# Show Us Your Breaks!



## wombat

Little bear recently posted a pic of his broken cattie.









It got me thinking, that there's a lot of theory and conjecture about the damage a fork hit can do but no real data to back it up.

So if everyone that has had a break due to a fork hit posts a pic, with some information on the wood or material etc. that was used, maybe we can get some sort of data base going on the weak spots of a cattie.

I've never had a fork break, because I like to think that I'm particular on the wood I choose, but that doesn't mean there might not be an inherent weak spot somewhere??

So come on guys, show us your breaks, and that includes Ruthy and her oak break!!


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## ruthiexxxx

Shortly after I had put on some brilliant double latex bands...The thing is solid oak...I couldn't believe it !


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## kobe23

ruthiexxxx said:


> Shortly after I had put on some brilliant double latex bands...The thing is solid oak...I couldn't believe it !


Hardwoods are strong, but weak parallel to the grain. That's how martial artists break boards.


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## Rayshot

I don't currently have any photos of breaks fork hits because I repaired them.

Unless I put a rod down through the fork reaching into the handle I don't use single solid boards anymore, the sight of the sharp edge that could have come back at my face at full draw was enough to make me not feel comfortable with the solid board cuts any more. Natural forks, no problem.

It doesn't take a devastating hit to create an unseen fracture. I dropped one on the floor and that created a fracture.

Of course some some shapes and woods used are less likely to break than others.

I saw a guy at the ECST with a face wound he got when his catty broke. It was a solid board cut.

I really like bamboo cutting boards that are laminated each layer at a 90 degrees because if I get a fork hit or some one using it it won't have the unexpected failure that a board cut can have. But one of the bamboo got a hard hit that was tramatic enough that it devasted the tip. I pitched the catty. But no face injuries.


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## treefork

No breaks yet! " Knock on wood ."


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## Dayhiker

ruthiexxxx said:


> Shortly after I had put on some brilliant double latex bands...The thing is solid oak...I couldn't believe it !


Ruthie, that's exactly what Bill Herriman (Tex-Shooter) was talking about in his video on designing boardcut slingshots. Notice his classic design. In that area where yours broke, he leaves plenty of thick wood.


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## DaveSteve

Dayhiker said:


> Shortly after I had put on some brilliant double latex bands...The thing is solid oak...I couldn't believe it !


Ruthie, that's exactly what Bill Herriman (Tex-Shooter) was talking about in his video on designing boardcut slingshots. Notice his classic design. In that area where yours broke, he leaves plenty of thick wood.
[/quote]
This is a real eye opener! Thanks for this topic.
I have two board cuts. I got it a bit thicker but I would like to watch Tex-Shooters' video.
Please can you post the link. Thanks.


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## ruthiexxxx

Thanks Dayhiker...I'll definitely check that out


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## Pro-Shot (UK) Catapults

sorry for this Ruth i think you need to empty you inbox i just sent a PM and it will not take it??
Pete


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## Btoon84

Well, I didn't think I'd ever have to cop to this but at Wombat's insistence, here ya go! It hurts me to have to show this.... one of my favorites... My rendition of a Hays Mini Hunter, with purpleheart/yellowheart/purpleheart and a cocobolo palmswell.

It shook off the first fork hit... no problem.... the second a few weeks later.... not so much.


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## jskeen

I'll just post a link to an old thread of mine on this, with some pictures of a couple of my early failures.

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/6024-awwwww-crap/

Final conclusions:

Black Cherry is pretty, but brittle. only use it if laminated with a full layer of something else for strength.

Partial lamination or mortise and tennon type joints may be good for furniture, but not so much for slingshots. Go ahead and split it all the way and glue in a full layer of something else.

Over a year later and probably a hundred or more slingshots made and sold, given away or traded, I still don't know exactly why fork hits happen for newbies, or how to tell them to avoid them. It's just part of the deal, and as you shoot more, they get a lot less common, but I still occasionally get one if I'm not paying attention or hurrying or shooting a new frame that I'm not used to. And they still suck!


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## Sean

My only break has been my boo shooter, while shooting rocks! It was doing a nice job on the chowda can when
the stone clipped the left fork and that was the end. Unfortunately, it was too thin to repair.

Say... has anyone ever broken a plywood catty?


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## melvin

Ruthie,
On some forks I've been concerned about,I'll drill and pin down the fork length with a bamboo dowel 3/16" or even 1/4" diameter,that stuff is tough and glues well.
Melvin


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## LittleBear

My first fork hit in the past 3 decades: Butterfly, 56" draw on fairly wide tapered TBG with a 58 cal 293gr/19 gram lead ball, watched too many Toresten and Tobias vids the poor cherry fork never stood a chance. And the last slingshot I made without a composite core. Never repaired/finished the slingshot, will some day, instead of pinning it I will likely glue it back together then saw it down the middle and insert a G10, or other, core similar to the below PF.










