# January 2019 Slingshot Build Challenge



## SlingNerd (Mar 15, 2017)

Happy New Year, Slingfamily.

As mentioned in the teaser post a couple days ago, MattWalt and I have cooked up something a little cheeky/different for the first challenge of the year!

It's no secret that Matt is our resident template Wizard. I went to him and said something like "Hey, do you think you could make a functioning template from the Slingshot Forum Sling+Shield Logo?"

Yes, the one on the top left of the screen!

To no one's surprise he had it done in less than a day. It ought to be attached below.

We're calling it the SSF (Slingshot Forum) Dominator for it's burly shape! We'll kick the year off in style with a battalion of SSF Mascot Frames.

Matt also drew up a slightly stretched, more beginner-friendly version with taller, narrower forks for those newer to shooting or Pinch-Grippers.

My challenge to you this January 2019 is to put together a Dominator (or two or three or ten..)

Show us the progress shots, share your building tips! There's no minimum skill requirement here. Put your spin on it! All are welcome and encouraged to throw down!

In related news, there may be a sister thread to this challenge - a build+swap for those willing to participate.. But that's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it!


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

Nice looks like a nice frame fellas


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## MIsling (Sep 7, 2017)

Awesome! Should be fun.


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

Oh boys and girls! This is the way start the year.

Thanks Slingnerd!


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## mattwalt (Jan 5, 2017)

Not sure if Slingnerd would agree though I'd take the template as a starting point. Think the origin should be obvious but see how you could push it.


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## hoggy (Apr 17, 2017)

cool on this and the sister thread that's brewing. going to have to look for a fork.


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## Tag (Jun 11, 2014)

Great post slingnerd,


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

Great! Another template for me to butcher! Looking forward to seeing everyone’s interpretations.


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## SlingNerd (Mar 15, 2017)

mattwalt said:


> Not sure if Slingnerd would agree though I'd take the template as a starting point. Think the origin should be obvious but see how you could push it.


I entirely agree. I already have some ideas for mods to this template myself!


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

Started working on a cardboard mock-up. This is a great design that readily lends itself to modifications. Looking forward to what everyone comes up w/.


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

Great, sounds like a lot fun!
Lookin forward to seeing your interpretations of the ssf dominator.
I'm already working on mine⚒
I hope to finish the first test this weekend.


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Gonna be fun


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## SLINGDUDE (Aug 15, 2018)

I'm in! Should be great!


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

Hi guys,
here the first pics


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## MOJAVE MO (Apr 11, 2018)

the core said:


> Hi guys,
> here the first pics
> 
> 
> ...


Yowza! I think I see where you are going with that.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

Mojave Mo said:


> Yowza! I think I see where you are going with that.
> Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


Maybe you know more than I do ????


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

As Perry of A+ Slingshots said when I asked permission to use his Cyclops design for one of my wood butchery projects "That's not my Cyclops." If you look closely and kind of squint, I think that you can sort of see the Dominator template in there, somewhere. Next step is to cut out the fork gap and then trace it on some plywood and start the butchery!

I can almost hear the plywood piece exclaiming "I have been chosen!! Farewell, my friends! I go on to a better place."


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## SlingNerd (Mar 15, 2017)

Began last night.. as usual, started with a certain idea in my head and then the vision changed as I went. Probably one of the coolest things about building slings though.


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## SLINGDUDE (Aug 15, 2018)

Hoping to find a nice natural I can work with this weekend, otherwise I guess it's off to the thrift stores to find a cutting board and attempt my first real board cut...


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

in process ????


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## hoggy (Apr 17, 2017)

i may, with my novice self, try BOTH templates.


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

Here my first try!
Feels good... but need another attachment. 
I will try topslots for the next.


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## SlingNerd (Mar 15, 2017)

That's a spaceship of a Dominator! Way cool. Super strong start to the Challenge.

I like that even though you kept 100% to the original design you managed to completely upgrade the band attachment system.

I hope you don't mind me asking - do you have any worries about the strength of 3D printed materials?


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## mattwalt (Jan 5, 2017)

Nice work tC!


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

inspiring!


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

Well I suck at photography .anyways here is a attempt at the frame I use 1/2 multiplex and iron wood it feels not bad there be a few things I change if I was to do again one be the core I would scrape that for natural and also make waist smaller and scale it up but pretty cool template was fun build


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

Port boy said:


> Well I suck at photography .anyways here is a attempt at the frame I use 1/2 multiplex and iron wood it feels not bad there be a few things I change if I was to do again one be the core I would scrape that for natural and also make
> waist smaller and scale it up but pretty cool template was fun build


WOW, what a beauty!
I love the look and especially the feel of wooden slingshot!


