# Three New Boards



## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

I spent a bunch of time this weekend and made some new boardcuts, of which three turned out successfully and one broke in the process. These are all oak and came from a 6"x3/4"x36" board (actually 5.5" width). From left to right in the first pic: The Pocketboard, The Big Shot, and The Y. The Pocketboard and Big Shot are stained with walnut oil and The Y has some tung oil on it, then all three were clear sprayed (notice strings still attached). The other two pics show the Pocketboard and Big Shot in hand just for size reference. I originally made the Big Shot mainly for novelty purposes, just to have a grotesquely oversized pocket shooter type slingshot (and it looks way bigger in person than in the pics







), but it turned out to be rather comfy to hold, so I'm gonna try shooting it. The Y was the result of just wanting to try a different shape from the rest of my board cuts. I think it turned out rather sleek. I'm gonna throw some flats on these in a day or so and give 'em a try.









Also a pic of the tools I used, for those interested. A drill with a 2.125" hole saw, an old jigsaw (about 30 years old! Go Black & Decker!







) , and a selection of files. Once the frames are cut, by far the most useful tool is the large (10") rat tail file. It's outstanding for shaping and hogging out a lot of wood.


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## smitty (Dec 17, 2009)

Very nice work Pelleteer! They be look'n good!


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## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

Thank ye kindly, sir!


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## julesj (Dec 24, 2009)

Real beauties!!! I love all three, great job!!!


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Nice ones Bud! Don't you just get a kick out of shaping something nice from a bare board? LOVE THE SMELL OF WOOD FINISH IN THE MORNING! (And a bit of trivia, from what movie was a similar line spoken?) Flatband


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## Inquisitive (Jan 16, 2010)

They look real nice , great job.


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## njenkins (Feb 3, 2010)

Great flips. I really am itching to try my hand at this.. I think I'll try a natural first though. Less chance of failure for me, I think.


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## Jtslingshoter (Dec 18, 2009)

Very nice Scott. JT


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## Sarge (Dec 18, 2009)

Flatband said:


> LOVE THE SMELL OF WOOD FINISH IN THE MORNING! (And a bit of trivia, from what movie was a similar line spoken?) Flatband


Apocolypse Now. Robert Duvall said: I love the smell of napalm in the morning.


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## Thwupp-p-p (Jan 17, 2010)

Awesome cuts, pelleteer!!

_The Y_ = Most Functional









_The Big Shot_ = Best In Show


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## baumstamm (Jan 16, 2010)

they all are beautifull!


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## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

Many thanks for all the comments, fellas.


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## Deimos (Dec 24, 2009)

i like the Y one


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## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

I still don't have them banded. I'm allowing them one more day to totally dry. However, I can tell the Y is going to be a great shooter. It's super comfy to hold in a braced position, i.e., with my index finger on the top fork and my thumb on the bottom. I cut it (and the Big Shot) the full width of the board (5.5") and this seems to be a perfect width for my finger span when finger bracing the fork.







I can't actually wrap my fingers around either of these like I can on the Pocketboard (similar size to BB's Pocket Shooter), I just place my finger and thumb tips against the back of the forks. Feels really nice!


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

GO GET EM SARGE!!!!!! That was a great line in that movie. The funniest was when he was watching the breaks in the waves and showing the new grunt while bombs are exploding all over and he's not blinking! Flatband


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Look real nice. I like the one with the sharp angles best!


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## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

Thanks, Dayhiker. I actually just modded that one slightly and put some bands on it. I shortened the handle by about an inch and added more radius to the edges around the handle/fork transition. The bands are some pieces of .050" latex I had left over. THey're about .75" tapering to .625" and about 8" from fork to pouch. This thing shoots really nice. I have a couple foam grips on order from Tex Shooter, and I'm thinking about putting one on this baby. We'll see.

P.S. I decided to try attaching these bands to the fork with latex strips rather than my normal string. We'll see how that goes. I've had better luck with string, but decided to try latex again due to another recent thread.


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## Thwupp-p-p (Jan 17, 2010)

I have a feeling that once you're finished tweaking it -- _that_ one will probably become your "go-to" catty?!

Maybe not, but that frame design sure seems to incorporate all of the best specs.


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

I like the wood and the polish. Is it varnished?


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## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

On the darker ones, I used these two items: Watco and Krylon. The Watco actually fully finishes the wood, making the clearcoat unnecessary, but the clearcoat gives a smoother final finish that I like.


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## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

Thwupp-p-p said:


> I have a feeling that once you're finished tweaking it -- _that_ one will probably become your "go-to" catty?!


Very possible, amigo! Here she is with the uber comfy Tex-Shooter grip. As Ben Stein says in those commercials, "I'm practically giddy with excitement."


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

I have not installed one on a wood slingshot myself yet. Looks great! -- Tex


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## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

Thanks, Tex. THe grip fits very snugly on the wood, but it went on pretty easily with just some tap water to get it going. I was able to do this because I sprayed a fairly thick clearcoat over the wood as the final finishing step, and the water made it slippery enough to get the grip on. I think it'd be substantially harder on plain stained wood without the slippery clearcoat, unless the handle was cut small enough to make it a loose fit.


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## Thwupp-p-p (Jan 17, 2010)

JMHO, but I think that functionally _and_ aesthetically -- that catty has got _everything_ going for it!







Yuh did good!


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