And the Sweet Midget PF Wombat mentioned.








Black 6" Texshooter tubes with 5/16" steel, just grazed the top enough to catch the grain a little lower since the fork was tilted away from me it might have survived the hit with nothing more than a ding.


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## M.J

I wish I had a pic of the PFS my wife did in. It was a natural and it was even pinned. She basically split it in half. She doesn't shoot PFSs anymore.
She broke one at the Summer Nats as well, but I'm not supposed to talk about that one...


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## Adirondack Kyle

Good topic, iv had a few, tossed em though. Sorry guys


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## Dayhiker

ruthiexxxx said:


> Thanks Dayhiker...I'll definitely check that out


Here ya go.


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## toolmantf99

"I saw a guy at the ECST with a face wound he got when his catty broke. It was a solid board cut."

That guy was me and it hurt like ****! The slingshot was a really small maple board cut that left a nice slice down my nose. No more board cuts for this guy!!


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## toolmantf99

No pictures cause that slingshot went straight to starting a nice camp fire.


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## Pappybows

Ditto! No more board cuts for me. My first and last - Walnut.


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## worserabbit




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## ruthiexxxx

It hurts to see so many lovely SS busted !

This is a fork hit I had on a pfs the other day. It just dented deeply without a break...perhaps it might have done if it had not been for the steel bolt through.

I don't normally shoot pfs, preferring chunky hammer grip ring shooters like my cutlass guard one but would still like to make chalice and similar styles. I'm just going to have to find ways to beef them up. Either really strong chunky ones with a lot of extra wood around vulnerable points. Or maybe sandwich types with something tough in the middle. I might be able to get some sheet aluminium round here , maybe laminate?

I like Melvin's idea of pinning with strong dowel too.

Back to the drawing board !


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## Berkshire bred

shame that ruthies oak fork broke, that was stunning.


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## Rayshot

toolmantf99 said:


> "I saw a guy at the ECST with a face wound he got when his catty broke. It was a solid board cut."
> 
> That guy was me and it hurt like ****! The slingshot was a really small maple board cut that left a nice slice down my nose. No more board cuts for this guy!!


I didn't want to name names.


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## Danny0663

Never had a fork break on me


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## Adirondack Kyle

Hardwood laminates can be very strong. At least 3 layers. Im gonna give it a try


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## Adirondack Kyle

Danny. Your forks def aren't at risk!!


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## Incomudro

worserabbit said:


>


How in the **** did that multiplex break clean through?


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## wombat

As result of this I'll be posting some destructive cross grain testing. There were a few interesting results!


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## NoobShooter

I ran out of steel shot. Picked up a rock.. And well ~ you know the rest. The fracture is on the other side too, and some of the plywood core cracked as well.. Baltic Birch Ply sandwiched between black walnut.


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## Rayshot

wombat said:


> As result of this I'll be posting some destructive cross grain testing. There were a few interesting results!


That will be very informative and I look forward to your findings. Thanks!


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## Imperial

only one ive had so far. fork hit with a rock that was too big to begin with .
.
.


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## fsa46

Slingshots and not indestructible unless they are made of metal. This can happen to anyone with any SS.


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## ultravisitor

fsa46 said:


> Slingshots and not indestructible unless they are made of metal. This can happen to anyone with any SS.


Dang it! How the **** did you break this one?


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## Dayhiker

fsa46 said:


> Slingshots and not indestructible unless they are made of metal. This can happen to anyone with any SS.


Not to argue, but I haven't seen it happen to a natural yet. Also I'm noticing that in most of these cases the forks are breaking just like Tex-Shooter predicted they would.


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## ruthiexxxx

Just had another fork hit







This one didn't break the fork...only dented it. However the ricochet neatly amputated one of the wooden pegs on my SS rack. Took it clean off at the base, shearing through the hardwood dowel.


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## DaveSteve

I saw two entries with breaks on multiplex slingshots.
I thought multiplex is a 'sure' thing.
This is really disturbing! I hope nobody got badly hurt.
Does anybody has an explanation?


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## Incomudro

DaveSteve said:


> I saw two entries with breaks on multiplex slingshots.
> I thought multiplex is a 'sure' thing.
> This is really disturbing! I hope nobody got badly hurt.
> Does anybody has an explanation?