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

Thanks tc yours is very cool to I love to learn how to do the 3D printing !


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

SlingNerd said:


> I hope you don't mind me asking - do you have any worries about the strength of 3D printed materials?


Hi SlingNerd, 
this is a very good question!
I work as a technical engineer, so I have lots of worries about the strength of all kinds of materials! 
I think the question is... Are 3d printed slingshots save? 
But this question you can't be answered correctly with a simple YES or NO.
Are wooden slingshot save? YES or NO?
Are metal slingshot save? YES or NO?

A better question is... Is this slingshot save? 
The orange slingshot I have shown in this thread is not save!. .. I would say!?
It is a shootable design model! 
But it is not unsave due to the fact that it is 3d printed.


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## waimser (Sep 4, 2018)

That 3d printed frame looks pretty damn strong to me. Ive still got some of my test parts around from when i started printing. Some parts are tiny, with either 2-4mm total thickness, or hollow parts with 2mm thick walls, and neither me, or my friends were able to break the parts without resorting to large tools.

That internal structure is way better than anything ive used too, Id have no hesitation loading that thing up. Assuming good bonding of the layers, Id be surprised if more than a couple guys here have the strength to break that thing with a vice and some rope.

Im a little concerned about, what looks to be, the choice to pull against the srcews instead of pulling against the solid part of the frame. Other than that, looks great.


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## mattwalt (Jan 5, 2017)

PB - that looks wicked.


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

Thanks Matt turned out ok !


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

waimser said:


> That 3d printed frame looks pretty **** strong to me. Ive still got some of my test parts around from when i started printing. Some parts are tiny, with either 2-4mm total thickness, or hollow parts with 2mm thick walls, and neither me, or my friends were able to break the parts without resorting to large tools.
> 
> That internal structure is way better than anything ive used too, Id have no hesitation loading that thing up. Assuming good bonding of the layers, Id be surprised if more than a couple guys here have the strength to break that thing with a vice and some rope.
> 
> Im a little concerned about, what looks to be, the choice to pull against the srcews instead of pulling against the solid part of the frame. Other than that, looks great.


Hi Waimser, 
the question is, what kind of strength do you mean!? 
Tensile strength? Stiffness, which is the resistance against bending? 
Or maybe impact resistance? Which means how many energy can the material absorb before breaking.

You only look at the stiffness! And that is only half the truth. 
And really 3d printed parts, especially printed with PLA are really stiff. But they break immediately without much bending. Impact resistance of PLA 3d prints is absolut poor! 
And you don't need big tools to destroy this prints. Only a small hammer is good enough for this job. 
With other 3d print materials it is a different story! But PLA is the most commonly used material for FDM 3D printing.

Yes, and you are right, the clips are at the wrong side! And this is dangerous! That is the reason why I said, that it is only a shootable design model. I don't want them on the front, because that ruins the design of the Dominator. But I hadn't a better idea that quick. So I desided to build a test model with the clips on the back/wrong side.


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

Wow! Great so far, Slingers.

Here is as far as I have gotten. Been working on getting a dedicated work station and "organized". Hahaha...

Tomorrow I am going to cut some cores out and see where it goes...


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## waimser (Sep 4, 2018)

the core said:


> waimser said:
> 
> 
> > That 3d printed frame looks pretty **** strong to me. Ive still got some of my test parts around from when i started printing. Some parts are tiny, with either 2-4mm total thickness, or hollow parts with 2mm thick walls, and neither me, or my friends were able to break the parts without resorting to large tools.
> ...


Yea I figured it was for this exact reason. Cant blame you for it, looks good. I just cant help myself though.

Ive never printed in PLA actually, all my prints have been in ABS. I was just using a local maker space, they had decided ABS waas the best all round material and ran it on all their printers.


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## waimser (Sep 4, 2018)

Ahh Hah found it!

Not sure if im going to get time, but I have a fork that looks perfect for this build


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## Brook (Mar 4, 2018)

Port boy said:


> Well I suck at photography .anyways here is a attempt at the frame I use 1/2 multiplex and iron wood it feels not bad there be a few things I change if I was to do again one be the core I would scrape that for natural and also make waist smaller and scale it up but pretty cool template was fun build


Pb that came out nice man looks like a little beast..in a good way


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## Brook (Mar 4, 2018)

MakoPat said:


> Wow! Great so far, Slingers.
> 
> Here is as far as I have gotten. Been working on getting a dedicated work station and "organized". Hahaha...
> 
> Tomorrow I am going to cut some cores out and see where it goes...


