Hi Charles, I've been lurking for a while now as my interest in slingshots has been rekindled from posts on another board. I have been considering my options and would have never thought to try office bands. My experience was with red rubber bands made from truck inner tubes and when they disappeared, surgical rubber tubing.
I have and old oak "board" cut slingshot frame that still has one dark brown and cracked surgical rubber tube attached and a very dried out leather pouch attached. I went to Staples today after double checking for their Alliance 107 bands. Sadly when I drove there only Staples brands were available. I bought their "84" (3.5" x 1/2") and "64" 3.5" x 1/4") bands anyway. I have just mink oiled that old pouch and am waiting to see if it softens.
I have successfully made a pouch for a sling (not a slingshot) from jean material (2 layers with a light smear of "Goop" between them) and saw a post here about using seat belt material. I was wondering if you have any thoughts about using fabric like materials for pouches?
Thanks again for the office band enlightenment!
Almost anything can be used for pouches. There are a number of concerns, however.
One concern is the extent of wear on the bands. Some materials may be harder on the bands than others. One of my concerns about melt-sealed nylon is that the melted material may be sharp and abraid the bands quickly. You just have to try things and see what works. If you are into sewing, you could probably keep the edges of nylon from raveling by sewing them ... or maybe seal them with silcon glue used for caulking around windows or tubs.
Another concern is how tough the material is. Cotton fabrics tend to be pretty soft and wear out pretty quickly. But as you suggest, maybe you could make a layer or two with Shoe Goo or silicon caulking between the layers, and strengthen it a bit without making it too stiff.
Another concern is how heavy the material is. The more your pouch weighs, the more energy the bands have to expend, so the slower your shot will be.
Some folks have used a couple of layers of duct tape for pouches and say it works well ... I have not tried it myself. One person on this forum experimented with weaving pouches on a very simple nail loom, using small diameter nylon chord, and that seemed to work well. As a kid, I tried auto inner tube for pouches, but found it tore pretty easily.
I buy old leather clothes from second hand stores and use that. The leather industry has discovered how to split hides, so most jackets and so on are very thin these days. I have been lucky enough to find older jackets (less costly anyway!) and a couple of leather skirts that were made from very heavy leather. Some on this forum have glued pieces of the thinner leather together with contact cement or similar glues, and they have reported good success. Other sources of strong leather are leather work gloves, leather boots, and welder's gloves and aprons. I find leather in belts to be too stiff.
I am sure that if you look around, check your second hand stores, you will find something that will work for you.
Cheers ..... Charles
