[High Desert Flipper]

So I am catching the slingshot making bug. Much to the chagrin of the couple of bows I have waiting to be finished.

I am going to try and add some balance to all the very well done and nicely finished top notch pieces displayed here by showing some of my early trials. All very rough cuts and not nicely finished. And not even all that well formed, but I am learning a bit with these. Including how hard it is to get a well shaped hand grip.

My goal is to combine what I am figuring out with my optimal fork width and add it to a deep 3D sculpted frame with hand web and palm support that fits my hand really well.

So far I have tried three basic shapes, and these are all close enough that I will get them to the point where I can band them up and shoot them a bit, even though I already know none are quite "it". Although I think I can find bits and pieces from each of these that I want to combine into the next rendition. With the next rendition waiting until I ponder these and spend a bit of time with the next couple of bows that have been being neglected lately.

As with all the rest of my rediscovering slingshots adventure, this is proving to be both entertaining and educational. And if things go well, I will get another step closer to figuring out exactly what I like best for me. And maybe several of them if not one. And in the end, I may end up re-inventing a Taurus or Scorpion or Bonegrip with a custom fork width or some sort of approximate blend of a couple of those.

And a note on the material- these are laminated hardwood flooring. Most are 5 layers of 3/8", which probably explains the interesting color pattern of the layers. Seems like good hard stuff with a high quality plywood core.

Anyway, here are some very rough cuts that hopefully highlight how well done all the nicely finished final products that get shown here.

 

[Ubamajuba]

Nice cuts, best thing about what you are doing is the prosess of making what you want and try to shape wood to fit that desire. I think most of us have been down this path and still are 😀. Just keep going till you find that golden goose. Best thing with slings is that you can make it out of anything and its mostly low cost, simple and fast.

Welcome to the club 🎉
/uba

 

[skarrd]

those all look great,its a very addictive process,like all fun things

 

[High Desert Flipper]

Addictive indeed, very. And very fun. I spent most of the day at it off and on. But managed to give some attention to the bows that are coming along as well.

I have these prototypes feeling okay in my hand, will try shooting them tomorrow and then come back for the next round. And maybe one of the new bows will also be finished enough for test shots in a day or three as well.

Keeps me entertained and out of trouble anyways.

 

[31610]

Looking good man !

 

[Sandstorm]

These are great man! Haha, I had a feeling after seeing that Natty conus. I thought oh, he’ll be making more for sure 😂. Good deal. 👍

 

[High Desert Flipper]

These are great man! Haha, I had a feeling after seeing that Natty conus. I thought oh, he’ll be making more for sure 😂. Good deal. 👍

The partially finished bows are pretty angry with you. But you were right. And I am having fun with it. Now just need to get a few finished to try instead of 2/3 of the way there before deciding what to tweak on the next one.

 

[SLING-N-SHOT]

Looking great, they are like Lays potato chips…..you can’t build just one

Darrell


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[Tag]

Awesome craftsmanship

 

[High Desert Flipper]

Looking great, they are like Lays potato chips…..you can’t build just one

Darrell


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True dat.

 

[High Desert Flipper]

Got them all banded and out shooting this afternoon. No photo's, they are still ugly roughs.

Had some neat results and interesting surprises. All three had way less band slap than my thin single dimension fork width optimizing frames even with same bands and ammo. The earlier frames had thin handles and fingers all wrapped around the back. A more 3D grip kept my fingers out of the way and made it go away 90%. Relaxed grips with fingers spread and / ore recessed a bit helps a ton for OTT band slap.

I am finding lots of little complexities that matter, two big ones today were the angle between the handle and the fork, straight out 90 degrees or angled a bit for ergo, and how quickly the hand web support and palm swells fade in and out- how well this matches the size and shape of the grip. So many complex things for such a simple idea.

The frame that I felt best in the shop just wasn't right shooting, needs the handle angled a bit more relative to the forks, felt like I had to twist my arm to get the bands lined up. The frame I though would be my least favorite based on how it felt just holding it felt the best shooting and had zero hand slap. The frame I thought would be okay and in the middle was still there but felt a lot better than I expected.

So after all that work, these will be retired as soon as I can make some mods and get onto the next set- hopefully close enough now that the next ones will be final keepers or no more than one step away.

Looking to getting great shapes and making OTT and TTF versions of each, in both narrow fork for cheek anchor and wide fork for behind the earl lobe anchor.

Add in a bit of that job thing I can't give up quite yet and a few moments to keep bows coming along. and that cracked natty I want to try Darrel's turquoise fill on, and I think I've got my next month plus all planned out.

 

[Ubamajuba]

We need pics 😀👍🤞
/uba

 

[snydes]

I like your approach - test it out first on prototypes and once you determine what works best for you, build the masterpiece

 

[High Desert Flipper]

I like your approach - test it out first on prototypes and once you determine what works best for you, build the masterpiece

Pics to come when cuts get a bit less rough with next generation. I would like to say it will be a masterpiece like the ones you make, but knowing me I'll be happy with something that fits and shoots great and hits somewhere around the pretty well done mark.