# 3 plywood cuts



## Dayhiker

To begin, let me say that I am in no way trying to show off my skill here. I just wanted to share these with you. I am not very skilled at working with plywood yet. But I do find it fun and the results of my work are, if not beautiful, at least pretty safe to shoot. This is a quite inexpensive way to work as long as you don't try to get too fancy, especially if you work with just a coping saw, a 4-in-hand rasp and some sandpaper -- oh yeah, and a drill. (I use my knife a little, too but not necessary.)

So here's the three I'm working on (stained but no varnish yet).









First I'd like to talk about Bill Hays's "Lil Ranger". This thing is an awesome design. I haven't shot with it yet, but just holding it tells me all I need to know. I'll bet this easy to make design will become a true classic in the self-made slingshot world. I love it. I left out the work at the tip because I haven't the skill to do it without making a mess. So I kept it set up like my "Pocket Buddy" series, which handle OTT flats and Chinese tubes.
I printed out Bill's pattern and enlarged it by 1/3. Now it is just right for me. Here is how it looks in my hand.
Thanks Bill for a great design.

















The next one I copied was my own original "Curvy", but this one was made from the reduced pattern offered here by e-shot. It becomes a very different shooter this small and I converted it into another pocket buddy. It's pretty cool.









And now for the new plinker/pocket buddy. This one shoots nice and is my smallest pocket buddy style slingshot to date. I will enclose the pattern below.

















I don't know how original this new design is, but I drew it up out of nowhere with my drafting program a couple days ago and just went for it. It was sort of a surprise attack by the slingshot muse. LOL. Turns out that it's a good little shooter.









Thanks for looking. Hope somebody can use the pattern.

Edit: Well, I strapped up the Lil' Ranger with some light flats and shot about 30 rounds of marbles and 7/16" steel. I gotta tell ya, this is one seriously good slingshot. Great design! Excellent job Bill.


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## Rayshot

just made one very much like the new plinker day befor eyesterday but with a peculiar addition to it. Will post pics another time

Bill they all look great to me.


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## harpersgrace

Those are top notch DH, great work.


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## John-Boy

They look great DH!!, I printed out the pdf file, so will commence work on this in the mornin







Thanks DH..


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## Dayhiker

John-Boy, I'll be looking forward to seeing it!

Thanks guys for the comments.


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## mxred91

Bill that is some nice work. You have a distinct style. Curvy is on my list, right now Smitty's Ghost in in process, then the Ash Bow.


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## Bill Hays

Looks great Man!
All of them look like real nice shooters.


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## Dayhiker

Thanks, Chuck and Bill. They are fun little shooters.


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## M.J

Those look realy good DH!
Let us know how your Ranger shoots as I'm curious to hear other's opinions. I've finally gotten to where I can shoot mine but there was a bit of a learning curve to it. Maybe it's just me. 
Fine workmanship, as always!


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## e~shot

All are looking nice,


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## Felicko

Nice slingshots


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## dgui

I think I"m having Love Quims for the New Plinker, she's beautiful. DayMan you have super skills.


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## Dayhiker

_*"Love Quims" ????*_










. . . not that there's anything wrong with that.


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## Snipez

I love the look of these

Im struggling to find the right plywood the only ones I can find are at wickes and they are spruce 18mm and 18mm hardwood exterior use any help would be great I'm in the uk

Atb rob


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## philly

Love them all DH, nice looking slings, how's the hand holding up?
Philly


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## Dayhiker

Well, it's a bit stronger now. I am spending an hour here and there shooting/making lingshots now. Thanks for asking, Philly.


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## Usal1023

Dayhiker said:


