# Chained rubber band test conclusion.



## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

Over the past couple months I have done a ton of testing with chained rubber. I finally found a fast configuration. See my posts and other information regarding that in this thread http://slingshotforum.com/topic/3481-making-cheap-chained-rubber-bands-uk/ .

Now I bought some #64 bands from staples. My first band set up lasted a whopping 350 shots and none of the rubber even broke (but was coming close). The next two bands i made lasted barely 100 shots. I am not sure what went wrong on the last two.

Dayhiker sent me a bag of some higher quality #64 bands. They pull harder so I had to add another link in the chain to achieve my draw length. The performance of the two is about the same. The bands Dayhiker sent me however are much more durable. I have not broken them yet but only have about 200 shots on them.

The following company makes high quality bands that are made in the USA. I believe they are the same as what Dayhiker sent me. Check them out here http://www.alliance-rubber.com/products/rubberbands/palecrepegold.html . They are only $4 on amazon for an entire pound of them. This is cheaper than the staples rubber which was $2 for a 1/4 pound. However I have not calculated shipping.

In conclusion I say that chained rubber is an excellent source of bands. They are quick and easy to make, can shoot pretty fast, and are accurate. No cutting or tying involved. I will be buying from Alliance rubber, however if you are in a pinch the staples stuff works well too.


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## BaneofSmallGame (Sep 22, 2010)

Thank you for sharing that with us.

I'm a die hard chain user myself, at first I started with Staples cheap 32's in a 5x5x5 arrangement. They lasted forever, but where quite slow because they were low grade. Shortly after I moved on to Walmart size 64 rubber bands in 333, 443, and 444 chains. Though they to are low grade, their speed and power was very satisfying. I primarily shoot large smooth stones with a large pouch, and I use Jmplsnt's gypsy tabs to attach at the fork. So far I've gone through three bandsets. The first broke at around 250, and the next to around 350, which is perfectly fine seeing as I can re-use the pouch and the bands are 46 cents for 1/4lb. You can't beat the prices, or the ease of constructing with the chains. I have no doubt the rest of the chain gang can back me up in that respect.

I can only give my input on the 64's as of now. I just ordered some platinum crepe red 32's, I will elaborate on their performance. As to the higher quality 64's, I may give it a try, although it would kind of defeat the purpose of the basically 5 cent bandsets in my case. But if it works for Dayhiker, than it is surely worth a try.

In the near future I will try some 64's in a 3x3x3x3 butterfly sort of style. That seems like it would work well and I've never seen anyone try it before ( maybe I'll find out why no one ever mentions them.







)

Excellent post RecurveMaster

Take Care - John


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## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

Now you got me wanting to try the walmart rubber. ...


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## BaneofSmallGame (Sep 22, 2010)

oops.....

I must say I'm not the greatest at keeping track of my shots..... but no matter what, for 46 cents, its a good deal. If I were to guess, the Staples brand would be better, but I may be wrong there........


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## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

I just rigged one of my naturals with the gypsy tabs. Works cool. Put some staples rubber on it.


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## Darb (Sep 14, 2010)

What size on the alliance chart do you recommend ?

http://www.alliance-rubber.com/assets/specsheet/Rubber%20Band%20Chart.pdf

Is it the #64 you mentioned above for the staples brand ? If so, is that a standard size nomenclature used by rubber band manufacturers everywhere ?


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## Darb (Sep 14, 2010)

RM: Another question (in addition to the one above): what's the ideal rubberband size to use for bandset ties ?

I need to restock my household with rubberbands anyway, so I might as well get a bunch of both sizes ... whatever size is optimal for chained bands (#64 Alliance pale crepes ?) and ties (dunno).

BTW, Alliance overcharges for shipping on amazon ($13 for a 1lb box is excessive). Is there an alternate source that doesn't overcharge ?


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## bbshooter (Jun 3, 2010)

Darb said:


> RM: Another question (in addition to the one above): what's the ideal rubberband size to use for bandset ties ?
> 
> I need to restock my household with rubberbands anyway, so I might as well get a bunch of both sizes ... whatever size is optimal for chained bands (#64 Alliance pale crepes ?) and ties (dunno).
> 
> BTW, Alliance overcharges for shipping on amazon ($13 for a 1lb box is excessive). Is there an alternate source that doesn't overcharge ?


Office Depot lists 69 different rubber band products, including the Alliance Rubber Band.
If you have a local outlet you could stop in and check out their stock.

http://www.officedep...bands/N=5+1956/


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## Darb (Sep 14, 2010)

No office depot in my area, but I'm sure I'll be able to find something. The real thing I'm looking for right now is the optimal brand and size info for both chains, and ties. Cost is not really an object for me, but optimum performance is. I want the very best.


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## BaneofSmallGame (Sep 22, 2010)

Hello Darb

I'll try my best to answer your questions, but ultimately you should refer to the masters of the chains.

You should also root around here a bit, you should learn some things:
http://slingshotforu...d-rubber-bands/

As to fastening, it really doesn't matter as long as they are of manageable size and length, I use cheap 32s, 33s, and old bands from broken chains.

As to achieving optimal performance, the common word is that these are the absolute best around in chain performance.
http://www.rubberban...com/catalog.htm

If you want satisfactory performance on the cheap, you could look into and experiment with walmart size 64s or Universal brand 64s (both very inexpensive)......

Hope that helped - John


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## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

I have 32's and 64's made by Alliance (Pale Crepe) that i bought from Mcmaster Carr, I also got a coupel boxes of #107's, those work well for cheap flatbands.

Anyway, RM so you are not knotting them together like nico does, but are looping them together?

When i try knotting them, (it's not really a knot, but when you do the loop and pass it back through and pull tight, whatever that is called) i get some tearing of the rubber bands near the "knot". should i be wettign the bands with soemthing first?

thanks, Dan.


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## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

These are the product numbers for the "Natural Rubber" bands from Mcmaster Carr. These are the Alliance bands.

Size 32: 12205T54
Size 64: 12205T55
Size 107: 12205T85

When i placed my order it was for 5 pounds of product and shipping cost 5.31. And Mcmaster has extremely fast shipping, i got it next day.


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## Darb (Sep 14, 2010)

Thanks Guys.

So, the 64's are used for chains, and the 32's are used for ties ?

If they're both used for chains, I saw a 433 config mentioned for the 64's ... what would be the config for the smaller 32's ?

Also, are the pale crepes and pistol reds comparable in shooting qualities and durability ?


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## philly (Jun 13, 2010)

Brad, check out my thread " Natural Rorsetera Finished"for my take on chains.
Philly


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