Yeah, I'm interested in hearing how those broke.
I can't imagine 3/8 steel breaking them like that - I'm hoping they were the results of rocks or large lead.


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## fsa46

Incomudro said:


> I saw two entries with breaks on multiplex slingshots.
> I thought multiplex is a 'sure' thing.
> This is really disturbing! I hope nobody got badly hurt.
> Does anybody has an explanation?


Yeah, I'm interested in hearing how those broke.
I can't imagine 3/8 steel breaking them like that - I'm hoping they were the results of rocks or large lead.
[/quote]

I broke mine using 3/8" steel, if you look close you can see where it hit. The energy generated at that close distance has got to be unbelievable and shouldn't surprise anyone when something like this happens. This is not the fault of the maker or material and could happen to just about anything, ( except a natural, maybe ).


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## treefork

Poly slingshots don't break!


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## worserabbit

Incomudro said:


>


How in the **** did that multiplex break clean through?








[/quote]

I was shooting stones than one fork hit and... CRACK.


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## Viper010

@incomudro & davesteve

by the looks of it those cattys were made of spectraply, which is, for what i read, glued with the layers parallel instead of cross-grain like regular baltic birch ply.

regular cross-grain ply wood, multi-layer hardwood laminates and naturals are much tougher to break.

hope above statement is correct, having only read about spectraply n never actually touched it, but im sure somebody more knowledgable will chime in soon enough (nudge nudge wingshooter, tex, ....)

cheers, remco


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## wombat

Viper010 said:


> @incomudro & davesteve
> 
> by the looks of it those cattys were made of spectraply, which is, for what i read, glued with the layers parallel instead of cross-grain like regular baltic birch ply.
> 
> regular cross-grain ply wood, multi-layer hardwood laminates and naturals are much tougher to break.
> 
> hope above statement is correct, having only read about spectraply n never actually touched it, but im sure somebody more knowledgable will chime in soon enough (nudge nudge wingshooter, tex, ....)
> 
> cheers, remco


That's very strange if true. the whole point of plywood is to alternate the grain. I tried seaching for the manufacturing process, but no luck.


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## pop shot

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content








Eucalyptus natural, one hit created a hairline crack, which I noticed and pulled apart. There were remnants of a dead branch that had healed over.


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## M.J

wombat said:


> @incomudro & davesteve
> 
> by the looks of it those cattys were made of spectraply, which is, for what i read, glued with the layers parallel instead of cross-grain like regular baltic birch ply.
> 
> regular cross-grain ply wood, multi-layer hardwood laminates and naturals are much tougher to break.
> 
> hope above statement is correct, having only read about spectraply n never actually touched it, but im sure somebody more knowledgable will chime in soon enough (nudge nudge wingshooter, tex, ....)
> 
> cheers, remco


That's very strange if true. the whole point of plywood is to alternate the grain. I tried seaching for the manufacturing process, but no luck.
[/quote]
That looks to be the case! I looked up Dymondwood, which is the name for that kind of wood (Specrtraply is the multi-colored version) and found this article from the company that manufactures Dymondwood which, about halfway down the page, says "all plies are oriented with grain in the same direction".
I would say, based on this, that this material is suitable for use in a laminate with a metal/g10/hardwood core but is not suitable for slingshot frames otherwise.


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## Incomudro

M_J said:


> @incomudro & davesteve
> 
> by the looks of it those cattys were made of spectraply, which is, for what i read, glued with the layers parallel instead of cross-grain like regular baltic birch ply.
> 
> regular cross-grain ply wood, multi-layer hardwood laminates and naturals are much tougher to break.
> 
> hope above statement is correct, having only read about spectraply n never actually touched it, but im sure somebody more knowledgable will chime in soon enough (nudge nudge wingshooter, tex, ....)
> 
> cheers, remco


That's very strange if true. the whole point of plywood is to alternate the grain. I tried seaching for the manufacturing process, but no luck.
[/quote]
That looks to be the case! I looked up Dymondwood, which is the name for that kind of wood (Specrtraply is the multi-colored version) and found this article from the company that manufactures Dymondwood which, about halfway down the page, says "all plies are oriented with grain in the same direction".
I would say, based on this, that this material is suitable for use in a laminate with a metal/g10/hardwood core but is not suitable for slingshot frames otherwise.
[/quote]

Well, I learned something.


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## Adirondack Kyle

Like DH said, any and all wood slingshots can fall victim to a destructive fork hit. Naturals are more resilient. Even the indestructible solid decking boards can break if hit hard enough.


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## M.J

adarondack kyle said:


> Like DH said, any and all wood slingshots can fall victim to a destructive fork hit. Naturals are more resilient. Even the indestructible solid decking boards can break if hit hard enough.


