# My First Slingshot



## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

And hi. I think this is also my first post.

As you can see this one is almost done.

All I have left to do is cut out the parts, shape them, cut out the rubber, cut out the leather, tie all those pieces together, sand all the wood, glue the wood together, sand it some more, finish it, attach the pieces and voila! Finished.

So basically just a few minutes away from taking the first shots.

This is a modified Bill Hays design. Should be obvious what it is. 

Wood is cherry and maple.

The piece laying down will be the forks. The center lamination (cherry) is cross-grain to the outer laminations (1/8", 3/8", 1/8")

The other piece is the handle and all the laminations run in the same direction. I think they're all 3/8" but can't remember now. I glued them up using T88 a couple days ago and can't remember things that long ago.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

OK, moving along...

Patten for the forks spray-glued in place. The blank was cut to size on the table saw.

I cut inside the forks with the table saw as well using a backer-board and a stop to ensure the cuts were the same distance from the outside and that they were parallel to the outside.

I could get it close enough on my bandsaw or scroll saw but I get anal about stupid stuff and it was fast and easy since I already had my miter rig on the saw.

I will only be using flat bands on this slingshot and only TTF so it won't be set up for anything else. I can always go back and modify it later if I want to.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Next I ran it through my Dremel router table using a round carbide bit.

I didn't realize I needed the bottom hole and ended up cutting it on my scroll saw. I didn't like how it turned out and drilled out my cut-out hole later. It came out ok but it's a bit oversize I think. You'll see it in the next post.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

A bigger photo of the above.

The cut-out forks too.

And that's as far as I've gotten.

I work overnight on weekends. The next step is to run the handle through the router to slide onto the forks. Then I plan to use forstner bits to put fingers on the front of it and cut the back and two sides to shape. I'll save the cut-offs to tape them back on so I can cut the 90 degree plane.

After that I'll do as much shaping as I can before I epoxy it together.

I have no idea what my draw-length is so I'll cut my bands probably too long and figure it out.

I have 3/8" and 5/8" steel on order as well as 1/2" white marbles. I only got the 5/8" steel because it was a great deal thanks to a post here. I doubt I'll actually end up using it but who knows.

I plan to make a few slingshots and practice with them until I'm as proficient as I want to be.

I have too many hobbies already but I do have a ton of really nice wood - African ebony, rosewood, cocobolo, purpleheart, hickory and who knows what else. I didn't want to use the expensive exotics on my first because, well.... it's my first. Plus they were REALLY heavy. Beside, maple and cherry are nice woods. I really like working with both of them.

So I'll make a few slingshots until I have one that I really like and feel comfortable shooting but that's about as far as I plan to go with this.

I also plan to build a deflex, reflex bow - possibly a take-down. I'm sure I'll screw that up royally a couple times until I get it right.

Anyway, I'm pretty much done until Monday night or Tuesday. Weekends are rough - three 12-hours shifts and a one hour commute each way.

So hello again. I've read a lot here over the past couple months and looked at a ton of slingshots.

This is supposed to be a Patriot, by the way. I just don't like plywood or plastic which is why it's two pieces. I wanted the forks going crossways and the handle going vertically.

And yeah, I get that I actually made plywood.  But it's not plywood plywood if you know what I mean.

I don't think it's going to break. I put a lot of pressure on the forks already and I can't break them. We'll see...

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Edited to clarify weird sentences and fix a couple typos.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

I almost forgot. I have a question about the handle. You can see I gave myself a ton of wood to work with.

I'm wondering if there is any reason or advantage to tilting the forks forward (away from me) or backward a few degrees. I haven't seen any slingshots like that. I've seen some where the forks are canted left or right but not forward or backward.

Strength won't be an issue. I can move the slot off-center to make sure there's plenty of wood to maintain integrity. But if there's not a good reason to do it I'll just mount the forks inline with the handle probably slightly offset toward the front of the handle a little bit.

Thanks.


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## d3moncow (Aug 29, 2014)

Looks very nice so far. In a (roundabout) answer to your question: if it's ergonomics you're going for, it would be entirely possible to make the handle section thicker than necessary, and rasp/file it into the desired shape. I'm sure someone else would be better qualified to answer, though. I look forward to updates.


