# Attaching flatbands to HTC



## Randroid (Sep 26, 2018)

I've read #64 office bands can be used. Can someone show me a video how it's done. The majority of band attachment videos are not too good as the person's hands obscure the method. I have , after about 20 attempts, secured one fork with Bill's Smart Ties. Maybe I need to be throw it against the wall again. Very frustrating. I know, practice.


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)




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## MIsling (Sep 7, 2017)

I actually find that Bills Smart Ties are a little harder to use than a thin strip of rubber. What exactly is the problem you are experiencing?


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## Randroid (Sep 26, 2018)

Using forceps I don't have enough smart tie left to grip it. I did succeed in getting one side done. Gonna try just a strip of rubber on the other no side. Thanks for replying.


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## Randroid (Sep 26, 2018)

No big deal. I should have left it alone with the setup it had when I bought it from Bill Hays. At least it won't be as expensive as my foray into airguns. I have arthritis in my hands, back, shoulder.I'm 73 and was be looking for something I could shoot in my apartment. I'll sort it out eventually. Before I stuck my grubby hands on it I could at least hit the be Target be on the catch box. Now all I get are be fork hits. My cat loves to chase the ammo so it's not a complete waste of time. I'M a gun guy at heart anyway.


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

One newbie to another, stop watching how-to videos! As you observed, they are usually filmed at a bad angle or the hands are obscuring the details. Keep in mind that these videos are often done by someone who has refined her/her technique with a lot of practice.

One senior to another, we lack the manual dexterity and the eye-hand coordination to band a slingshot "free-style." There is no way that you are going to band w/ one hand while holding the slingshot with the other. A clamp or a vise is your friend. If you do not have a clamp or a vise, try sitting on the handle w/ the forks protruding between your legs. Not a pretty picture, I admit. But, we do what we gotta do. I definitely need two hands to band.

A piece of paracord is the next essential item - try about 12 inches long and have it right next to you when you start banding,

I rely on #64 rubber bands for my banding needs. I would rather have more elastic than less elastic. Cut the rubber band so that it is a single long piece and use the entire long piece. Stretch it out several times. Run it around your forks at least once before you try to band. You may even run it around 2 times, to make sure that it is gripping the forks. Now, lay your band on the fork, on top of the rubber band and keeping the rubber band stretched, run it around several more times. You can now tuck the loose flap of the band up so that the next rubber band pass secures it. Lay a paracord loop perpendicular across the path of the rubber band for the last pass (or two passes - depending on how you band) then run the end of the rubber band through the paracord loop and pull on the other end to guide it through into a loop (for easy removal when you want to change bands).


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## Randroid (Sep 26, 2018)

Blue Raja said:


> One newbie to another, stop watching how-to videos! As you observed, they are usually filmed at a bad angle or the hands are obscuring the details. Keep in mind that these videos are often done by someone who has refined her/her technique with a lot of practice.
> 
> One senior to another, we lack the manual dexterity and the eye-hand coordination to band a slingshot "free-style." There is no way that you are going to band w/ one hand while holding the slingshot with the other. A clamp or a vise is your friend. If you do not have a clamp or a vise, try sitting on the handle w/ the forks protruding between your legs. Not a pretty picture, I admit. But, we do what we gotta do. I definitely need two hands to band.
> 
> ...


 Thanks, Blue Raja. I'll give it a shot tomorrow. You are right about watching videos. Those guys are young and have probably attached hundreds of bands. I'LL take be any of 'em to task with an M-14.


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

Randroid said:


> Blue Raja said:
> 
> 
> > One newbie to another, stop watching how-to videos! As you observed, they are usually filmed at a bad angle or the hands are obscuring the details. Keep in mind that these videos are often done by someone who has refined her/her technique with a lot of practice.
> ...


If you can handle an M-14, you can most certainly band a slingshot. Like anything else, banding a slingshot is learned through a lot of practice and a lot of mistakes. I am just starting to get the hang of it. It is important for seniors to keep active and learn new skills. Keep the faith, Brother!


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## Randroid (Sep 26, 2018)

Thank you Blue Raja. I have a heavy duty clamp I used to clamp the HTC to a kitchen counter. Following your be advice (mostly) I used a #64 office band but used forceps to make be the tuck. Your explanation was more clear than of the videos I watched. Shot by about 5 Daisy 1/2 in marbles and got a couple of fork hits which I've come to realize is due to the forks not being perpendicular to the floor and possibly my release. At least I can now practice.


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## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

If you're using office bands... you don't need to tie them on at all!

Take a bit of string, push it through the hole in the fork.... put the string through the end loop/s of the rubber bands... push the string back through the hole in the fork and pull the rubberband through the hole.

Now simply pull the band back over the fork... the band pulls against itself and the fork.. no tying needed


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

Thanks, Bill! To make sure that I understand, your method, above, makes a larks head knot w/ the rubber band?

Is this a way of attaching braided rubber bands directly to the HTS?


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

Randroid said:


> Thank you Blue Raja. I have a heavy duty clamp I used to clamp the HTC to a kitchen counter. Following your be advice (mostly) I used a #64 office band but used forceps to make be the tuck. Your explanation was more clear than of the videos I watched. Shot by about 5 Daisy 1/2 in marbles and got a couple of fork hits which I've come to realize is due to the forks not being perpendicular to the floor and possibly my release. At least I can now practice.


Good to hear this! If you have not done it yet, run a length of paracord through the lanyard hole at the bottom of the slingshot - a wrist sling makes a big difference.

Keep practicing and keep learning!


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## Randroid (Sep 26, 2018)

My HTS came with an attached lanyard. Here's one good for a laugh : when I finished shooting yesterday I took a leak and flushed the toilet. Water came rushing out of a cracked rim of the commode. Used gorilla glue to glue a section of the ceramic.Been peeing in a milk carton. Reminds me of when I drove an 18 wheeler. Maintenance guy is going to look at it today. Moral of the story: If you are shooting toward a catch box that is setting near anything breakable, protect whatever it is.


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

The sacrifices we make! Seems like a small price to pay to be able to shoot indoors.


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## Randroid (Sep 26, 2018)

Actually, the toilet will ultimately be replaced. I didn't take into account the fact I'M, afflicted with kyphosis, a condition where the spine is curved forward (hunchback), but not as extreme as Quasimodo, hahahaha. I have a brace, but it doesn't really help. I doubt if I can even shoot a rifle from the offhand position anymore. If I can, I'm going to list everything I have, including Slingshot Shooting, by Jack Koehler. Good book, the pages fall out by as I discovered was normal for this book.


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