# Not tubes, not bands



## cavedweller (Mar 10, 2015)

I was out today trying a homemade jobbie using 4mm solid rubber and 9.5mm ammo. I've tried solids in the past and kinda went off the idea, I don't really remember why, but today was it quite interesting. This homemade slinger was getting about the same performance as my posh flat band ones were. I was well impressed.

In my experience the 5mm solid is only really suitable for flinging marbles through a wide fork, and the 3mm seems too stretchy on it's own and needs to be looped, but the 4mm seems to work really well as a single loop like this. Got my solid band from Aliexpress so it's just generic and cheap but it really works about as good as my flats and it's easy to make and holds up better. Worth a try if you're experimenting with bands.


----------



## Lisa (Jul 22, 2020)

So cool! Thanks for the inspiration!

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk


----------



## Tree Man (Jun 30, 2016)

I've been shooting 2mm round solids for .177 bbs. I love them.


----------



## cavedweller (Mar 10, 2015)

I haven't tried anything other than the 3, 4 and 5 mm yet but I'm quite impressed with the performance and how they hold up. It would be nice to find a frame with a clip-on thing that would take round rubber instead of flats. My homemade slingers with the weirdly bent forks seem to work well enough with single loop solids but you do have to centrally reposition the band after every shot and it can seem a bit tedious.


----------



## Stankard757 (Apr 20, 2020)

I've never tried solid. Can you do a pseudo taper like on regular tubes?

Sent from my LG-TP260 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lisa (Jul 22, 2020)

cavedweller said:


> I haven't tried anything other than the 3, 4 and 5 mm yet but I'm quite impressed with the performance and how they hold up. It would be nice to find a frame with a clip-on thing that would take round rubber instead of flats. My homemade slingers with the weirdly bent forks seem to work well enough with single loop solids but you do have to centrally reposition the band after every shot and it can seem a bit tedious.


Could you do something like this, using something like a matchstick method or something like an Occulus plug, so you fiddling with realignment after each shot? What about binding the rubber to the forks where the come out of the handle? Maybe use some paracord and do a figure 8 wrap around the tubes then a few wraps around the base of the forks. All you need is enough to keep them from sliding back and forth, not to actually secure them from flying off.









Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk


----------



## cavedweller (Mar 10, 2015)

Ah, now here's a funny thing about this single loop slingshot. When you pull the band it pulls through the fork loop, whereas on a normal slingshot it usually pulls FROM the fork where it's connected.

The effect of this is that the whole loop of rubber stretches, even the bit beyond the fork and around to the other side, so that makes it seem like I'm drawing it further than I actually am. My arms would be too short to draw it the same if I cut the band in two and attached them to the ends of the fork.

I didn't design the thing this way, it's just how the experiment turned out and afterwards I thought it made good sense. Basically, one big loop going loosely around the front of my slingshot is like me having longer arms and being able to draw back further. I think there's some potential in this sort of design. It gives you more stretching length than you have with your normal draw.

After I made this slingshot and discovered that it allowed for some extra draw without overreaching my arms I then thought it would be a better design if the forks had been attached to the outside of the hollow handle (instead of in the middle where I've already welded them in) so the loop of rubber could be even longer and pass down through the hollow handle and be secured by a metal peg or something in like a matchstick manner at the bottom end of the handle. That might even cure the band from having to be centered again after every shot, like it is now.

Running the single loop down through the handle would nearly double the length of the band but still remain useable to my arm's reach. I'd probably have to play around with different bands to see what worked the best but I think something in the 4-5mm range might be good, but I'm not sure if there's a point at which these solid bands can be too long to work well.

Someday I'll get around to making another slingshot but next time with the band running all the way down inside the handle and back again in one big captured loop.


----------



## Lisa (Jul 22, 2020)

It's a great design. Both what you have and a redesign with the tube inside the handle. If it breaks at the matchstick point, you still have long, useable pieces for a different mounting system like regular looped tubes or singles. If it breaks at the pouch, you only have to reattach it to the pouch, not at the forks, too. But with a small gap in the fork rings like you have on the target side, you could have a couple tube/pouch sets all ready to go and swap out fast, instead of wasting daylight reattaching the pouch on the spot! Really nice idea, I look forward to seeing a redesign some day. Big thumbs up!

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk


----------



## ZippyBands (Jun 30, 2020)

Cavedweller, I like your design. You are right, the extra length by the forks does contribute draw length and energy.

I think Lisa is also right in her suggestion. There is a way to keep the extra working length but solve the centering problem. Tie the solids to the forks but only at the point where the forks meet the exact center of the solid rubber.

At this center point, the solids pull from either side and the center doesn't move when compared to the handle.

You can test this approach by putting an ink mark on the solid rubber and have someone else pull the pouch. You will see the center point stretches out but doesn't move.

Give it a try. I think you will find that a small center point tie will work. As you already know, experimenting and finding solutions to problems is half the fun of slingshots...!


----------



## Tree Man (Jun 30, 2016)

cavedweller said:


> Ah, now here's a funny thing about this single loop slingshot. When you pull the band it pulls through the fork loop, whereas on a normal slingshot it usually pulls FROM the fork where it's connected.
> 
> The effect of this is that the whole loop of rubber stretches, even the bit beyond the fork and around to the other side, so that makes it seem like I'm drawing it further than I actually am. My arms would be too short to draw it the same if I cut the band in two and attached them to the ends of the fork.
> 
> ...


Like this? This natty with a 5 1/2" active length will draw out to nearly 50 inches


----------



## Reed Lukens (Aug 16, 2020)

You could just run a shaft through a pulley inside the handle and the pulley would balance the loop band on it's own perfectly every time. 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/255604063/miniature-brass-pulley?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_c-craft_supplies_and_tools-tools_and_equipment-other&utm_custom1=_kenshoo_clickid_&utm_content=go_1843971547_68645804374_346399557598_pla-295472667027_t__255604063&utm_custom2=1843971547&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqfz6BRD8ARIsAIXQCf18fPt6Q5MmUJIA-N23w6c7bWG5rzPBgK2s9Ru8zhi8r_hNFKyTXDYaAgKjEALw_wcB


----------



## hoggy (Apr 17, 2017)

nice rig, thanks for the info.


----------



## Tag (Jun 11, 2014)

Awesome post


----------



## cavedweller (Mar 10, 2015)

Lots of great ideas there. I do like the through handle idea. I still think there's some potential in the 5mm solid round band, and little pulleys could be quite useful with that stuff. I was shooting 9.5mm yesterday with flats and round solid and there wasn't much between them, although the flats I was using were kind of old.


----------

