Agreed on the fuzzy pouch. I changed it. The fork attachment is wrapped using PP smart ties just like flat bands.
Here's a closer shot of how it's done now.
Is this stupid?
"If it works, it's not stupid"
Seems to work.
According to the amazon listing it's 1632, 8 inches of slack on a ~44 inch draw.
Feels very slow on 3/8 steel, but seems to like 5/16.
I'm not good enough yet that I can tell if the accuracy is way off, and I haven't shot it more than 5 times. I had a hit on the 4th shot which seems reasonable switching from flat, tapered bands.
The pouch attachment and tie on to the frame are what's worrying me. What do you all think?
![353123]()
Also... Patchouli. Lots and lots of patchouli.
Seems to work.
According to the amazon listing it's 1632, 8 inches of slack on a ~44 inch draw.
Feels very slow on 3/8 steel, but seems to like 5/16.
I'm not good enough yet that I can tell if the accuracy is way off, and I haven't shot it more than 5 times. I had a hit on the 4th shot which seems reasonable switching from flat, tapered bands.
The pouch attachment and tie on to the frame are what's worrying me. What do you all think?
Also... Patchouli. Lots and lots of patchouli.
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Right after the above was posted, I swapped over to single strand 1632 tied on the same way. After two weeks of shooting, the primary point of failure seems to be at the fork where the tube rubs against the material of the fork when pulled back.
To try and fix this I started cuffing the fork end of the tubes with about 1.5" of simple shot's 1842. I'm sure I'm not the first to try something like this. The outer tube cushions the inner one from the material of the fork. So far it seems to be working well. After a couple of days of shooting there is no visible wear, but time will tell. It also make it much easier to tie thin tubes to a fork designed for bands.
My accuracy seems unaffected by the change.
I'm working the tubes pretty hard. They tend to get pulled back nearly to their max with 5/16 and 3/8 inch steel ammo. (7 inch slack on a ~44 inch draw in this case). I'm currently working on semi butterfly on the theory that a longer draw length will tend to minimise small errors in aim with the power of geometry! It also tends to let me dial in elevation between slingshots with different fork widths. On top of all of that, it's just more fun to shoot that way.
From the front:
![Wood Bicycle part Hardwood Auto part Art]()
From the back under tension:
![Computer keyboard Peripheral Input device Finger Audio equipment]()
I've also been tying the tubes to the pouch with cuffs only. A couple of weeks of shooting and none of the tubes have failed at the pouch.
To try and fix this I started cuffing the fork end of the tubes with about 1.5" of simple shot's 1842. I'm sure I'm not the first to try something like this. The outer tube cushions the inner one from the material of the fork. So far it seems to be working well. After a couple of days of shooting there is no visible wear, but time will tell. It also make it much easier to tie thin tubes to a fork designed for bands.
My accuracy seems unaffected by the change.
I'm working the tubes pretty hard. They tend to get pulled back nearly to their max with 5/16 and 3/8 inch steel ammo. (7 inch slack on a ~44 inch draw in this case). I'm currently working on semi butterfly on the theory that a longer draw length will tend to minimise small errors in aim with the power of geometry! It also tends to let me dial in elevation between slingshots with different fork widths. On top of all of that, it's just more fun to shoot that way.
From the front:
From the back under tension:
I've also been tying the tubes to the pouch with cuffs only. A couple of weeks of shooting and none of the tubes have failed at the pouch.
Just in case it's of interest to anyone, here's an update.
After 5 days of shooting a couple of hundred a day, one of the cuffed tubes finally gave up the ghost.
One of my concerns with this method was that the cuff at the fork end might hide damage and that is indeed what happened.
It wasn't a dramatic failure. When I set up a shot, I do a full pull away from my aiming position just to be safe. The failure happened then, which makes me feel a little smarter than I usually do. Still though, safety glasses are our friends. The cuff itself is totally undamaged.
I don't have hard data, but I'm sure that this extended the life of the tube and it certainly makes tying them on easier.
![Finger Wood Cable Gadget Wire]()
I'm going to keep using the method for the time being, one to see if it actually does improve the life of the tube and two to see if I can figure out a way to prevent the cuff from hiding the damage. I'm also going to mess with different attachment materials and tension.
The damage is caused by the wrapping cutting into the tube over time.
There's got to be a way to spread that pressure out.
I would appreciate any ideas or advice.
The cuffed pouch attachments are rock solid however. I've been using them on bands too. So far so good.
![Laptop Computer Personal computer Finger Thumb]()
After 5 days of shooting a couple of hundred a day, one of the cuffed tubes finally gave up the ghost.
One of my concerns with this method was that the cuff at the fork end might hide damage and that is indeed what happened.
It wasn't a dramatic failure. When I set up a shot, I do a full pull away from my aiming position just to be safe. The failure happened then, which makes me feel a little smarter than I usually do. Still though, safety glasses are our friends. The cuff itself is totally undamaged.
I don't have hard data, but I'm sure that this extended the life of the tube and it certainly makes tying them on easier.
I'm going to keep using the method for the time being, one to see if it actually does improve the life of the tube and two to see if I can figure out a way to prevent the cuff from hiding the damage. I'm also going to mess with different attachment materials and tension.
The damage is caused by the wrapping cutting into the tube over time.
There's got to be a way to spread that pressure out.
I would appreciate any ideas or advice.
The cuffed pouch attachments are rock solid however. I've been using them on bands too. So far so good.
New attachment method! Well new to me at least...
In my admittedly brief lunch break bench testing, the tubes broke before the joint failed, so I figured that I would go ahead and give it a go.
I tried it with the .177 bb in the 1842 with the 1632 stretched over it and cuffed up, but even though the tube would break before the joint would slip, the bb tended to shoot out of the end of the black when snapping back.
If this works, I can see potential for this being yet another way to pseudo taper tubes. I'm gonna band up another slingshot like that after I actually get some of my job done lol.
![Tire Automotive tire Wood Finger Thumb]()
![Finger Bicycle part Wood Strap Tool]()
I inked the 1632 so that I could check and see if it's slipping at all.
- Stuff .177 bb about .25 into the end of 1632 tube.
- Stuff end of 1632 tube about .25 into 1842.
- Apply a cuff of 1632 right behind the hump caused by the .177 bb to prevent pull out.
- Tie on as before but this time the 1632 isn't all the way through the 1842 so the tie on pressure is not applied to it.
- Be very careful cause now you got a bb inside the tube that might fly back at your face.
- Go shoot it.
In my admittedly brief lunch break bench testing, the tubes broke before the joint failed, so I figured that I would go ahead and give it a go.
I tried it with the .177 bb in the 1842 with the 1632 stretched over it and cuffed up, but even though the tube would break before the joint would slip, the bb tended to shoot out of the end of the black when snapping back.
If this works, I can see potential for this being yet another way to pseudo taper tubes. I'm gonna band up another slingshot like that after I actually get some of my job done lol.
I inked the 1632 so that I could check and see if it's slipping at all.
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