I have a slingshot from LVO made from inch-thick deck material and I can say with certainty that nothing you could shoot with that frame would break it. I would bet even Joerg couldn't do it!


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## Tex-Shooter

I have noticed from the post that most breaks are from lack of grain length near the handle and a narrow fork, which I already knew. Design and wood type is most important when making a board cut from a solid board. I have shot board cuts of my own design for 10 years without a break. A friend of mine broke one of mine, but he was sitting on it while riding a tractor. To be on the safe side I would recommend Baldic Birch plywood for board cut slingshots. With the high strength high impact plastics that are available, I would think that would be a great way to go. This being my favorite everyday slingshot there are no breaks here. The bands on this slingshot are patented (Patent number 7827977 and patents pending) -- Tex


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## wombat

Incomudro said:


> @incomudro & davesteve
> 
> by the looks of it those cattys were made of spectraply, which is, for what i read, glued with the layers parallel instead of cross-grain like regular baltic birch ply.
> 
> regular cross-grain ply wood, multi-layer hardwood laminates and naturals are much tougher to break.
> 
> hope above statement is correct, having only read about spectraply n never actually touched it, but im sure somebody more knowledgable will chime in soon enough (nudge nudge wingshooter, tex, ....)
> 
> cheers, remco


That's very strange if true. the whole point of plywood is to alternate the grain. I tried seaching for the manufacturing process, but no luck.
[/quote]
That looks to be the case! I looked up Dymondwood, which is the name for that kind of wood (Specrtraply is the multi-colored version) and found this article from the company that manufactures Dymondwood which, about halfway down the page, says "all plies are oriented with grain in the same direction".
I would say, based on this, that this material is suitable for use in a laminate with a metal/g10/hardwood core but is not suitable for slingshot frames otherwise.
[/quote]

Well, I learned something.








[/quote]

Yep! I couldn't find a me too "smiley". That certainly explains things and has destroyed the myth of 'diamond wood'/ spectraply!!


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## Northerner

What exactly is the "deck material" that is best for slingshot frames? I have seen decks made from spruce lumber but it's quite soft.

Thanks,
Northerner


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## DaveSteve

M_J said:


> Like DH said, any and all wood slingshots can fall victim to a destructive fork hit. Naturals are more resilient. Even the indestructible solid decking boards can break if hit hard enough.


I have a slingshot from LVO made from inch-thick deck material and I can say with certainty that nothing you could shoot with that frame would break it. I would bet even Joerg couldn't do it!
[/quote]

M_J could you please post a picture of this frame?
Thanks for the link about Dymondwood.
The knowledge of you guys is amazing.


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## M.J

Here you go, Dave:
http://slingshotforum.com/topic/18504-deck-material-frames/

The one I have is a Cholita design but it's made from the same stuff.


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## M.J

Northerner said:


> What exactly is the "deck material" that is best for slingshot frames? I have seen decks made from spruce lumber but it's quite soft.
> 
> Thanks,
> Northerner


Right you are. We're talking about composite deck material.


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## Sherman

Wow - this is an eye-opening thread. Thanks everyone for the input - group knowledge goes a long way when there are no data on the subject. That was news to me, and I'm sure to many, about the Spectraply. I'm happy that my current line-up includes baltic birch ply, poly, composite decking and glass filled nylon. I'm working on my first natural, but I think the thing's going to be so pretty that I will frame it instead of shoot it.


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## DaveSteve

M_J said:


> Here you go, Dave:
> http://slingshotforu...aterial-frames/
> 
> The one I have is a Cholita design but it's made from the same stuff.


Thanks M_J


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## hickymick

mmm


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## zhop

My new beak that i made just broke from a fork hit


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## DaveSteve

This topic made me checking out Milbro slingshots.


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## mopper

jskeen said:


> Over a year later and probably a hundred or more slingshots made and sold, given away or traded, I still don't know exactly why fork hits happen for newbies, or how to tell them to avoid them.


I am pretty certain that the vast majority of fork hits are because of a bad pouch. Not long enough, not wide enough, too stiff, hole for ammo too small, ammo put into the pouch sloppily because it just doesn't fit the ammo ...

I had a chinese type stainless steel ss that I had more than a dozen fork hits with, and it was definitely the pouch that was at fault, pretty much all of the above was wrong with it. I put a new, selfmade pouch on it it and haven't had a single fork hit since ( and this despite the fact that I shoot large 16mm marbles and the fork is relatively narrow).

