[Oufti]

First of and as usual sorry for my English, I do my best.

I was never more interested than that in slingshots, I have "played" with some when I was little but it stopped there. It is by chance after seeing the work of Bill Hays wich amazed me that I threw myself into the design of a Slingshot.

I do not intend to make a living of it, I am a graphic designer by formation, knifemaker by passion (seems to be a bunch of us here&#8230,and as for now I'm looking for a job and I have a little time for myself so I decided to try to design a slingshot.

I manage to get what I initially wanted in 4 steps.

1st step,computer design of an asymmetrical slingshot and making of the first prototype in 8mm paperstone.



At this moment I understand that it does not justhappen ... in this case I have designed it too large, I have big hands but notenough to make it comfortable ... So I put the design back on the drawing boardand modify it, adjusting it to achieve what I wanted initially, it took me 3and a final prototype to achieve what I wanted, here are the first 3:



Here's the final model:

- paperstone 15mm

- Pocket 70*15mm

- 3* Silver Theraband 230mm*20 to 14mm (tapered) for each side.















It works great, good power and accuracy with .44caliber balls (thanks to Perry).



Here's a little video in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKhed_Ebtsc

That's it, anyone can copy it if he wants as long as it is not for commercial purposes, I do not think I'll become a regular speaker here, I just wanted to share what I did.

 

[Pro-Shot (UK) Catapults]

Hi i like you work they look grate

 

[mxred91]

Very impressive, well done.

 

[JoergS]

Very good!

I really like the design and the craftsmanship. Keep it up!

Jörg

 

[919h]

Very nice !

Good work.

Congradulations

Xavier

 

[dragonmaster]

Grat job I realy love that one and think this might be one of the best Ive seen.

 

[ZDP-189]

I think that's fantastic.

Your approach and style is close to my own. No doubt you will find much to amuse you in my slingshotforum blog.

 

[Tex-Shooter]

Looks like the ones Bill Hays makes, but I like them! -- Tex

 

[Frodo]

They look great! Good sized, too!

 

[Mtnfolk Mike]

nice work... those look great...

welcome to the forums...

 

[Deimos]

that design is genious.
Its like... symmetric unsymmetry
I'll have to make one like that myself... I just need to feel it.
Thank you for joining and sharing this on the forum!

 

[Tom Krein]

VERY NICE!!

Tom

 

[ZDP-189]

Yes, as Oufti said, they are clearly inspired by Bill's excellent and distinctive slingshots, but to be fair the design is from scratch not drawn round somebody's slingshot or reproduced straight from a photo. In fact, it's just about as different as is possible based on a board cut and four wide spaced fingers with separators and a semi-pinching thumb on the other side of low forks.

 

[Xidoo]

Very nice design, I like your presentation it is very well explain. Thanks for offering you design to all of us and please keep making some more. Saludos.

 

[Oufti]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Yes of course my design looks a bit like Bill Hays', and after watching ZDP189 (this steel is wayyyyyy too brittle for me...) too, our approach are quite similar, ergonomic with a big concern about design and it's quite normal that there's a family look.

But I think there will be a 5th one, I keep hitting my thumb and index finger, I don't know if it happens on the way out or back, I dont have that with the 3rd... I must change something because my fingers are completely sores

 

[lucifer93]

Thank you for posting this, i just had to google paperstone LOL. I love the slingshot and like all the photos of all the prototypes. Oufti what a great first post if it was up for voting i would have to declare you

the winner of the Couger. Good luck finding a new job

 

[NaturalFork]

I had to look up paperstone too. lol.

 

[Oufti]

Thank you for posting this, i just had to google paperstone LOL.

It's a "cheap" material I sometimes use for "cheap" knives handle, once finish it's a little too much plastic for me, but as I have a load of it (scrapes from a construction site, this is used as walls for toilets...) why not use that, when I'll be entirely satisfied with the model I'll do it in Micarta G10 or carbon fiber.

Thanks for the rest

 

[ZDP-189]

ZDP189 (this steel is wayyyyyy too brittle for me...)

I apologise for digressing, but ZDP-189 steel is not brittle, but it does have a tendency to chip out, which is tragic considering the high cost of knives made from the steel and the difficulty of sharpening it. I picked up this name when I joined a forum researching a purchase and only intended to ask one question about the steel, but I stayed on and 20,000 posts later under this name, the moniker stuck. In a way, it suits my style, being engineered practically to the point of absurdity. :lol:

I am sure you will enjoy this forum, find many friends and much inspiration and stay on, becoming known the world over only as 'Oufti'.

 

[Oufti]

I apologise for digressing, but ZDP-189 steel is not brittle,..

As we are digressing... (is it permitted here ?)

Here's what I have done with a Kershaw Leek ZDP189 which lost it's tip in a plate...