# HDPE Slingshots



## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

Here are some HDPE slingshots I made yesterday and today. The first one is a modified Valiant design by Bill Hayes, and the second one is my own design, which I call the Kriger (Norwegian for warrior).


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## pmamolosr (Feb 17, 2018)

The Norseman said:


> Here are some HDPE slingshots I made yesterday and today. The first one is a modified Valiant design by Bill Hayes, and the second one is my own design, which I call the Kriger (Norwegian for warrior).
> 
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> ...


Those look really good!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## Tag (Jun 11, 2014)

Congratulations!!!! Those are amazing


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## Royleonard (Jun 30, 2017)

Kriger has a nice ring to it! Nice cuts!


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## STO (Mar 2, 2018)

Very nice!


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## stevekt (Jul 3, 2012)

What is a good safe thickness for an hdpe slingshot? I saw some 1/2 inch hdpe cutting boards on Amazon.


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## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

I would go with no less than 3/8" thick but personally I like 1/2" thick.

Hope this helps,

The Norseman


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## Samurai Samoht (Apr 6, 2013)

Great job on the slings!


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Very clean! Nice work!!


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## mostho (Mar 28, 2017)

So good!!


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

Hey Norseman! Thank you for sharing. I just made my first 2 HDPE frames. I had no idea how much free recycleable material was in my bins. 
You have made a great frame... Kriger is cool.


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

stevekt said:


> What is a good safe thickness for an hdpe slingshot? I saw some 1/2 inch hdpe cutting boards on Amazon.


Have you considered processing your own hpde and biulding a press mold to create a block from which to sculpt your own frames?


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## oldasa (Apr 6, 2018)

The Norseman said:


> Here are some HDPE slingshots I made yesterday and today. The first one is a modified Valiant design by Bill Hayes, and the second one is my own design, which I call the Kriger (Norwegian for warrior).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Here's an Idea for a shortcut; Rather than melting all that plastic a trip to Walmart or the dollar store will produce a 3/8th or 1/2 inch thick slab of HDPE posing as a cutting board in the kitchen section ready for cutting. They are real cheap too.


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## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

Well I must admit that I did cheat. I bought the HDPE slab off of Amazon. :sorry:


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## Samurai Samoht (Apr 6, 2013)

The Norseman said:


> Well I must admit that I did cheat. I bought the HDPE slab off of Amazon. :sorry:


Hahah, thats not cheating my friend. By that standard one would have to consider multiplex boards to be cheating because the plys were not individually glued in your own shop.  Making your own HDPE slab sounds kinda fun though! If you want to get some cool colours on pre-done HDPE boards check out https://www.inventables.com/categories/materials/plastic/hdpe. Can be a little bit pricey compared to single colour boards but at least you don't have to buy huge amounts.


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## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

SamuraiSamoht said:


> The Norseman said:
> 
> 
> > Well I must admit that I did cheat. I bought the HDPE slab off of Amazon. :sorry:
> ...


Thanks for the link! The funny thing is that I paid more for the off white HDPE slab on amazon than the colored ones here.


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## oldasa (Apr 6, 2018)

stevekt said:


> What is a good safe thickness for an hdpe slingshot? I saw some 1/2 inch hdpe cutting boards on Amazon.


Sorry, I see I missed this posted question. Just like the Norseman said, 1/2 inch. But heating two 3/8th panels to tacky hot and clamping to cool down yields a 3/4 inch slab too. This idea of heat tacking everything together would also work on a 3/8 th thick piece with a couple of layers cut to make a thicker and better handle.


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## oldasa (Apr 6, 2018)

The Norseman said:


> Well I must admit that I did cheat. I bought the HDPE slab off of Amazon. :sorry:


Liking your craftsmanship on those too. Just like, Samuria you ain't cheaten. LOL


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## Buckskin Dave (Apr 4, 2018)

I like that name, Kriger. The cuts look great. Does HDPE flex much or is it rigid? And those are 1/2 in. thick?


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## Buckskin Dave (Apr 4, 2018)

oldasa said:


> stevekt said:
> 
> 
> > What is a good safe thickness for an hdpe slingshot? I saw some 1/2 inch hdpe cutting boards on Amazon.
> ...


No epoxy or glue? Just heat to melt point then press till cool?


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## oldasa (Apr 6, 2018)

Buckskin Dave said:


> oldasa said:
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> > stevekt said:
> ...