> To begin, let me say that I am in no way trying to show off my skill here. I just wanted to share these with you. I am not very skilled at working with plywood yet. But I do find it fun and the results of my work are, if not beautiful, at least pretty safe to shoot. This is a quite inexpensive way to work as long as you don't try to get too fancy, especially if you work with just a coping saw, a 4-in-hand rasp and some sandpaper -- oh yeah, and a drill. (I use my knife a little, too but not necessary.)
> 
> So here's the three I'm working on (stained but no varnish yet).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> First I'd like to talk about Bill Hays's "Lil Ranger". This thing is an awesome design. I haven't shot with it yet, but just holding it tells me all I need to know. I'll bet this easy to make design will become a true classic in the self-made slingshot world. I love it. I left out the work at the tip because I haven't the skill to do it without making a mess. So I kept it set up like my "Pocket Buddy" series, which handle OTT flats and Chinese tubes.
> I printed out Bill's pattern and enlarged it by 1/3. Now it is just right for me. Here is how it looks in my hand.
> Thanks Bill for a great design.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The next one I copied was my own original "Curvy", but this one was made from the reduced pattern offered here by e-shot. It becomes a very different shooter this small and I converted it into another pocket buddy. It's pretty cool.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And now for the new plinker/pocket buddy. This one shoots nice and is my smallest pocket buddy style slingshot to date. I will enclose the pattern below.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know how original this new design is, but I drew it up out of nowhere with my drafting program a couple days ago and just went for it. It was sort of a surprise attack by the slingshot muse. LOL. Turns out that it's a good little shooter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for looking. Hope somebody can use the pattern.
> 
> Edit: Well, I strapped up the Lil' Ranger with some light flats and shot about 30 rounds of marbles and 7/16" steel. I gotta tell ya, this is one seriously good slingshot. Great design! Excellent job Bill.


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## Usal1023

Those look awesome how thick is the plywood you used? I am just starting out and can't find the multiplex wood I hear a lot about. Just curious I am not planning on using strong bands like joerg sprave, but would like to use for small game/ plinking while hiking.

Usal1023


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## Eddie_T

Dayhiker, Very nice, don't sell your talent short.

I am sure this is not news to most, but for scaling I copy and paste a drawing into my word processor (WordPerfect) click on the image and stretch or compress to my liking. It can be stretched vertically, horizontally or linearly.

I haven't tried this yet, but for a photo I am thinking of trying photo processing software and converting to "coloring book" to get just outlines.


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## Dayhiker

Thanks USAL and Eddie.

@ USAL: I use 3/4-inch birch plywood from Home Depot. Not the best but it works pretty well.

@ Eddie: If you get yourself a basic cad program, you can scale a picture or drawing perfectly even if you only have one measurement to go by. The program I use only takes a couple of nights to learn and it's pretty cheap. The name of it is DeltaCad.


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## smitty

Man those are some very nice forks Dayhiker !


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## FURGLE

i like them all im gonna try the ranger looks like a good shaped catty


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## Dayhiker

Thanks Smitty and Furgle.

Smitty these things are nothing compared to the ones you use just for prototypes.


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## Usal1023

Dayhiker

Thanks I just bought some oak today wish me luck I hope mine turn out as nice as yours.


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## smitty

Thanks Dayhiker, but I have to say yours are just as good as mine. I do have a LOT of "prototype" slingshots in a drawer here at the house. I have made so many slingshots this past year that I have no idea how many I have. Some are out in the shop in a box that I wouldn't even give away, because they are so lame. Ha ! I have finally worked out three designs that I am very proud of and hoped to be able to become a vendor here with them, but it seems like there are so many on here now that this is becoming a forum of vendors selling to vendors. Ha! I made two more slingshots today after practicing shooting for a couple of hours. It is so relaxing, or maybe the right word is stress relieving to shoot a slingshot. I totally enjoy the "zen" of slingshot crafting and shooting.
It's also great fun to go through the custom slingshots here on the forum and enjoy the awesome craftsmanship of others. What a great sport ! I actually feel sorry for those who don't know how much fun they are missing out on by not being involved with "all things" of the slingshot.
Anyway, you made some very nice slingshots there and I enjoyed taking a look at them. Great work !


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## jmplsnt

DH if you don't mind my throwing in here......



This was made by scaling the Putz to 85% and cutting it out of a red oak pallet board with a coping saw, just like Dayhiker uses. Zero material cost and less than ten dollars total cost for a coping saw and sandpaper. I admire Mr. Bill's low-cost outlook and sharing of his designs.

To scale my patterns I simply print them, reinsert into the copier, then resize through the menu of the printer. Maybe not the most refined method there is but it works for double-wide dwelling halfbreeds from the Ozarks such as myself. Hey, it got me the slingshot I just showed you so there's something good about it.


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## Dayhiker

Thanks Smitty. I am a big fan of your work and approach.

Jump, right. that's all you need to make a nice slingshot besides some skill, which you have in abundance. It's fun watching you branch out.
One more tool though: get a 4-in-hand rasp. For me and Chuck, it's our favorite shaping tool. You can usually pick them up at flea markets for a buck or less.
For big, chunky, knotty naturals, I sometimes use a hatchet for rough shaping. But I recently picked up some very large, course rasps at a flea market and they do make short work of big knots.

