# Two Small Ninjas



## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Dayhiker was kind enough to repost his design for Small Ninja:

http://slingshotforu...49-small-ninja/

I really like this design because it is small and has an elegant simplicity to it. I also like the fact that it has a gap between the forks, unlike the PFS. I have given the PFS to a friend, and she is somewhat afraid to shoot it, fearing she will hit her hand or the forks. I too worry that she might forget to twist the pouch, or might try shooting a very large stone with insufficient pull on the bands. The small ninja design seems well suited to alleviate such concerns. I decided to use the remnants of my HDPE cutting board to make the Small Ninja. I wanted to incorporate the juice groove of the board into the forks to make for a more secure tie, just as I did with my cutting board PFS. But in the original design, the tops of the forks are not flat to each other ... they are almost at a 90 degree angle to each other. Since I wanted the juice grooves parallel to the top of each fork, I laid out the pattern in the corner of the cutting board and just made the tops of the forks at 90 degrees to each other, as follows:










While doing the layout, it occurred to me that I might as well try continuing the outer contour so that both forks would be flat to each other, and use the juice groove along the side. So I cut out two small ninjas, one very close to the original design, and one with slightly modified forks.










In this photo, you can see the orientation of the juice grooves. Also note that in my extended fork version, I did not drill holes in the forks. Right after taking the photo, I did so, reasoning it is better to have them and not use them than to not have them and wish I did. Also note that I slightly dished the top of the forks to help the bands stay fairly centered and not slip off to one side.

I decided to use Alliance 64 chains on one and Alliance 105 tapered on the other, just to compare the two. My first thought with the chains was to simply pull a loop of bands through the hole and then over the fork. I tried this on both styles, but found that it was really difficult to keep the chains properly across the forks when I drew. So in the end, I just used simple leather loops for the rubber band chains. The flatbands worked just fine. Here are the banded ninjas.










I have not done a lot of shooting with them, but I did fire them through the Chrony. During that short time, I preferred the flat top version. Because of the orientation of the bands, one gets slightly more clearance over the hand, and I think that will be important for my friend (or for any kids that may want to try).

My rubber band chains were, fork to pouch, 221. With 3/8 steel round ball, the chrony gave a speed of 163 fps. The bad news is that one of the single bands broke after about 20 shots (4 warm up, and 16 through the Chrony). Again using 3/8 inch steel, the tapered Alliance 105s gave a speed of 167 fps. By the way, I took the tapered 105 bands off of the PFS I used for other tests, so those bands now have about 65 shots on them and still seem to be fine.

So if you are looking for a fine little shooter that actually has fork separation, you really should give the small ninja a try.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## bigfoot (Mar 27, 2011)

I like that design a lot I may have to give it a try. Great work on those they look good


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

bigfoot said:


> I like that design a lot I may have to give it a try. Great work on those they look good


Thanks for your kind comments. The design is very nice and it is also easy to make.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## AJW (Apr 24, 2011)

Charles ...... as always, interesting and informative. Thank you.

Al


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Charles.... Cool... I wonder how you always get pre-cut grooves


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## Faust (Apr 5, 2011)

Nice job on those and nice use of the existing grooves in the cutting board. Looks like they'll be great shooters.


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## Papa G (Aug 19, 2011)

another great post charles, and 2 nice ss


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## Bob Fionda (Apr 6, 2011)

Thanks Charles, very interesting and well made.


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## marcus sr (Jun 5, 2011)

those look excellent charles and excently made too


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## Daniel J (Dec 15, 2010)

those are excellent slingshots, man!


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Charles, That material is really ideal for this fork and you did a great job with it. I didn't even cut grooves in mine.

Thanks for trying it out!









Edit: I am curious to know, Charles. How are you gripping it, hammer-grip or finger-support?


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your very kind comments. This material is very easy to work and quite tough. Really I did little more than cut them out and sand the edges a bit. I may yet try one in aluminum, but the HDPE is lighter and easier in the pocket. I also like the fact that I will not be setting off metal detectors.

Dayhiker, I just am not a hammer grip guy, except for my commercial wrist braced slingshots. I choke up quite far, up to or onto the rubber wraps. Then the valley of the forks just clears the web between my thumb and index fingers; so there is still the feeling of confidence that the shooter will not be hitting his/her hand. Also, this HDPE material is very slick ... feels almost oily in the hands. Choking to the rubber wraps gives a nice firm hold.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## Chepo69 (May 1, 2010)

Great recycling!

Simple and functional. even with prefabricated grooves jejeje!


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Hi Charles. That's the way I shoot it too.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Chepo69 said:


> Hi Charles. That's the way I shoot it too.


Great minds shoot alike!!!

Cheers .......... Charles


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## AZshooter (May 1, 2011)

To get a better grip on my plastic slingshots, I cut strips of bicycle inner tube...wrap tight and pull the tag under the wrap...solid gripping, and cheap recycled material put to use...


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

AZ shooter said:


> To get a better grip on my plastic slingshots, I cut strips of bicycle inner tube...wrap tight and pull the tag under the wrap...solid gripping, and cheap recycled material put to use...


Good suggestion!

Cheers ...... Charles


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## bj000 (Jul 21, 2011)

AZ shooter said:


> To get a better grip on my plastic slingshots, I cut strips of bicycle inner tube...wrap tight and pull the tag under the wrap...solid gripping, and cheap recycled material put to use...


that is a great idea. I also find the hdpe to be way too slippery .


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