# Tapered Tubes



## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

I read all of Henrys post about tapered tubes and thought i would give them a try. I set up a set of 1842's with a double band that is 3 1/2 inch measured from the fork to the tube that holds them together then the single is 4 inch to the pouch. I used a piece of 1745 tube 3/4 inch long to tie the tubes together and a small cuff at the pouch. I am using the single layer pigskin pouch.
When I drew for the first shot I expected the shot to land about half way to the target. There is absolutly no resistance when you pull those tubes you can hold the shot with your finger tips. I have been shooting these and a set of 1745's for the past week and I still cannot get over how easy they are to shoot. I was shocked to see how fast they were. There is something about pulling such a light weight that you don't expect much speed. I knew they were quick and they seemed to shoot pretty flat so I had to get out my crono and do some checking. The speeds from the two slingshots ranges from 195 to 217. I was stunned i did not believe it. I am just pulling to my regular ahooting position no butterfly or semi butterfly just shootin.
The first pepsi can didn't last but a few minutes so I hung up a steel can. You can see by the picture the light tubes and 3/8 steel really did a number on that steel can. I am going to set up my crono again because it is still hard to believe that something that pulls that easy can do that kind of carnage I generally shoot from 40 feet.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

i am doing the roger, 1745's with taper, i am impressed know i know approximately my speed, thanks for the testing roger.


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

newconvert said:


> i am doing the roger, 1745's with taper, i am impressed know i know approximately my speed, thanks for the testing roger.


I am going to get some speeds written down tomorrow.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Wingshooter said:


> i am doing the roger, 1745's with taper, i am impressed know i know approximately my speed, thanks for the testing roger.


I am going to get some speeds written down tomorrow.
[/quote]good man thanks! what length are your tubes?


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

newconvert said:


> i am doing the roger, 1745's with taper, i am impressed know i know approximately my speed, thanks for the testing roger.


I am going to get some speeds written down tomorrow.
[/quote]good man thanks! what length are your tubes?
[/quote]
1842 - 7 1/4 with 31/2 doubled 1745 - 61/2 with 31/2 doubled


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

Easy pull and speed! Can't complain about that.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Wingshooter said:


> i am doing the roger, 1745's with taper, i am impressed know i know approximately my speed, thanks for the testing roger.


I am going to get some speeds written down tomorrow.
[/quote]good man thanks! what length are your tubes?
[/quote]
1842 - 7 1/4 with 31/2 doubled 1745 - 61/2 with 31/2 doubled
[/quote]my 1842's ar right at 7 1/2 at around 3 1/2 as well, i keep an eye on this post, thanks Roger


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

Why am I the only one who can't get these to work? Is it because I shoot 7/16? I followed Henry's instructions to the letter and have never had anywhere near these results.


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

I have some 7/16 I will give them a try to. I have only been shooting the 3/8.


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

M_J said:


> Why am I the only one who can't get these to work? Is it because I shoot 7/16? I followed Henry's instructions to the letter and have never had anywhere near these results.


Hard to say. The offer to send you a set or two that I have tested, with my results, stands. I get about 200 fps with .429 lead and tapered 1842s. FWIW, using a single strand of 2040 cut to 6.25 inches with a small mounting loop and anchoring at my ear (30 inch draw) I get 230 fps with 3/8 steel. Maybe it's the Panama beer.


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

I wonder how Tex's pulled latex would work in that configuration? And about what the optimum starting length would be. Hmmmm.


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## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

Yes this is a perfect example of the difference between shooting a slingshot and a bow.... greater draw weight does not always translate to more speed/power, and in fact more often than not you will actually get less power from a bandset that is hard to pull back.

In tests using a fixed draw to point (slingrifle) I've been able to get over 300 fps shooting 3/8" steel with a single 1745 on a half loop, or is as called "taper".... then with the same length in standard looped setup 275 fps....


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

newconvert said:


> i am doing the roger, 1745's with taper, i am impressed know i know approximately my speed, thanks for the testing roger.


I am going to get some speeds written down tomorrow.
[/quote]good man thanks! what length are your tubes?
[/quote]
1842 - 7 1/4 with 31/2 doubled 1745 - 61/2 with 31/2 doubled
[/quote]my 1842's ar right at 7 1/2 at around 3 1/2 as well, i keep an eye on this post, thanks Roger
[/quote]
My 71/2" 1842's averaged 202.2 at my draw. I cut them down to 6 3/4" with 3" double and 3 3/4" single and they averaged 208.4. I then drew a couple more inches and the average jumped to 227.6. The set of 1745's at 7 1/4 inch averaged 219.7. The 7/16 steel averaged 190.5. I used 3/8 steel on all the other test's
Listen to Henry boys he has this tapered stuff figured out. But I will have to disagree with him it isn't the Panama Beer it is that yard long draw that gets the speed. Like Bill says if you want speed draw farther.