This is going to be good ;-)


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## Brook (Mar 4, 2018)

waimser said:


> Ahh Hah found it!
> 
> Not sure if im going to get time, but I have a fork that looks perfect for this build


Nice find mate do you know what it is?


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## waimser (Sep 4, 2018)

Its definitely a stone fruit. Think it might be necterine. It has a beautiful end grain, I can't wait to see what it looks like inside.

I got a bunch of these forks when several trees got ripped up and dumped. A couple of the smaller ones like this should be ready to use by now. The colours in this wood give me a bit of that scared feeling, like I'm not going to make something good enough for the wood.

Dang, pic doesn't seem to work from the tablet. I've been meaning to make a post of my fork stash, ill have to make it happen shortly.


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

Mr Brooks said:


> Port boy said:
> 
> 
> > Well I suck at photography .anyways here is a attempt at the frame I use 1/2 multiplex and iron wood it feels not bad there be a few things I change if I was to do again one be the core I would scrape that for natural and also make waist smaller and scale it up but pretty cool template was fun build
> ...


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

Thanks mate I did it at 80%its the eliminator the little brother of the dominator!


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## SLINGDUDE (Aug 15, 2018)

Think I see a Dominator hiding in there.


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## SlingNerd (Mar 15, 2017)

Alright gents it's been a hot minute.

Where them builds at?


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## SLINGDUDE (Aug 15, 2018)

I had to put my build on pause for a little bit. I hope to have something complete by the contest deadline.


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## MIsling (Sep 7, 2017)

Here are my efforts!








I went down the 3d printing path so I could give my design a go without putting a lot of time into the build. It ended up looking more like a fat handled chalice than the original template, but I am pleased with it.















I also couldn't resist knocking out a mini from a previous build that wasn't going so well.















Thanks for putting this on @SlingNerd and @mattwalt. It is always a fun way to keep the creativity flowing!

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk


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## SlingNerd (Mar 15, 2017)

It's gonna be a race against the clock... but I think i should be able to finish my project within the month!

How's everyone else doing?


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## hoggy (Apr 17, 2017)

Thought i was in, but i guess i'm not. Still have the templates for a later time.

Sent from my LG-M153 using Tapatalk


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Port boy said:


> Well I suck at photography .anyways here is a attempt at the frame I use 1/2 multiplex and iron wood it feels not bad there be a few things I change if I was to do again one be the core I would scrape that for natural and also make waist smaller and scale it up but pretty cool template was fun build


 I had to stay out of this one but you came up with a CHUNK right there buddy! Awesome job!!


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

Ibojoe said:


> Port boy said:
> 
> 
> > Well I suck at photography .anyways here is a attempt at the frame I use 1/2 multiplex and iron wood it feels not bad there be a few things I change if I was to do again one be the core I would scrape that for natural and also make waist smaller and scale it up but pretty cool template was fun build
> ...


thanks Joe I am hoping there be some more frames next couple days !


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## Bootsmann (Feb 13, 2018)

MIsling said:


> Here are my efforts!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Realy like that little chubby one!


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

I regret that I could not participate in this challenge, But I really like everything I am seeing. :thumbsup:

Maybe the next one.


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## SLINGDUDE (Aug 15, 2018)

SLINGDUDE said:


> Think I see a Dominator hiding in there.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'll be applying the Midnight Oil tonight, so to speak, in order to get this one done in time... But the good news is that I should have a finished build by the contest deadline, and I just saved 15% on car insurance by switching to Geico. A curvy little Dominator. Umm, wait a sec, that sounds a lot like my ex... :bonk:


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## hoggy (Apr 17, 2017)

Cool humor. Nice work.

Sent from my LG-M153 using Tapatalk


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## the core (Jan 13, 2016)

Hi guys,
here my final contribution to the contest.






























































I changed the attachment to topslots which fit better to this design.
Also added flat areas at the fork as finger rest.
The slingshot is completely reinforced with 3.2mm stainless steel rods. That is theoretical not necessary but..... who knows. They also add some extra weight to the ultralight 3d print. 
A loop at the end for a lanyard or something else
That's it! 
I hope you will like it.


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## SLINGDUDE (Aug 15, 2018)

Well, here she is! My contest entry: The curvy Dominator. Finished with Danish Oil. Banded up with SS black 3/4 to 1/2 taper and a warrior microfiber pouch. Surprisingly comfortable little frame in a hammer-ish grip. Had to give it a little test and take a few shots in the parking lots before work this morning! I wasn't sure how I would like the angle of the forks and the tips angled the way they are, but so far I'm digging it!

Great contest! Thanks for the template and inspiration, SlingNerd and MattW!


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