No glue, right. It has a reasonably low melting point.

Just take a heat gun or (carefully) use a propane or butane torch to heat just enough to start oozing a little on the service then clamp together. No glue will stick to it.


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## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

HDPE is quite rigid. If you cut it thin enough it can flex, but the same can be said for any material on the planet. Yes, they are 1/2" thick, no flex at all.


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## Buckskin Dave (Apr 4, 2018)

The Norseman said:


> HDPE is quite rigid. If you cut it thin enough it can flex, but the same can be said for any material on the planet. Yes, they are 1/2" thick, no flex at all.


Okay thanks for the answers. I'm going to try a cut out.


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## oldasa (Apr 6, 2018)

Things you didn't know about polyethylene also known as HDPE;

Visqueen such as all the plastic drop cloths and most all your zip top food baggies and plastic food bags including milk cartons are HDPE. When spun into thread its' stronger than even kevlar. It can not be glued or laminate but only can be attached to itself melting the surfaces and fusinh to itself by clamping to cool.

https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/polyethylene-pe-for-prototypes-3d-printing-and-cnc


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## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

So the slingshots are bulletproof!


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## rosco (Jan 10, 2012)

Nice work Norseman the Kriger looks like a magnificent frame.


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## toygun (May 16, 2018)

So i cut my first hdpe (1/2inch thickness) frame yesterday using my small craftsman scroll saw... it would literally self heal after each cut. The saw blade would melt the hdpe and re-seal itself behind the cut. I think I had to make 3-4 cuts per cut just to keep enough distance between the two sides to prevent it as best as i could. dremel cutting blade turned it to goo as well. Am i missing something or is this the norm? maybe freezing it before cutting or using a hand coping saw?

I did eventually get one shaped and some sanding. very very strong stuff. I'll be posting it when it's finished.


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## oldasa (Apr 6, 2018)

toygun said:


> So i cut my first hdpe (1/2inch thickness) frame yesterday using my small craftsman scroll saw... it would literally self heal after each cut. The saw blade would melt the hdpe and re-seal itself behind the cut. I think I had to make 3-4 cuts per cut just to keep enough distance between the two sides to prevent it as best as i could. dremel cutting blade turned it to goo as well. Am i missing something or is this the norm? maybe freezing it before cutting or using a hand coping saw?
> 
> I did eventually get one shaped and some sanding. very very strong stuff. I'll be posting it when it's finished.


I find that masking taping the your cutting path before cutting will mitigate the self healing affect of your saw blade heating up. A ban saw doesn't suffer as much as the craftsman scroll saw on that problem.


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## toygun (May 16, 2018)

oldasa said:


> toygun said:
> 
> 
> > So i cut my first hdpe (1/2inch thickness) frame yesterday using my small craftsman scroll saw... it would literally self heal after each cut. The saw blade would melt the hdpe and re-seal itself behind the cut. I think I had to make 3-4 cuts per cut just to keep enough distance between the two sides to prevent it as best as i could. dremel cutting blade turned it to goo as well. Am i missing something or is this the norm? maybe freezing it before cutting or using a hand coping saw?
> ...


Thank you!! I'm gonna try the masking tape this afternoon. If i continue collecting diy materials at the rate i've been as of late, I'll probably end up with a bandsaw in the mix at some point. This little craftsman is an old hobby/craft one I found on ebay very cheap but in good shape...and I will most definitely burn it up once i move to some "real" hardwoods.

Thanks again for the tip!!


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## Samurai Samoht (Apr 6, 2013)

toygun said:


> So i cut my first hdpe (1/2inch thickness) frame yesterday using my small craftsman scroll saw... it would literally self heal after each cut. The saw blade would melt the hdpe and re-seal itself behind the cut. I think I had to make 3-4 cuts per cut just to keep enough distance between the two sides to prevent it as best as i could. dremel cutting blade turned it to goo as well. Am i missing something or is this the norm? maybe freezing it before cutting or using a hand coping saw?
> 
> I did eventually get one shaped and some sanding. very very strong stuff. I'll be posting it when it's finished.


I had the same thing happen when I started and learned that I needed a variable speed scroll saw. You will need to turn the speed down or it will fuse back together. I found a used bandsaw that proved to be a good upgrade and didn't melt the hdpe.


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## wbrazell (Feb 25, 2018)

Great job dude!


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