# HELP forced to solids



## Jonathan Wong (Dec 4, 2014)

cant find any plywood that is good enough,most of my hardware or furniture stores sell well......not so good plywood.I got plenty of good quality SOLID teak and oak,but i heard solids are dangerous and WILL snap and take your eye out,is that true?im not gonna let the lack of plywood problem hold me down.Your opinion on solid boardcuts?Are they really that dangerous?i tried laminating but all my boards are 1 inchers so thats out window :question:


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## Mister Magpie (Apr 10, 2013)

Jonathan,

Using 1" thick boards of *hard* lumber is possible, depending upon the type of wood, style of slingshot, and size of ammo you intend to use. Many small shooters can be successfully made using boards, but you have to be careful. Boards are not recommended if you use heavy bandsets, with full size frames, and heavy ammo. If you use a board, you need to compensate and make sure the design is sturdier. IMHO

You have to experiement a bit and be willing to put some pieces through some controlled stress tests.The one below was made from 1.5" stock.









I hope that helps a little bit.

Darren


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Be careful of the grain and the design you use. All the old Wham O slingshots were board cuts.









Cheers .... Charles


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## JonM (Aug 17, 2013)

You'll have some luck by cross laminating thinner boards. I generally go 45 degrees in either direction from the first layer, using epoxy :wave:


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## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

Nothing at all wrong with solid boards as long as you do 4 things, use a classic no frills design, watch the grain orientation, don't overpower the frame with extra heavy bands, and learn how to shoot, solid board cuts do not like fork hits.


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## DogBox (Aug 11, 2014)

What to try to avoid, like everyone is saying is having grain follow in a suspect place... To borrow Charles' photo...







Where I have circled is - if this one was to break; this would be where it would happen.

Choose a dense wood, or, find a "tree fork" that you can start on. Have a look at some of the "Naturals" others have done to get some ideas. The more you do will help you into the fascinating hobby of slingshots!

If you really get stuck, some of the Vendors [sellers associated with the forum] have pieces of Multiplex so you can make your own..

DB


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## AZshooter (May 1, 2011)

Those 1 inch solid boards could be cut in strips bent and laminated into a nearly indestructible slingshot...if you don`t mind doing the extra work...See WINGSHOOTER`s tutorial on youtube....titled...Sling tutorial by Roger Henrie...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUOjgVPMjfl....


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