# McMaster Carr Gum Rubber



## The Gopher

I just got some 1/16" gum rubber from McMaster Carr, and i like it waaaayyyyyy better than the rubber i got from grainger. I haven't measured it yet but it seems like a lot lower denstiy than the grainger stuff, which seemed stiff and unresponsive. can't wait to get some bands on and try this out. I also got a sheet of the 0.03" latex film from macmaster, although i've never used a pair of Tex's bands this looks like the same material. As always with mcmaster the shipping is ultra-fast. i also got a strip of O-1 tool steel to make my bushcraft knife. As the weather warms up, so do my projects


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## Dayhiker

Love the gum rubber. I get mine from another source. Please let us know how you like it.

P.S. Hey Gopher, how'd the two curvies shoot for ya. I might make more, so a little feedback would help.


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## mxred91

I have a sheet of McMaster 0.050 gum rubber, not as fast as Tex's 0.030 latex, but does seem heavy duty. I have gotten the best results with 3/4 * 1/2 * 9" That is what I put on the lastest Whamo.
Chuck S


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## builderofstuff

What was the part number from McMaster-Carr for the gum rubber? There was a bit of a "debate" recently about their latex being gum rubber. LOL

Chris


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## wilbanba

6856K13

probably the part number for 36x6" sheet


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## mxred91

builderofstuff said:


> What was the part number from McMaster-Carr for the gum rubber? There was a bit of a "debate" recently about their latex being gum rubber. LOL
> 
> Chris


Chris, this is the gum rubber I bought: #8633K32 It is listed as Natural Rubber.


I suppose it could be latex rubber, but they have another part number for latex 85995K19


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## builderofstuff

cool, thanks


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## The Gopher

The 1/16" gum rubber is different than the latex rubber. The gum rubber only comes in 1/16" thick and is a nice cream color, it comes in a 12 by 24" sheet. the latex comes in several thicknesses 30 mils (.03) to 50 mils i think. i got the 30 mil in a 6" by 36" sheet. it is more of a yellowish color and is opaque.

The part numbers i got were:

gum: 87145K81
latex: 85995K19

There is no doubt that these are different materials. but i like them both.


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## The Gopher

Here is a picture of bands with the two differetn rubbers from mcmaster. The top is the gum rubber, the bottom is the .03" latex.


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## BaneofSmallGame

I received my off-white abrasion resisitant gum rubber from McMaster this evening, seems like some good stuff to me. I really hope it lasts long, because I have a feeling it'll be a joy to shoot.

So, Dan what configuration did you settle on for it? 5/8" straight? or 3/4" x 1/2" ?

I think I'll play it safe to start off and go with some 5/8" straight x 8.5"

Well, I guess you'll never find out until you give it a try, I'll report back when I do. Thanks for sharing this good info Gopher

Regards - John


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## The Gopher

I've used mostly 5/8" straight with the gum rubber. 3/4" is jsut too bulky and 1/2" is nice to shoot but seems to lack a little extra punch. I've just recently started playing with 3/4" to 1/2" tapered, nothing much to report on it yet.


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## BaneofSmallGame

Just set up with some 5/8" x 9" and its been a real blast to shoot with. I think I have found my long summer shooting session bands while up at the lake.

So far it has shot almost all of my ammo very well considering the size and weight variations of them. I threw a medium sized stone pouch on the bands to allow for that sort of Hussey style grab a rock and shoot style. The free will will allow me to shoot anything on hand as the gum rubber seems versatile enough for most anything.

It's good to hear back from you Gopher, hows the 5/8" lasted for you thus far? I have noticed that the gum rubber rather porous and seems to get some sort of stretch/stress marks on the band......I don't know how that will affect them going forward, I'll find out though...

Thanks again for turning me on to this stuff, and sharing your findings! Next 2 things to try for me are a set at 9.75" in length to allow for a draw of about 34" or so, and then a set cut 3/4" x 1/2". Should be fun!









Regards - John


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## Flatband

You did it right Mr. Gopher. McMaster-Carr is the fastest shipper I know. Their high quality gum rubber is produced by Warco. The almost white color of yours is A/R gum rubber which is designed to resist cuts. I like the old style Tan gum which I think has more stretch. The Latex film is a .030" gauge-same as Thera Gold but no color additives. I haven't tested Thera Gold and The Med Latex .030" gauge to see if there is a difference in performance ( I think not as the Thera has just a coloring agent added to it.-otherwise identical) The film sold by McMasters and the Theraband is produced by Hygenic which I think makes the best Latex out there. McMasters is an excellent company and if you had some extra bucks you could go nuts with what they stock!







Flatband


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## Tex-Shooter

I would like to add a few more facts to this equation. All rubber manufactures have tolerances for both tubes and sheet. All Rubber varies in thickness. I just got a new roll of .030 thick latex from Hygenic that measures .028 which is in there manufacturing tolerance. From my experience Hygenic holds the tightest tolerance in the industry. They make both pure Latex and Thera-band. I have gotten rolls from .028 to .031. There rolls are very close in thickness over the entire roll and I have never seen over a .001 difference on one roll. That is remarkable considering that a roll is about 260 square feet. I have found out by testing that just because one roll is a little thinner that another one, that does not mean that it will shoot the same projectile slower. In fact it may shoot it faster. There is another manufacturing tolerance factor that must be considered and that is the Durometer hardness of any given or roll. If the rubber is keep over an extended period of time, it also can change in hardness and stretch ability. There are many other factors to consider such as moisture, UV light, ozone, air pollution and etc. The list can go on and on and all of this can and will affect the shooting.







-- Tex-Shooter


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## e~shot

FLATBAND, TEX = BAND EXPERTS


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