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## grappo73 (Dec 15, 2015)

Clean work!! I follow you


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## Tag (Jun 11, 2014)

Looking great, can't wait to see the finished product


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Well, I did a lot of work on it this week and managed to bungle it so badly I have to make a new handle.

Mistake number 1) I measured from the wrong place and cut the depth too shallow for the forks. I didn't realize it until it was shaped and then tried to put it back through the router (stupid, stupid, stupid). Being round, it didn't clamp well and I got some bad chipping. That could be fixed.

But due to that same error the top finger grip was too high and the forks interfered with it making it uncomfortable to hold. So I can reshape the whole thing and move the grip down but that's a lot of work (less than doing a new one from scratch but still...). Or I could cut into the forks a little to raise the clearance underneath. Don't know how much it would weaken them.

Mistake number three was as stupid as the router table move and I'm not even going to mention it because it's beyond embarrassing. But it chewed up the handle a lot. It could be fixed but with as many problems as it has I think maybe it will become a handle for something else one day.

Oh... And the fit of the forks was loose in the handle. No idea how that happened. I have a ton of photos of every step along the way but they all need to be cropped and I don't have time for that now. I had 1/32" more width needed and only took a 1/64" slice so don't know how it ended up loose. It should have been too small and I planned to sand the forks to thin them to a perfect fit.

So now I know the order of all the steps that I should have known already. I have a ton of experience working in my shop and none of this should have happened. I just rushed it through trying to get to the shaping and botched it.

Next handle will be dead-on.

First photo is 60 grit hand sanding.

Second photo is after I jacked up the re-routing but before I jacked it up even more and made it extraordinarily ugly. The forks have been sanded a lot more as well but I've stayed away from the areas near the handle. That part will be sanded after it's glued together.


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## Viper010 (Apr 21, 2012)

Even with all the boo-boos that's still way better than my first few! Welcome to the forum!


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Thanks. 

In that photo the parts are just placed together. The idea was to do final shaping after they were epoxied.

Still needed a lot more shaping at the top of the handle and then finish sanding.


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## RyanL (May 22, 2014)

Yep, way better than my first build too. Actually, better than any build I've done. Cool take on the design. You could also incorporate Bill's SERE design and make interchangeable heads, as long as you can figure out a way to securely mount them while still making them removable. Just my first thought when seeing it. Look forward to seeing it progress. Are you going to shoot it with a hammer grip or still try to use a pinch/thumb support grip?


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## d3moncow (Aug 29, 2014)

Well, I like it.  The handle looks to be quite comfortable. If/when you redo the forks, I look forward to the result.


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## pult421 (Aug 13, 2015)

First ?? Lies!!


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Nope, not lies. Not my first something, but definitely my first slingshot.

d3moncow - the forks are fine. It's the handle that's toast unfortunately. The problems aren't evident in the photos.

The slot was too loose and I made it worse trying to fix it.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Ryan - I don't know the different grips. I plan to just hold the handle like a joystick whatever that's called.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

I don't think I can make the forks removable. The center portion of the forks is only 3/8" thick. That's where the strength is. I wouldn't feel comfortable with less than a #10 bolt and that needs a 3/16" hole which is half the material gone.

If it were fiberglass then yeah. But as it is I'm just going to epoxy it together but with a new handle that's done properly.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

By the way, the fit of the handle to the forks isn't an error. I left the handle oversize there on purpose and was going to meld it together after it was glued up. That's why it looks like the handle doesn't fit but that's not part of the problem. You'll see when it's finished. You probably already know what I'm talking about.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

How I went wrong - the long version.

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OK, this was the simplest part of the whole thing and I had multiple opportunities to get it right. But I was in a rush to get past it. It was child's play and for that reason I completely shut off my brain and even when looking at the problem I failed to think of solutions I've done in almost every project I've ever done. Don't ask me why. Haste makes waste.

The issue: I wanted a perfect fit between the forks and the handle. To me perfect is a good slip fit just almost on the snug side but not. I don't want all the glue pushed out but I don't want it loose. I want it to stay in place if I turn it upside down and hold it only by the handle and it's only dry-fit together. But if I shake it, it will come apart.

I clamped the handle to a 90 degree fence and put it through my router table using a 1/2" straight bit. The fork is a little over 5/8" thick. I knew I'd be sanding the fork so I was going for the slot to be too small and would sand the fork to final fit.

