[Mike West]

Hi,
New guy here and this will be my first slingshot build. I’m looking to make a copy of a Scout XT but a little bigger(it’s a little small for my hands) out of exotic hardwoods like the ones Nathan use to make with flipping out slingshots.

I’d like to use a resin impregnated carbon weave for the core for added strength But I’m open to other ideas but don’t know what to use acrylics, G10,Micarta,Linen or some other material I’m not aware of. I really don’t want to use aluminum.
I want something nice and something that will polish up nicely.
I can’t find anything in the size I need which is 6 1/4” long by 4 1/4”inches wide.
And then the thickness I guess 1/8” or will I need to go to a 1/4” based on the strength of the material used.?

I’ve already figured out the carbon is probably gonna cost me somewhere between $70 and $90 if I can find somebody that has it the size I need or will make it.
I don’t even know how to search for it other than typing in knife scales And every knife scale is too small…. Carbon just get you tons of links to people who sell carbon weaves and fibers.

Any help,opinions and suggestions are highly welcome and appreciate it
TIA

Edit: and any links to vendors where I can get some of the stuff

 

[ffastfzr]

You can get CF on ebay or even Amazon in assorted thicknesses. Just search for carbon fiber sheet. Same for micarta or g10. Search for sheet. that said, it's been my experience that cutting CF, g10, or micarta thicker than 3/16 is really rough on band saw and scroll saw blades.
what you might want to use would depend on your experience working with these materials and the tools you have available. For instance you don't want to work on any of them without wearing a respirator. Particularly with CF and G10. It's also really difficult to cut curves. You might have to drill around the shape before cutting, and then spend more time with either a file or a sander to smooth it down.
Canvas and linen micarta cut easier, but take time to polish well. Paper micarta polishes beautifully but is really tough and time consuming to polish. It's also really tough to cut.
G10 grinds and polishes easily, but is tough to cut, and fills the air with glass particles.
So what tools do you have, and what experience do you have working with these materials?

 

[Mike West]

ffastfzr,
First off thank you very much for your reply that was extremely helpful to me.
I am an old man 62 I’m not looking to crank this thing out in a day or two this is gonna be a long-term project for me to go out to my garage/shop work for a couple hours go back in the house that type of thing.

I have a cordless Dewalt drill a Dremel tool with about every bit known to man for it and some wood carving bits for it,coping saw,hacksaw,miter box,bench vise and numerous clamps,rasps and fine files.

this will be mostly done with hand tools very slowly.
I have a lot of woodworking experience and also build Fishing luresand fly fishing poppers out of balsa wood.

 

[flipgun]

Invest in a good mask.

 

[ffastfzr]

ffastfzr,
First off thank you very much for your reply that was extremely helpful to me.
I am an old man 62 I’m not looking to crank this thing out in a day or two this is gonna be a long-term project for me to go out to my garage/shop work for a couple hours go back in the house that type of thing.

I have a cordless Dewalt drill a Dremel tool with about every bit known to man for it and some wood carving bits for it,coping saw,hacksaw,miter box,bench vise and numerous clamps,rasps and fine files.

this will be mostly done with hand tools very slowly.
I have a lot of woodworking experience and also build Fishing luresand fly fishing poppers out of balsa wood.

First and foremost, like flipgun said, get a good mask first. The composite materials throw out some really nasty stuff. You can get a decent half face respirator on amazon for under $30. You will absolutely screw up your lungs severely without one.
If you have the patience, cutting out a frame/core with a coping saw isn't bad. It's just hard to be precise, and you need to spend more time with either your dremel with a drum, or your files, or just plain old sandpaper. If all you have is a handheld drill, drilling out the circumference of the core is a bit of a pain. I use my drill press.
I'm reasonably confident in suggesting that you can use 1/8th G10, canvas, linen or paper micarta or CF for the core. It all depends on how strong your bands are going to be and the relative strength of how you make your scales and what you make them out of. I'm pretty sure that the 1/8th on it's own would hold up just fine. It's strong stuff. I made a small fork just out of 1/8th CF, and it was plenty enough to handle .8 flatbands.
G10 is probably the easiest to work with if you are going to cut it with a coping saw. It also grinds easily, and polishes nicely. Just be prepared to wet sand to get a nice sheen, or else use some flitz polish or a buffer.
The G10 dust has tiny glass particles in it, so again, please use a respirator. I can't stress that enough.
Also, epoxy. You'll need epoxy. The five minute stuff is good. I drill relief divots in my material, but you can also scuff it up really well for it to adhere better.
I get my G10 from various sources.
alpha knife supply
maker material supply
and masecraft supply
all have g10 sheets, and I have found them to all ship relatively quickly and have decent pricing.
They all sell micarta too. Micarta isn't bad to work with, but you will really have to polish it to make the linen or canvas fibers shine. The paper stuff polishes beautifully but is like working with rock. It takes a very long time to shape.
Feel free to message me directly if I can offer any other advice or guidance. I'll try and keep up with tis thread as well.

 

[Trap1]

Guid advice from @ffastfzr

? does it need a core?

In comparison to man made composites, which have more health risks as mentioned above..I would add that an air born dust extraction system (think flour mill) should be used as well as a good respirator here, why not just use good hardwood/s?

If it's looks you're after you could look at D.Ironwood here https://arizonaironwood.com/t/clearance

 

[snydes]

If you want to use a composite, more power to you, but you don't have to. If you laminate your frame out of hardwoods, they are plenty strong. Here's a good source for thin exotic woods surfaced both sides, ready for your glue up ---> Items for sale by woodnshop | eBay

MIne aren't as fancy as Nathan's old Flippinout frames, but it gives you an idea of what you can do with just exotic hardwoods that you can glue up yourself ...

 

[Mike West]

Sharp looking Snydes

 

[ffastfzr]

If you want to use a composite, more power to you, but you don't have to. If you laminate your frame out of hardwoods, they are plenty strong. Here's a good source for thin exotic woods surfaced both sides, ready for your glue up ---> Items for sale by woodnshop | eBay

MIne aren't as fancy as Nathan's old Flippinout frames, but it gives you an idea of what you can do with just exotic hardwoods that you can glue up yourself ...

I heartily agree, but even wood has it's risks. It turns out I have some weird allergy to leopardwood. Some leopardwood dust got in my goggles when I laid them down on my workbench for a few minutes. Put my goggles back on and Felt a little itchy at the time, but nothing major. I woke up the next morning and both eyes were almost swollen shut. Took 3 weeks for them to come back to normal. Besides certain hardwoods containing various irritants, and even some toxins, wood dust is still not good to breathe in. Nowhere near as nasty as G10, but still not something you want to breathe in.
If I may add, you always do absolutely beautiful work. I'm always incredibly impressed with your skill and creativity.

 

[snydes]

Thanks ffastfzr ! I haven't had any really bad reactions to these exotic woods yet, but I have to get a better respirator, not just a dust mask...