them and get rid of the waste makes it less rewarding for them, while others may like having the scrap to burn in a heating stove. Really it is something that depends more on you than the wood.
But what would it hurt to try? I feel that trying is the only way to be sure

 

[Grandpa Pete]

Glad to see you are jumping into this slingshot thing with both feet. You'll get a lot of good advise from folks on the forum who have a lot of experience. As stated earlier, almost any hard wood with a good close grain will work. Don't forget about trying a natural tree fork. Do you live somewhere where you have access to tree branches? Good luck. Post some pictures of your projects.

GP

 

[flipgun]

Also, if you see an old recliner in the trash on the curb the foot rest is usually made of multiple layers of very nice ply and if it is leather covered, the grade on that part of the chair makes some good pouches.

 

[Toolshed]

Oh, the glories of "OBTAINIUM".

I do not think the chemicals in pallet wood are anything to worry about. Truly, I don't think most are even treated.

 

[lauregami]

Thank you all so much for the advice, particularly the suggestions for sourcing material.

If I have some time I may still go out and grab some pallets - I did research on my own as well and many of them do appear to be the safe, heat-treated variety - but I will not be afraid of not having a good list of resources to source creations. I'm not getting any heavy power tools yet as I'm moving to another state quite soon, so that does limit what I have access to a little bit. But I am confident that I can do a lot and really stretch my imagination.

My city has a ton of trees, thankfully. Saturday morning, when I go to the office to pick up my package, I'm going to bring the right tools and then go for a bit of a walk around and see if I can source some nice natural forks. I get safety glasses tomorrow, so I'll be able to shoot again, even though all I have is the cheap slingshot until Saturday when my Simple-Shot package arrives. =)

One thing I am thinking of in particular is adding layers of paper like a wood laminate, and then sealing it with a layer of epoxy before doing the finish. I have a lot of very nice origami paper and I think it would be a creative experiment to make nice looking handles =)

 

[flipgun]

One thing I am thinking of in particular is adding layers of paper like a wood laminate, and then sealing it with a layer of epoxy before doing the finish. I have a lot of very nice origami paper and I think it would be a creative experiment to make nice looking handles =)

The very definition of Micarta. Beaucoup Vids on how to make it. Please keep us posted.