I also have a miniature thickness sander that I can get within 0.002" of a target thickness every single time without fail. It's dead accurate and was very expensive. So I could use that to thickness sand the forks if I wanted to.

What I wanted to do was remove the handle from the router table and check it and then put it back. But I didn't have a way to put it back on the table in the same location.

This is where my brain shut off. Stops. Use them. I could have used one or one on each side. It never occurred to me.

So I measured with a caliper instead. It showed I had 0.032 more to go. So I took off 1/64" which should have left me 1/64". Well it didn't. It left me a very loose slot and I still don't know why but I was trying to measure an upside-down slot that was hard to get at and probably got a bad measurement.

So the simplest operation got jacked up.

Now I could have shimmed it easily enough. That's what I planned to do.

Later I realized it hadn't cut it deep enough either. That was after I shaped it to the point in the photo where I sanded it with 60 grit.

So this is where I got really stupid. I tried to clamp it back in the router table and it was anything but secure. So I took small cuts and it was moving all over. Took some nice chips out of the inside but they wouldn't be very visible. Did make it looser though.

Then realized the finger grips were now out of place as well.

Then tried to drill a scallop on that big flat part at the top of the handle in the back where it sticks out. Same thing - it moved all over and took big chunks out of the front, the back and all over. I was using a Forstner bit.

So lots of bad moves. It's not unsalvageable but it's not worth going on with. Making it right at this point is more work than starting over and doing it right.

I just glued up a new blank.

I only spent about 6 hours shaping it to the point where you see it. And I'm just starting on X-Files Season 2. I've never seen it so whenever I have sit-down work I put on some TV series and mostly listen to it while I work. I have the whole series to get through. 

I'll post more photos. I took about 35 shots or so to the point that I posted. The rest of the photos are between the first photos and the latest I posted.

Bandsawing, drilling, etc. Pretty much every step including the terrorist, America-hating router table.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

pult421 said:


> First ?? Lies!!


PS. This is my website. I make things. Lots of things.

http://www.airfieldmodels.com

Hope I'm allowed to do this.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

I did a whole write-up entitled, "A Unified Theory of Scalloped Finger Grips".

It's long-winded tripe on a topic I know nothing about. The jist of it is I want to understand it.

So I was looking at my hand and noticed it had a definite curve. In fact, it looked like it would match one of my ship's curves pretty well. I'm very well acquainted with those curves - I've done years and years of manual drafting.

So that's how I designed the handle. It actually feels pretty good. I've never done a scalloped handle before. You'll see the drill jig I made from it in later photos using this exact image spray glued to a piece of 1/4" MDF.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

The dark tic marks are my fingers together as shown in the photo drawn on the curve with a Sharpie.

The lighter ones are my fingers spread apart drawn with a red Sharpie.

I put the curve on my flatbed scanner and then imported it into CorelDraw.


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## RyanL (May 22, 2014)

Very thought out. I'm the same way and I like it. I know what it's like having all these thoughts and trying to put them into play while at the same time trying to explain to others your thought process. However, that's where my abilities end. I try to build but I have to accept the fact that I'm not a builder no matter how much I want to be. Good job, can't wait to see it finished and banded up.

Hammer grip is what you are doing. Holding it like a hammer(or joystick). Pinch grip is wrapping your thumb and fore finger around the slingshot. Typically placing it higher on the frame, closer to the bands, than a hammer grip. And thumb support grip is wrapping your fore finger but just supporting your thumb on the slingshot instead of wrapping it around. With the way you did the handle, hammer grip would be the best but I was just curious on your thoughts. The original design of the Patriot works great for pinch or thumb support grips.


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

Tell you what, I love that super ergo frame. Personally I think you did a great job, first try or whatever. Once it's finished off it'll be a dandy looker too. I'm a hammer hold dude and that frame sort of serves as that and pinch too...for a super secure solid fit.

You asked about angling the forks forward. The only actual advantage is lengthening your draw a centimeter or so, an added plus. And of course it looks aggressive and kewl too.

I might add that sculpting an ergo fit and finishing it off takes about five or six times longer to make than a board cut routed frame but the results are super comfortable.

Also, in sculpting, I grab the handle, mark it with a sharpie between my fingers to get the groove lines approximated then rasp it about 1/3 through, grab it again, and attack it finger by finger until I have a perfect fit. It's time consuming but worth it...after all it doesn't cost anything and satisfaction rules.

