[Karok01]

I have been shooting "braided" Alliance 64s for the past week. My preference is for the braided method, rather than the chain technique that Nico uses. Here is the braid:

And here is the more usual chain:

The braid has several advantages, from my point of view. The braid does not require any tie at the pouch. You just pull the band through the hole and you are done. Further, with the braid there is no loss of length in the knots used for the usual chain; the rubber in the knots is wasted as far as supplying power is concerned. Also, the braid is self-adjusting; with the normal chain, it is easy to get the rubber on one side of the knot a little longer than on the other side of the knot. In addition, it is a LOT easier to replace a broken piece on the braid than in a chain. With the normal chain, when a piece breaks, it is about as easy to make a whole new band than to try to untie those knots without damaging the rubberbands.

It is very easy to make tapered sets, just by adding extra rubberbands toward the fork.

In my experience, using Gypsy tabs and braids, the set up is about as accurate as flat bands.

Whether you use the regular chains or the braids, you will increase the life of your bands if you dust them with a bit of talcum powder ... baby powder works well. Put the rubberbands in a baggie with a bit of talcum, and shake it up well. Then take the rubberbands out and shake off the excess. Then proceed to make your chains or braids. The talc helps lubricate the bands and cuts down on wear.

Theraband gold will be faster with a lighter draw. But for availability and cheapness, it is really hard to beat office rubberbands.

Cheers ........ Charles

Hey Charles, was wondering how the tabs on these pieces are attached. Do you have both ends of the tabs connected on just one side of the fork or do you connect the tabs through the screw on both front and back of the fork. ( are the tabs together, or do they come up and over the top?) Hope I explained my question well enough....would you happen to have a side view of these slingshots? That would help a lot. Thanks much.

 

[Charles]

Sorry to be so long getting back to you ... I just returned from a couple of weeks in Belize.

The tabs are folded in half, with the bands in the loop. The ends of the bands are punched to take the small screw. The ends are placed on the screw, both ends together, and the screw passes through the fork tip. When I draw, the doubled tab passes over the top of the fork. That arrangement produces less strain on the tab holes, and helps insulate the bands from the fork tips.

I will try to take a photo for you after I have unpacked and tended to a few chores.

Cheers ...... Charles

 

[Jakerock]

Does anyone know where I can find "Mr Henry's dissertation"?
Thanks!

 

[Henry the Hermit]

Does anyone know where I can find "Mr Henry's dissertation"?
Thanks!

Here you go.

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/13242-testing-chinese-tubes/

 

[Jakerock]

Wow, thanks for all of your work! Thats amazing.

 

[Karok01]

Sorry to be so long getting back to you ... I just returned from a couple of weeks in Belize.

The tabs are folded in half, with the bands in the loop. The ends of the bands are punched to take the small screw. The ends are placed on the screw, both ends together, and the screw passes through the fork tip. When I draw, the doubled tab passes over the top of the fork. That arrangement produces less strain on the tab holes, and helps insulate the bands from the fork tips.

I will try to take a photo for you after I have unpacked and tended to a few chores.

Cheers ...... Charles

Thanks very much Charles, you answered my question perfectly. Belize huh? Sounds nice, I'd love to travel abroad one day. Alas I'm broke more often than not, and I'd probably lose my mind being away from family for longer than just a couple of days. Thanks and Cheers sir!

 

[rotorhead22]

One more note on lubricating rubber bands...When you lubricate the rubber bands before you knot up your chains, it makes handling a lot easier and less friction when you draw the knots tight...creating a neater chain band consistantly....

This may sound a little weird but while I was in the military, we used white vegetable shortening on our o-rings and packings for our aircraft. Most oil based lubes have a tendancy to eat up the rubber.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Great thread! I learned alot.

 

[fred45]

thanks Charles, I am planning a fishing trip for 4 5-7 year olds and their dads, am going to make shooters for them the braided bands will allow us to make bands to match each kid and dad, the screw and gypsy band attachment will allow quick change as we try out the bands, I am going to bring a couple gallons of pea gravel for ammo on this trip.

