# plywood?



## vashshadow (Sep 12, 2014)

So I found out pine board is bad for slingshots so for plywood is project board good to use?


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## JTslinger (Jan 26, 2015)

Pine is relatively soft and will break under pressure. With ply wood, make sure you are using marine grade plywood. Particle board plywood will break as well.


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## Samurai Samoht (Apr 6, 2013)

Baltic Birch Plywood is my suggestion. Has lots of layers and alternating grains so its good and strong.

Tom


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

baltic birch is perfect you can find small pieces at hobby lobby or other craft stores you need at least 1/2 inch they have pieces like 2ft by 3 ft and other sizes like that because a full sheet of baltic birch or cabinet grade plywood will cost alot of money and unless you plan on making a bunch of shooters it is way more than you need


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## vashshadow (Sep 12, 2014)

Well lucky for me there's a hobby lobby next to whereally I live lol. Out of just pure wondering would spray resin or fiberglass work to reinforce pine I'm guessing it won't work but never bad to ask


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

what is the thickness of the pine in your shooter and what kind of bands or tubes are you shooting if you are shooting light bands or tubes you may be ok


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## vashshadow (Sep 12, 2014)

It's 1.5 inches thick and I'm using simpleshots large tubes not much heavy pulling


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## BAT (Feb 26, 2015)

I am working with 18 mm pine plywood for some slings, with single teraband golds, shooting 1 cm diameter marbles. So far so good. I have some slings made of 20 mm pine board, but always have used light tubes/bands. I just had one roken by my father in law, (too much draw  ) I will move to Birch or maple ply as advised here in the forum.


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## vashshadow (Sep 12, 2014)

Ya I only have 3060 tunes no theraband


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## BAT (Feb 26, 2015)

U can try Encino board, it´s harder than pine.

Are you using your slings to target shooting or hunting?

Cheers.


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## vashshadow (Sep 12, 2014)

Small game hunting I have a hdpe one I made


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## bigdh2000 (Feb 9, 2015)

If you have access to places like Home Depot or Lowe's, the furniture grade plywood is excellent as well. The honest reality is that any plywood over 1/2" thick is perfectly safe as long as you check for for voids (less than that you might need to run some tests before putting it in front of your face). The big problem is that so much of the cheaper plywood is just plain ugly. The cheaper plywood, often referred to as structural plywood, is designed to use under house siding. As long as it meets the strength requirements as a full sheet of plywood, voids are acceptable. However, when you cut it down to slingshot size, a knot void in the fork is not acceptable. The furniture grade plywood has higher grade layers (very few voids permitted) and far more suitable when cut down to slingshot size.

Testing - clamp the top of the forks in a vice, put something around the handle and pull twice as hard as you would with the bands to see if it breaks.


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

I will this post this once again. It can't be said too often.

Unless you really know what you are doing, how to select wood that is strong enough, how to orient grain, how to select a strong design, are willing to test the SS properly, and never get fork hits, DO NOT use solid board for making slingshots. Especially for hunting! Use plywood, a natural fork, or some other durable material that will not break when mistreated. The last solid frame I made, about 4 year ago, was a very nice piece of mahogany that I pull tested at 50 pounds per fork. While sanding, it slipped from my hand, fell on the floor, and a fork broke off.


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## Lee Silva (Feb 9, 2013)

It's so very true! Use materials of known strength, or known for strength.... Otherwise you're bound to find (likely the hard way) it's unknown weakness..

Be safe, and don't take anything for granted......... When in doubt the forum will take care of you.


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## vashshadow (Sep 12, 2014)

U stress tested the pine it snapped pretty easy so it's off to get some baltic birch now


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