Since I like this sort of handle with a thumb rest too, I made a PVC (flattened pipe) set of templates I use to trace with when cutting out a blank on my band saw. Once you get the handle down pat you can make a template to make future ones a bit faster to execute...given you want a few of like frames. Nice thick handles provide nice deep finger grooves which enhance "holdability" by counteracting back torque with the pull vector.

The two piece frame under consrruction as I write.. is in limbo...dunno if I want to make this a take down or solid rigid fork to handle union. It's got a lot of Bill Hays in it...sort of like the SERE and one other he made...see his gallery on pocketpredator.com


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Ryan - Regarding not being a builder.

This is part of my story. Growing up I tried to build flying model airplanes for years. I was always unsuccessful. I had no idea how to do it, I had no patience. I had no tools other than a razor blade, some pins and some really bad, very coarse sandpaper. I also had nobody to help me.

I was miserable and frustrated. Most people would have given up. This went on for years and years and years. Plus I was trying to build kits that were really bad. Those Guillows kits that ARE not for kids no matter what the box says. I'm a very good builder now and those things are still some of the most challenging builds out there because they're just terrible.

I had a friend same age as me who had two beautiful examples he built hanging from his ceiling. Totally opposite story. He had almost no interest in model-building, had all the patience in the world, was great at following instructions and just took his time and built them. I hated him.

When people see my planes I get a lot of, "I wish I had your talent" and while that's supposed to be a compliment it really kind of ticks me off. I don't show it of course, that would be rude. They aren't trying to tick me off obviously.

But it isn't "talent". It was a lot of agony and hard work over-coming myself and learning everything the hardest way imaginable.

I still make patience mistakes too often but mostly not. I did it here again and it was stupid. But in this case it was because of a lack of familiarization with the plan than anything else. And not checking my work. And rushing (lack of patience).

The good news is after a major screw-up I get put back in check for years to come. I remember these things and it gets my head straight for a long time because it lingers in my head. That's not a bad thing. It serves as a reminder to be disciplined which saves time and money and also results in a better end product.

Point is if you want to be a builder you can be a builder and it's never been better than now. When I was going through all my growing pains the internet was decades away. There was no such thing as watching someone do what you wanted to learn on YouTube at 3 am right before you did the same thing.

Whether you want to build or not is up to you. But no matter what there are things you just learn by doing. You can't watch how hard to press with the sandpaper or when you're about to split the wood in a bad way while carving or a gazillion other things. That's just experience and it takes being willing to do what I'm doing now. Jump in and when you don't like it you start over. No big deal.

I love playing role-playing video games. My first two characters are always throw-aways. The first one I keep playing until I've learned a lot about how the game works. Then I start a new character - usually believing I know everything I need to know to make a great character.

Then I learn I didn't know jack. But I keep playing that character to learn more. Then I start a third character and that one usually rocks. By that time I have four hundred hours in the game and now I feel like I'm really starting the game. The rest was training.

That's how building is. Except I still feel like I'm training even in areas where other people call me a master - I hear it all the time and I know they're wrong. I'm competent but I'm no master. There are tons of things I've never done or even attempted. Couldn't do it all in my lifetime, much less master it. And that's just model-building I'm talking about.

Thanks for your post.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Chuck - I really like that frame. I was looking at it at work with someone. Is that the natural look of eucalyptus? It looks like resin from a mold.

What kind of bands do you use and how are they retained?

I could use a rasp for the fingers but I only have two vices - a regular machinist vice and a panavise. The machinist vice would need the soft jaws and wouldn't hold that well so I'd have to go way slow. I wouldn't be able to just rip away at it.

A panavise doesn't have that kind of holding power either. Took me less than ten minutes on the drill press including set-up. I like using rasps though one they start cutting. Don't like them so much when I slip and fill the teeth with my own flesh.  Character building.

I'm really not clear on how that last one works. What's the big slot for?


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Drilling the finger grips:

I made an oversize pattern to create the drill jig. The jig is use only to set up the drill press. It isn't used to drill through when drilling the finger grips.

When the fence and stop are properly located the jig is removed and a backer board is placed under the handle which is clamped securely in place.

The drill press was set at its lowest setting to prevent burning the wood.

I drilled the new blank yesterday and set up the drill press at a slightly higher speed. No burning but less vibration when drilling.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

And here's where it all went wrong. I've explained it in detail already so won't rehash it here.