What I have learned about pouches from all this:

- it should be long enough that you can easily hold the ammo without coming into contact with the points where the rubber is attached

- it should be at least as wide as the ammo

- it should be so soft that it will wrap smoothly around the ball, without forming a crease behind the ball

- I always use a centerhole, from half the diameter of the ammo to a maximum of 2/3 of the diameter. the softer the leather and the smaller the ammo the more one should tend towards the lower diameter

- don't pinch the pouch shut in front of the ball when drawing out, hold only the ball between thumb and forefinger.

But that is just me, YMMV


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## jskeen

Tex-Shooter said:


> I have noticed from the post that most breaks are from lack of grain length near the handle and a narrow fork, which I already knew. Design and wood type is most important when making a board cut from a solid board. I have shot board cuts of my own design for 10 years without a break. A friend of mine broke one of mine, but he was sitting on it while riding a tractor. To be on the safe side I would recommend Baldic Birch plywood for board cut slingshots. With the high strength high impact plastics that are available, I would think that would be a great way to go. This being my favorite everyday slingshot there are no breaks here. The bands on this slingshot are patented (Patent number 7827977 and patents pending) -- Tex


Hey Bill. I waded through about 10% of the legalese in that patent and got a headache, so I'll just ask you. Is it the design of the bands that is protected? Is it material dependant? Are those particular ones Theraband Black, or some other black elastic? If the latter, do you sell it?

Thanks
James?


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## squirrel squasher

Bumb 
Got this one to today without a forkhit
There was a defect in the board in the area and the thing cracked in my hand 
I was not shooting
I was told that oak splits easily
Deseign similar to texshooters classic


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## HP Slingshots

Never seen so much catty damage in my life :sorry: :bawling:

-Epic


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## Samurai Samoht

I just went through this thread for the first time. Very informative. I had recently read the fact about spectraply being laminated with parallel grain and now I see the pictures of possible danger if its not reinforced. I have never had a problem with boardcut slingshots failing but I also have never had a fork hit except for the first time shooting a PFS.... so I was really surprised to see all of the examples.

Tom


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## wombat

I just reread this thread and realized that I was supposed to have posted the results of my testing, so here you go.

http://kookaburrakatties.blogspot.com.au/p/streng.html

http://kookaburrakatties.blogspot.com.au/p/long-grain-testing.html


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## ryguy27

squirrel squasher said:


> Bumb
> Got this one to today without a forkhit
> There was a defect in the board in the area and the thing cracked in my hand
> I was not shooting
> I was told that oak splits easily
> Deseign similar to texshooters classic


Ouch, I'm Glad You Didn't Get Hit By That!


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## squirrel squasher

wombat said:


> I just reread this thread and realized that I was supposed to have posted the results of my testing, so here you go.
> 
> http://kookaburrakatties.blogspot.com.au/p/streng.html
> http://kookaburrakatties.blogspot.com.au/p/long-grain-testing.html


I have used this method and it sticks together! 
With exotic wood and glancing forkhits the frames continue to shoot


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## faca

I use metal for my forks to avoid breaks ;-)


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## ruthiexxxx

One of my first board cuts (before I stopped making them). Fortunately I spotted the crack in time. Not from a fork hit...the frame just didn't like Theratube black!


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## Wingshooter

It is true about the Spectraply pretty but will break your heart. That is one of the reasons I have gone to the steel forks. I will use wood for handles only. Here is my fork hit I was showing of to my friend Don and pulled to 3/4 butterfly with 1 inch tapered flats and 1/2 steel. It bounced of the slingshot and knocked a chip out of the plaster on the house. I will keep this one to shoot and to remind me not to be a dope.


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## Rayshot

Wingshooter said:


> It is true about the Spectraply pretty but will break your heart.


That is such a great comment to quote; "Spectraply is pretty but will break your heart."

Of course we know it isn't prone to fractures in the same way board cuts are. But something to mindful of.


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## Wingshooter

If you don't shoot at it, it won't break.


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## gaia

luckily all my slingers have metal cores, no breakage yet!


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## arifgamer18

Worst break









ASUS_X00QD cihazımdan Tapatalk kullanılarak gönderildi


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## Cass

Hi here is two pics of my Osage orange sling, with one fork hit


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## Monsar

paint plastic

Sent from my M2006C3MG using Tapatalk


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## Cass

Hi this my fix.


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## vince4242

Here is my homemade Hammer grip from a piece of very light plywood that I found in a dumpster. No fork hits, it just broke when pulling back the bands with about a 15 lb draw weight. Lucky for me it didn't do any damage to my face or eyes. I threw this slingshot away and all the wood that I got from the dumpster and now I stick with ⅝" OSB unless I know the strength of the plywood.


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