# Slotting VS tieing bands for TTF shooting ?



## J Stacy (Aug 7, 2014)

I am new to the custom made wood sling shot frames. I made them many years ago but had very little imignation about them . I am building a couple of wood frames for myself and some friends and I had planned to slot and smooth the forks and shoot them TTF . I plan to mount the lap over piece between the main power band and the frame tp cushion the bands. Give me some feed back what do you think and why.

BTW can you also shoot tubes TTF the same way with drilled and smoothed holes ?

Lots of questions and I am at the point to cut slots,holes or grooves on the forks. Thanks Jim--and old newby !


----------



## Susi (Mar 3, 2013)

Check pics in my gallery for slotted TTF SSs. Personally we prefer that fast easy method to tieing. It saves time and permits a fast band change in the field with cold numb fingers trying to chase a rubber band eight revolutions then doing the string thing or needle nose plier thing to end the tie. I have to use a vise to hold the fork when tieing, I can't do it otherwise unless a 2nd person holds the fork while I tie. Cable ties are another quick solution if you tighten them firmly, very firmly, in the field use small plliers or your teeth. You have to loop the band so that the tie holds the doubled end, that way the loop itself doesn't want to pass under the tie and if you insert something in the loop, all so much the better to prevent it from going under the tie and pulling off, such as a piece of insulated electrical wire, toothpick fragment, twig, whatever. But the simplest is stretch and fit into the slot. I suggest to experiment with a piece of wood and a saw blade to cut the slot to see if it makes the desired width of cut so the band holds firmly. We use a hack saw blade and sand the slot smooth to 400 grit and put just a little bevel at the top to make insertion easier. The band should be a couple/few milimeters below the slot opening to guarantee stability. You can do this with tubes also, depends on the tube thickness and slot width. Holes with a BB or peg or ball bearing insert work best for tubes in our humble opinion. You are advised to try several methods to see which is best for your style however. There is no Holy Grail of ways to do things, the great part of SSing is originality and individuality. We've gone several routes for attaching elastic ourselves, trial and error...so had you asked us a year ago we'd have said something else.

We use the lapped over end of rubber in the stretch and insert in slot method also to cushion the band when it's pulled. If the slots are rounded some they will obviously offer less of an edge to erode the band on the target side when the band flies forward at release. This is another advantage of the slot method, cushioning using the same rubber. Security of the fastening method obviously depends on the width of the slot and the width of the double up band. If a much thinner band is used as a change from a thicker set, you can add a piece of band to the thinner band's end, stretch it all, insert, and all will be well. That will act as a spacer/adaptor.

Tubes are fine TTF given the fork is wide enough to prevent congestion when the tubes enter the fork area after release. That applies to bands also. Metal frames as in the Marksman and Barnett are bent heavy wire and angle back toward the pouch. Tubes are attached with a simple friction fit to the fork ends. This is sort of a hybrid between TTF and OTT. This type of metal SS is also easily adapted to bands, we do that..but it requires a tie with rubber on rubber and to form the band around the metal fork end. The band isn't stretched, it's just laid on the fork end and wound with a rubber band. I recommend at leat 15 revolutions to ensure a good tie in this case. We cut ties from old broken bands or you can use regular rubber bands that are real rubber, not synthetic, from an office supply. Dental floss makes fairly good tie material as well but it doesn't stretch much which lessens the hold on the tie overall vs a rubber tie.

Something I don't want to forget is the "duck your SS after release to avoid hand/fork hits" on short fork or narrow fork SSs such as pickle forks and minis. This method requires practice and a glove to protect your hand when learning. The movement is simple lookng but we find it cumbersome and interferes with accuracy, but there are pickle fork shooters who shoot better than I do with a standard fork, so it just takes practice to master ducking the SS at release. Stick shots, same same. This release and duck method also allows the bands to flow freely after release without hitting each other or the forks or slapping the hand. Many hate this method but many love it, so again, it's an individual thing...make your own trials and assessments.

There is much debate on the merits of TTF vs OTT. It boils down to whatever seems to work best for you. Championships are won with both methods. We have both types in our collection in fact but seem to prefer TTF but with wide deep forks to elimnate fork/hand hits. However many SSs are shallow and narrow and yet the shooters don't get fork/hand hits such as Jorg's Rambone design..a short wide fork SS. Charles has an excellent video on youtube about this and also search for slingshot speed bumps, another great vid from Charles about how to hold and release the pouch. I learned from his vids plenty. pocketpreditor.com has a world of vids that are helpful as well. If you put slingshot in youtube's search field you'll find a lot of info. SSing is highly individual, that's the good part of it. You are off to a good start, just keep experimenting and be patient with yourself. The more you make and shoot the more satisfaction you will attain. Both making and shooting are "theraputic".


----------



## VillageSniper (Jan 22, 2013)

Some shoot the tubes TTF using slots. Some use "ball in tube" style for the smoothed holes. Wingshooter makes real nice slingshots, he has a gallery on this forum and videos on Youtube, and he uses slots with tubes and bands. His setup looks real nice and is TTF. Lots of options, and there are lots of great ideas available here. Good luck on your project.

Vs


----------



## J Stacy (Aug 7, 2014)

Susi and VS thanks good advice from both of you. I am retired and a pretty good wood worker so any time I make some stuff all of my friends want one !! Must of my forks run 2.25 to 2.5" inside. I make some short forks for my grand kids so there will be less leverage with the handel but the forks are still 2" high and 2.25 apart and plan to run double light tubes pulling 14#'s .They are all into karate and very fit so I believe the 14#'s will not be too much for them. Susi we used to have pocket sling shots with 1 band and no forks. We merely wrapped the band arouns the first finger left had and let fly,yes we did do the duck methode, but mostly by pulling the band forward and rotate our wrist down slightly as we released the pouch. The shot OK for some 10&12 year olds.

Thanks for your input .Now if it would ever cool off I can finish those 16 frames before I start on any more.

BTW Sniper where in central Illinois? I lived in Belleville for 8 years.


----------