The caliper readings: 0.6300" - 0.6005 = 0.0295" or very slightly less than 1/32" (.03225). Difference of 0.0028".

I moved the fence 1/64" but something went wrong. Probably original measurements were wrong - I'm guessing I didn't get a good measurement of the slot in the handle.

The last two photos should have clued me in to the other thing that was wrong - the fork wasn't deep enough in the handle. The outer corners of the handle should meet the inside of the fork. The slot needed to be a bit over 1/8" deeper. I could have cut it too deep and been ok because I can carve away the excess handle that extends into the fork.

Except... the finger grips were placed properly for the assembly as shown. Correcting the depth of the fork makes the grips too high and the forks interfere with the finger grips.

So to fix the whole deal I either have to cut away part of the underside of the forks or reshape the finger grips.

That's why I'm starting over with a new handle.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Next is to bandsaw the outlines.

And you've seen the shaped handle. There was more to go but you get the idea.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Woo Hoo!!!! Just routed the new handle. It's a very tight fit. Yes, that's bad. But it's awesome!!!!

I'm quitting while I'm ahead. The forks will be sanded until the fit is just right.

Now I have to bandsaw the handle to shape again. But the bandsaw blade broke on the last handle and had to finish cutting the back portion on my scroll saw. Changing blades on the bandsaw is a pain. First have to move the table saw to get at it. Then I have to take off the fence. Then take off the bandsaw table. Then have to put the fence back on and realign. I'm not a fan of the Kreg fence. Wish I'd known it required removal to change blade before I bought it or I wouldn't have. Sucks.

Anyway, once that's done I'm back to shaping again.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

OK, more good news. Turns out the bandsaw blade didn't break. It came off the wheels. I've never had that happen before. Unfortunately I had already removed the fence before I found that out so I still have to put it back on.

But I got the handle cut and am now ready to start hacking away at it.

See you again in many, many hours.


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

Anyone seen that punk, Goliath?

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Tons more sanding to do. Now in X-Files season 3.


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## nike (Oct 26, 2013)

:violin: Good


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## CafeenMan (Jan 8, 2016)

So I had to put this aside for a bit but I finally got back to it and finished sanding it. I brushed on maybe five coats of lacquer sanding after each of the last two then sprayed a coat. It orange peeled a little bit but 2500 sandpaper will take it out.

Now it just needs to be wet sanded and rubbed out.

I haven't decided if I'm going to leave it glossy or finish with a steel wool rub to take off all the sheen. I don't think it should look like it belongs in a display cabinet.

I'm not entirely pleased with it. The forks delaminated and I have no idea why. I've done a ton of laminating with epoxy and haven't ever had anything come apart before.

It happened when I was pulling on the forks to see how much they would twist under load.

So I used thin CA to repair it because the whole thing was already glued together when it happened.

I'm also not convinced the forks are as strong as they should be even if nothing had come apart. I may make another one and thicken up the forks.

I moved the finger grips down about 1/4" on this handle and there's still some interference with the forks. Not a lot but enough that it's not right.

I just made a pouch. I have no idea what I'm doing in that regard. I just used measurements I found on this forum. I doubled over the ends and glued them because the leather I'm using is kind of thin. I don't have a lot of leather to choose from. This came from a leather wallet that all the stitching was coming apart and it got retired and then cut up for the leather a while back.

The only other leather I have is probably too thick for pouches.

So the last thing I need to do is make a jig for tying the bands to the pouch and then it will be ready to go.


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## inconvenience (Mar 21, 2016)

CafeenMan said:


> Ryan - Regarding not being a builder.
> 
> This is part of my story. Growing up I tried to build flying model airplanes for years. I was always unsuccessful. I had no idea how to do it, I had no patience. I had no tools other than a razor blade, some pins and some really bad, very coarse sandpaper. I also had nobody to help me.
> 
> ...


I definitely feel a lot of your post.

I used to be a fitness freak (benched 410, ran a 6 minute mile, did dips and pull ups with 90lbs of plates strapped on etc.)

I would often here people say "I don't want to get too big." I would think to myself: "does this person think they are gonna do a few reps and go to sleep and wake up looking like Mr./Mrs. Olympia?"

Anyway. I hope I can approach the skill you guys display one day. Or at least fake it with a laser cutter 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


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