# Question on Wham O Sportsman bands



## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

Hi guys,
got a old Wham O, got new bands (thanks Flatband ) are there any tips or tricks to putting them together?? Looking forward to shooting the old girl..


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## Thwupp-p-p (Jan 17, 2010)

I refurb'ed an old Wham-O with Flatband's "regular" bands, too. The only issue I had was making sure to remove all of the old gunky, crusted latex residue from prior bands that had hardened inside the four slots before attempting to put the new bands on it...

(Mine is a _real_ oldie marked "South Pasadena" -- made while the company was still located in a garage in that city before moving to Alhambra, CA and then finally to San Gabriel, CA.)

Aren't they cool?!


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Hey Thwupp,you have real old gem there Bud. I think that may have been their second production run. Does yours have a stick on type label rather then the stamped name? Very NIce! Flatband


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Hey Harp, when you mount your bands on your Wham-o,start from the out side slot-stretch it and put it in,then mount the inside slot. Do the same for the other side and make sure your ends on the out side are equal. Make sure the bands are equal before mounting too. Have fun Bud!







Flatband


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## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

Thwupp

Well Mine unfortunately is a later San Gabriel model and has some cosmetic issues, has a couple battle scars and was really rough around the groves (which almost look like came during manufacture) also had to dig out old latex from the groves. Some day I'll get myself a more pristine one but for now this one will do fine. 
It amazes me that such a crudely made piece of wood could have such a mythic quality.


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## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

Flatband said:


> Hey Harp, when you mount your bands on your Wham-o,start from the out side slot-stretch it and put it in,then mount the inside slot. Do the same for the other side and make sure your ends on the out side are equal. Make sure the bands are equal before mounting too. Have fun Bud!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Flatband, still doing a little clean up on it, can't wait to take it out shooting, I have a feeling it's been a long time for the old gal.


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## Thwupp-p-p (Jan 17, 2010)

Flatband said:


> Hey Thwupp,you have real old gem there Bud. I think that may have been their second production run. Does yours have a stick on type label rather then the stamped name? Very NIce! Flatband


Gary, the label appears to be a decal -- _I think? _


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Oh you got a real treat there Bud! That IS an older one. I would say possibly first garage production run. A rare bird. Put that one on the shelf and bid for another one and use it instead! AWESOME! I have one that is in a mint condition cardboard blister pack (never opened) and also one with the cardboard box but none as old as yours. COOL! Flatband


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## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

Question number 6032, is it common for the bands to creep up in the slots and is there any way to prevent that??
thanks


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## Thwupp-p-p (Jan 17, 2010)

I'm not going to be much help because after I rigged _mine_ up, it looked so nice that I made a drawer queen out of it -- and never shot it?!







The only thoughts that come to mind are:


Maybe the inside of the slots are too smooth or have a little poly/finish residue in them?
Did you maybe install one of Gary's higher-end/thinner band-sets rather than his "basic" set?
If you used uv protectant on the bands -- did maybe some of the solution possibly get too far up the bands and work its way into the slots?
Keep posting on how it's going!


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## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

Thanks Thwump, 
As far as I know it's a basic set that Gary sent me,as for the grooves I went over them lightly with a jewelers file to make sure they weren't obstructed but they were far from smooth, and no UV on the bands. Could be that a past owner opened them up, who knows? It's not a major problem just one of those things you have to keep a eye on.
If I had one as old as yours I sure as heck wouldn't be using it either.

Took it out after I got the band on tonight around 11 pm and shot off about a half dozen marbles into the side of the shed, I'm sure my neighbors love me, but I just couldn't wait till tomorrow. I was basically shooting blind so I have no idea if I was hitting what I aimed at but it sure felt good in the hand.


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

The problem with the "creeping " of the bands upward can be eliminated by using some tape over the top of the slots. I like electricians tape for that. Gum rubber can have differences in thicknesss from different companies. They all say 1/16" thick, but I've seen them as thin as .040" and as thick as .090" for a product labeled .062" thick. For that reason and more so because they wanted to install tubes in the slots ( couldn't get flats for many years unless you cut them yourself), some of the past owners of used Wham-o's opened the slots up. Flatband


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## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

Thanks Flatband, it doesn't look like they were opened enough for tubes and the creep isn't terribly bad, I'll try the electrical tape. I had actually thought of that this morning when I was looking through the tool box for something else.


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## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

Well here she is all dressed up and ready to shoot, wrapped the fork ends with electrical tape to help with the creep. Took her out today and gave her a go. Funny thing is with my Victor and natural forks I'm pretty much a instinctual shooter but with this one I have to aim or I can't hit the broad side of a barn.


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Nice neat job Bud! Have fun! Flatband


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## Thwupp-p-p (Jan 17, 2010)

Woo-Hoo! Very nice restoration, harpersgrace!


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