# A Swivelin' Daisy (Arborist B52 Slingshot and 3D Printing Fun)



## calinb (Apr 4, 2015)

Here's the slingshot that got me into slingshots as an adult (a Daisy B52). I bought it at Wal-Mart a couple of months ago to shoot 2 to 4 ounce fishing weights attached to a light haul line over tree branches. Then I'd pull a heavier line attached to a survival chain saw up over the limb and cut it from the ground. I really developed a science of it  and used the cheapo little B52 to successfully target dozens of limbs up to and over 50 feet high even.

Anyway, that's how I recently got into slingshots. The B52 bands didn't last long so I designed and printed some swivels for it on my 3D printer. Then I designed and printed swivels for flat bands (visible in the 2nd photo), but they need a short section of small diameter dowel on each fork to secure the bands. I'm planning to make and print a version that uses just a slotted hole and the rolled band method.

I looked up the Trumark slingshot swivel and sight patent. It turns out that the patent only claims swivels "comprised of" prongs. Besides this prior claim on an invention using prongs, prongs also reduce pull by about 1 inch. Therefore, I'm also designing prongless swivels for tubes and looped tubes.

The nearly unmodified (as yet) F16 was on sale at Harbor Freight for only $6. Who can pass up a $6 slingshot? I can use it for further development. There is a minor mod on it. Did you know that you can slide the grip of an F16 up enough to attach a lanyard? On Bill Hays' advice, I discovered that a lanyard works just as well as an arm brace!

Cheers,

-Cal


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

I attached my lanyard a little differently by drilling a couple holes in the bottom of the grip which allows the wire frame to be pushed back up the grip in its normal position. By using gypsy ties when I turn the fork around in effect adds another inch or so of user length to the overall pull. (All my Daisy F-16's are shot with the fork facing the target)

Here is a pic of the bottom of the grip









Here is a b&w pic of one of my camp models completed









Here is a pic of one of my Modified Daisy F-16's with 5/16od tubing, my heavy ammo (1/2oz (214gr) and 3/4oz (314) lead egg weights, and 5/8" (252gr) steel), and integral lanyard.









I call the sling in the middle picture my camp model as I kept it with the factory grips on without my usual paracord handles. The yellow tubing is slipped over part of the exposed fork so it is easily seen then kids may leave it near a river bank or ? and adds a non slit area for your fingers when shooting. Of course the gypsy ties allows for total free movement of your power source and the ability to add any type of band.

I like your attachment system very much as it allows for total rotational freedom of tubes which will greatly extend tube life, very nice job on making those. I tried to bend the forks a a bit at one point and found out how tough those forks are and gave up on that idea ;- ) I would have cut them, to make a thinner sling but then I would loose an attachment method ..... your idea is nice, plus the rotational attachments can be put in a position for flat storage.

wll


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## calinb (Apr 4, 2015)

Thanks for sharing your mods, wll! I think I'll drill a lanyard hole in my F16 like you did. Your tabs must improve tube life too, I imagine. They are a clever and simple solution that probably takes less time to install than what I did.

Most of the installation time for me was spent cutting and grooving the prongs. The steel is hard to bend but it files pretty easily. After cutting the ends off with a cutoff wheel, I used a file to make a shallow groove a bit more than halfway around each fork end.Tiny 4.40 setscrew in the swivels limit the travel to something a bit over 180 degrees. I plan to add a printed "nub" inside the next swivel version to replace the setscrew. Being printed in nylon, it will just pop over the fork end and into the groove.


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

calinb said:


> Thanks for sharing your mods, wll! I think I'll drill a lanyard hole in my F16 like you did. Your tabs must improve tube life too, I imagine. They are a clever and simple solution that probably takes less time to install than what I did.
> 
> Most of the installation time for me was spent cutting and grooving the prongs. The steel is hard to bend but it files pretty easily. After cutting the ends off with a cutoff wheel, I used a file to make a shallow groove a bit more than halfway around each fork end.Tiny 4.40 setscrew in the swivels limit the travel to something a bit over 180 degrees. I plan to add a printed "nub" inside the next swivel version to replace the setscrew. Being printed in nylon, it will just pop over the fork end and into the groove.


I like the swivel attachment you have in that it is fast to install tubes and they will last much longer than the commercial way Daisy does it.

wll


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