Also, since my hands started giving me trouble, I did invest in a jig saw. I also won an old hobby scroll saw on ebay that turned out to be a useless piece of junk. I find myself using the coping saw almost as much as the jig saw because I'm more used to using hand tools. I love hand tools -- but my hands hate them nowadays.









Thank you, Jamie, for making the Putz. Let us know how it shoots. It sure looks good, and I dig it with the tabs.


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## jmplsnt

Good advice on the rasp; I will purchase one when I return home.

On a full-size slingshot I do believe in some rounding of the contours and it makes for a much more secure (not to mention hand-friendly) grasp. However strange it may seem, I actually prefer sharper edges on pocket shooters as it allows my hands to understand where they are on the slingshot and to me, provides a better grip. This is important to me as I don't cherish the thought of a piece of red oak coming back at my face doing something like 100 miles per hour.

Will do on the 4-in-1 and I appreciate the tip.


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## smitty

I use a four in one rasp quite a lot as well, so you can count me in as a fan of them too. They are very handy to remove material quick and rough with the rasp teeth, then slow and smooth with the file teeth and the half round and flat contours it offers, quite a lot of shaping can be done with one tool. Then I use a 3/16 round for the grooves and anything else that the 4 in 1 can't reach, like tight inside curves.


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## shot in the foot

Dayhiker ive some how missed these, i love that plinker nice little slingshot, jeff


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## Dayhiker

Thanks Jeff. But I think you are more of a "Curvy" guy.







The Lil Plinker is a bit delicate for your mannish hands.


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## shot in the foot

Dayhiker said:


> Thanks Jeff. But I think you are more of a "Curvy" guy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Lil Plinker is a bit delicate for your mannish hands.


I can shoot dainty, ha ha, one of my favs is Martin credit card shooter, but i do like curvy things, jeff


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## Dayhiker

shot in the foot said:


> Thanks Jeff. But I think you are more of a "Curvy" guy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Lil Plinker is a bit delicate for your mannish hands.


I can shoot dainty, ha ha, one of my favs is Martin credit card shooter, but i do like curvy things, jeff
[/quote]

*Ha ha! Do you like ones that curve to the left or the right? *


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## shot in the foot

Dayhiker said:


> Thanks Jeff. But I think you are more of a "Curvy" guy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Lil Plinker is a bit delicate for your mannish hands.


I can shoot dainty, ha ha, one of my favs is Martin credit card shooter, but i do like curvy things, jeff
[/quote]

*Ha ha! Do you like ones that curve to the left or the right? *








[/quote]

Im not bothed as long as its got a long shaft, jeff


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## NoSugarRob

calm down. calm down.


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## As8MaN

Yo DayHiker, i really like those desgins, but i have a little question..

Will the Little Plinker fit my hand?(my hand is kinda big and i am concerned that it will be too small for me)...

If u say that it will be comfortable for me, eventho i have a big hand, i will try making the Little Plinker..

and something else:

Will it work with any other hardwood? or just with plywood?,

Thanks alot,

As8MaN







.


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## Dayhiker

Yes A-man. I have a big paw and it works for me. The key is the narrow waist. It makes it easy to hold on to.
You can make it out of anything. Where it's so small, you have to keep your finger and thumb high on the horns, which means you will most likely hit your fingers rather than the fork tips. So you don't have to worry about splitting the board and having it smash into your eyeballs.
. . . yet one never knows. . . which is why I use plywood.


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## Usal1023

Just made my first slingshot today of my own design. I think it may be a little wide but feels ok to me. I guess that all that matters though. I used oak 12 ply, plywood it seems really sturdy but I need to stain and varnish it still. As soon as that is done I will attach my bands and let you know how it shoots. Thanks for your help.

Usal1023


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## As8MaN

Dayhiker said:


> Yes A-man. I have a big paw and it works for me. The key is the narrow waist. It makes it easy to hold on to.
> You can make it out of anything. Where it's so small, you have to keep your finger and thumb high on the horns, which means you will most likely hit your fingers rather than the fork tips. So you don't have to worry about splitting the board and having it smash into your eyeballs.
> . . . yet one never knows. . . which is why I use plywood.


Thanks alot







.


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## mckee

they look good


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## Mudd Creek

My Grandpa Lee used to make some pretty cool slingshots like this. Thanks for the post.

I will have to make one with my boy.


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## Slingshots rule

thanks for the pattern
SR


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