 

[D.Nelson]

Cheap and effective are the pros. Cons for me, making a chain and having it snap a couple shots in. Seriously frustrating haha.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I got side tracked with some issues and just got back to looking at this method.

 

[Slingshot Silas]

Wow guys,

This post started quite a while back, and I started using braided office rubber from the start of returning to slingshots from since I was a kid. Because of THIS exact post. I reread it from the beginning, and even learned some more new stuff. I'm thinking these bands are ideal for shooting BB's.

Not to step on any toes, but what are the advantages of "chains"?. Once again I apologize if I offend anyone, but I see no advantage to them. It seems like braiding is the only way to go, for several reasons. There are NO knots anywhere in the whole shootin' match! And, like Charles said the things are pretty much self centering, giving consistent pouch center, easy to attach at the pouch, and easy to attach at the fork. And easy to adjust draw weight. I have tied them on with paracord through the holes in my frame, and works like new money! I'm not interested in any speed records or trophies or what have you. They seem to get the job

done.

So, what are the advantages to chained bands?

I also, aplaude you guys teaching the kids about slingshots, safety, and responsibility. I have a project. A young man I know who is about 12 years old, and has a d!ck for a Dad. Dad doesn't seem to have much time to be fooling with the kid, and it is very sad cause the boy seems to be turning out OK in spite of how his Dad is. The boy likes me, and I take the time to talk to him about "his stuff", you know, his kind of just stuff he wants to talk about. So I'm going to show him about slingshots and safety. He seems to be a calm, cool, and collected kid. Wish his Dad was---at least one of the three. Dad and Mom all divorced, Mom with new Husband, and a brand new baby boy, and all that drama crap that goes with it. Anyway I talked to his Mom and Step Dad about the slingshot, and they were cool with the idea. Step Dad is pretty cool and level headed. They know that me and him will be going through the safety and responsibility aspects of the sport. He'll have his own safety glasses, and I won't allow him to shoot without them, when he's around me, and hopefully whenever he is shooting . I hope teaching him something this simple will at least teach him some measure of responsibility and reliability, as well as some fun for the kid, and even me! He does help take care of his baby brother, so He has a good bit of responsibility right there. He has had a rough life and it makes me feel sad about it. But, I even talked to his real Dad about it, and even he is OK with it. The man seems to have quite a bit of respect for me--I guess it could be because I've known him about half his life. He's probably about 40 years old now, and I am 56. Or, it could be that "respect the old man" thing. Or it could be that I might slap the taste out of his mouth, thang! Ha ha! Anyway, I think helping the kids is GREAT! Please continue to teach these guys as you can. I believe it (WE) can make a difference in some of these kids lives

Bravo Men, Bravo.

Sorry for the long winded Ramble-on.

SSS

 

[Fletch]

I love braided red clay 32s. You can build them up and "tune" them for any platform, i.e. tapers, longer, shorter, what have you. After watching some of "Volp's" stuff I'm going to develop a bareback system with the braids and using different types of common materials for pouches. My intent is to be able to build a "hunting level" catty out of things laying around a kitchen or office space, shooting directly off my hand, and being able to wrap it around my wrist or hang it off my neck when not in use. Maybe using a 1/4 nut for ammo. Imagine a weapon made out of harmless stuff just lying around...................... Man, I love these things..........

 

[t-bear]

Office rubber bands at Walmart are low cost $ 0.67 for a pack of #34s, #64s low price too.

 

[fred45]

I like the file bands a lot, here is one I am trading for 4# of hex nuts, a maple natty nice and pudgy with file bands, I added a #84 in the middle I had some in my drawer and needed a little extra length of draw, this guy has long arms. it pulls and shoots nice, i am going to have him pay attention to how long the bands last.

 

[fred45]

I like the braids over the chain only because it is easy to switch them out and as we see above mix and match

 

[t-bear]

Wow, love the chains with the tabs.

 

[fred45]

still one of my favorites

 

[NoGuarantees]

Good topic and posts....thanks! I learned a lot....