64 replies to this topic

[Henry in Panama]

I was digging through a pile of limbs that my neighbor cut off his Cashew tree and came across a fork that was quite disappointing at first glance. Further examination revealed enough meat to carve a stubby forked frame, so it went into my fork box. Today, I decided to make a ring shooter from it. Follow along as I go from raw fork to finished shooter. Here's the fork before debarking.

 rs-build-01.jpg   85.4K   5 downloads

Here I have finished the rough shaping.

 rs-build-02.jpg   33.38K   3 downloads

Now for some sanding.

[Jesus Freak]

Looks good so far can't wait to see it finished!

[mckee]

that should be awesome when finished!

[Btoon84]

love build logs from start. love seeing how it all came along. so far so good! can't wait to see it

[cedar hunter]

Nice so far!

[newconvert]

looks like alot of potential Henry, sturdy!, what size eye bolts will you use?

[M_J]

My next build will be a natural with rings, they're awesome!

[Abe_Stranger]

M_J, on 06 February 2012 - 08:03 PM, said:

My next build will be a natural with rings, they're awesome!

What size rings should one use?

[M_J]

The ones on my favorite boardcut are a little over 3/4". I'd say 3/4"-1". Use the good ones, not the ones that come four to a pack for $1.50. 2" of threads or more and epoxy them in.
Not too much epoxy or when it finishes curing you'll split the forks like one the one I gave to Philly.
Sorry again, man!

[Henry in Panama]

newconvert, on 06 February 2012 - 07:53 PM, said:

looks like alot of potential Henry, sturdy!, what size eye bolts will you use?

They have a 2 inch long shank, a 1 inch OD eye, and are 3/16 inch thick.I'll show how to open the gap tomorrow.

[newconvert]

3/16" thats beefy, but you need beefy for this fork, should look great

[Henry in Panama]

M_J, on 06 February 2012 - 08:22 PM, said:

The ones on my favorite boardcut are a little over 3/4". I'd say 3/4"-1". Use the good ones, not the ones that come four to a pack for $1.50. 2" of threads or more and epoxy them in.
Not too much epoxy or when it finishes curing you'll split the forks like one the one I gave to Philly.
Sorry again, man!

I use a drill bit that opens the hole enough that I can screw the bolt in with light finger pressure. It is very important not to put radial pressure from the inside or you can split the fork. I use a bamboo skewer to put epoxy into the holes.

[Henry in Panama]

newconvert, on 06 February 2012 - 08:29 PM, said:

3/16" thats beefy, but you need beefy for this fork, should look great

It also helps tube life. Mr. Stubby has 1/8 diameter rings and the bands sometimes break at the ring.

[Abe_Stranger]

Looks like I've found this week's project! Thanks for the tips, guys; more than helpful, as always.

[M_J]

Henry in Panama, on 06 February 2012 - 08:31 PM, said:

I use a drill bit that opens the hole enough that I can screw the bolt in with light finger pressure. It is very important not to put radial pressure from the inside or you can split the fork. I use a bamboo skewer to put epoxy into the holes.

That could be part of the problem, too. I drilled the holes but had to torque the eyelets down a bit.

[newconvert]

Henry in Panama, on 06 February 2012 - 08:34 PM, said:

newconvert, on 06 February 2012 - 08:29 PM, said:

3/16" thats beefy, but you need beefy for this fork, should look great

It also helps tube life. Mr. Stubby has 1/8 diameter rings and the bands sometimes break at the ring.

on my bb shooter they are 1/8 also so i wrap the eyes with 107 rubber than the bands, seems to help.

[Henry in Panama]

I'm tired of sanding, so decided to take a break and prepare the eye bolts. One nice thing about ring shooters is that you can start shooting them as soon as the epoxy cures, and finish sand, stain, seal, etc at your leisure. It also allows more shaping if you find you need a slightly different shape after shooting it, without worry about messing up the finish.

Here are the eye bolts.

 rings.jpg   97.78K   4 downloads

I put them in the vise and open the gap with a junk knife blade and hammer.

 open-gap-1.jpg   69.97K   1 downloads

Then I use an old screwdriver and light hammer taps to open the gap a bit more.

 open-gap-2.jpg   55.35K   2 downloads

Here the eye bolt is ready for sanding the rough end. You want to get this part pretty smooth.

 open-gap-3.jpg   43.24K   2 downloads

Later this afternoon, I'll post pictures of installing the eye bolts into the forks.

[newconvert]

darn henry that one old timer screwdriver, still works though, yup we also use the same method at work, just not with a knife, do you sand or polish the squared edges of the eye you just opened?

[Dayhiker]

That's gonna be a nice one.

[Henry in Panama]

The next step is to prepare the fork by drilling the holes for the eye bolts. I start by drilling a pilot hole with my Chicago brand mini tool.

 drill-1.jpg   96.43K   0 downloads

Here both pilot holes have been drilled.

 drill-2.jpg   57.65K   2 downloads

Then both pilot holes are opened up with a drill bit almost exactly the same size as the eye bolts. I mark the bit to make sure the holes are deep enough.

 drill-3.jpg   57.26K   1 downloads

Next I screw in the eye bolts to make sure they go as deep as I want and that they are easy to screw in. If you have to use force to screw in the bolts, you may split the fork. If they are too loose, you will need a lot of epoxy.

 drill-4.jpg   69.25K   4 downloads

Next, I will show how to epoxy the eye bolts in place.

[Henry in Panama]

newconvert, on 07 February 2012 - 12:25 PM, said:

darn henry that one old timer screwdriver, still works though, yup we also use the same method at work, just not with a knife, do you sand or polish the squared edges of the eye you just opened?

Yep, that screwdriver has been with me for a while. I sand the edges with crocus cloth.

[Quercusuber]

Fantastic fork!!!...but in the photo, I seem to notice some small cracks. I hope everything will be tight!!

[Henry in Panama]

Quercusuber, on 07 February 2012 - 08:02 PM, said:

Fantastic fork!!!...but in the photo, I seem to notice some small cracks. I hope everything will be tight!!

I'm confident the fork is more than strong enough, but I sealed the small cracks with epoxy and will keep an eye on them. This is a very dense wood. In the morning I will pull test each fork individually at 50 pounds.

[Henry in Panama]

OK, let's epoxy the eye bolts in place. Here's what you need, besides the prepped fork.

 materials.jpg   89.15K   0 downloads

Start by mixing the two part epoxy. I used a plastic spoon for a container and a popsicle stick to mix. Then use a bamboo skewer to put epoxy into the holes. You don't need to fill the holes, just make sure the sides are coated all the way to the bottom.

 epoxy-1.jpg   55.17K   1 downloads

Put a bit of epoxy on the bottom of the eye bolts and screw them into place.

 epoxy-4.jpg   51.04K   1 downloads

Make sure the rings are properly oriented, smooth out or wipe off any excess epoxy and wait until it cures.

 epoxy-5.jpg   74.51K   5 downloads

At this point I have a usable slingshot. I still have a lot of work to finish this one, but between shaping and sanding sessions, I can shoot the thing.

[alfshooter]

Great article Mr. Henry, is a very practical system.

Greeting .... Alf