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Which is the heavier pulling band between the 1745 and 1842?

Thanks,
Northerner


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

Northerner said:


> Which is the heavier pulling band between the 1745 and 1842?
> 
> Thanks,
> Northerner


The 1842's have the easy pull and there pretty darn fast. It seems you get more for less. I know it sounds goofey but it seems to work. I think I will use the 1842's for tubes and the 1745's for cuffs.
Roger


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## mr.joel (Dec 21, 2009)

Why not integrate Tex's tubes for this? Seems like a higher quality tube would that not jive with this setup?


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

mr.joel said:


> Why not integrate Tex's tubes for this? Seems like a higher quality tube would that not jive with this setup?


I'm sure it would, just nobody has yet.


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## August West (Jan 21, 2012)

I used Henry's taper set up and loved it, pulled easy and shot hard. I don't have a chrony but I sure destroyed some soup cans with that set up. But I have to say that I have switched back to straight 1842 loops cut to just under 7" from the pouch. I never got the longevity out of the tapers that I wanted, I padded my forceps, used 1745 cuffs, tried different strings and still my bands always snapped right where they transitioned from double to single. I did get some that lasted a very respectable number of shots but still not nearly as much as the doubles. I am also lazy, just ask my wife, and the straight doubles are MUCH easier to make. I want to get some of the bigger theraband tubing and try the taper set up with that but haven't yet. Chris


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## pop shot (Sep 29, 2011)

for the 'tapers' i wrap the transition part with teflon tape or a strip of plastic bag before i tie. helps with abrasion


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## August West (Jan 21, 2012)

pop shot said:


> for the 'tapers' i wrap the transition part with teflon tape or a strip of plastic bag before i tie. helps with abrasion


I will try that, I put a cuff of 1745 with the tie right on top. That really helped but they still didn't last nearly as long as the doubles. Chris


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

Tex's latex tubes. I set up a set of tex's tubes so they were as close as I could get them to the 1842's that I was shooting. The pull is really close I can't tell the difference between them. Pulling my regular draw the latex tubes shot a little faster than the 1842's 210.8 average instead of 208.4 for the 1842's. When I pulled the extra couple of inches I got 224 average with the Tex tubes and 227.6 with the 1842's.
I have just started shooting the single latex and they really are not broke in yet. They are shooting very well in my book. You don't need the chinese tubes to make a set of tapers Tex's latex will shoot right along with them .And maybe just a little faster just need to do more testing. to much fun to little time.


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

August West said:


> for the 'tapers' i wrap the transition part with teflon tape or a strip of plastic bag before i tie. helps with abrasion


I will try that, I put a cuff of 1745 with the tie right on top. That really helped but they still didn't last nearly as long as the doubles. Chris
[/quote]
Try a 3/4 inch piece of the 1745 with out the extra tie


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## timdix (Oct 1, 2010)

So much of tubeset power is user dependent. Someone of Bill Hay's/Gamekeeper John's stature will generally shoot the same tubeset with far more velocity than a short,spindly 10 year old.
A good sized adult with full butterfly tapered 1745's should definitely get 300fps(bottomed out)with 3/8 steel lasting a few hundred shots easily. 200fps is very conservative,I can reach that mark with only a fraction of my usual draw.
1842 is fast with light ammo but for me tube life is noticeably inferior. When drawn hard they can fail catastrophically at the tube junction point putting pouch fingers in peril! I much prefer the far more robust 1745. Again it's operator dependent,a 10 year old would probably shoot much faster with tapered 1842 or even 2040.


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## faca (Dec 24, 2009)

Hi I come from some shooting with this setup and I can say I´m going to keep shooting with it.
I like:
long life tubes
no knots/cords
hit hard
no hard pull
Also I have found some marbles in Blue color very easy to find in the ground.
Anyway I´m very happy becouse today no hand or finger slaps and a lot of cans and bottels hits.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

i like the sleeves instead of ties, how well did that work for you?


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## faca (Dec 24, 2009)

thanks, very well any movement or lose 400 shots with no problem


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Is it possible to use Tex tubes with cuffs also made from Tex tube? Maybe the Tex tubing is too big to be used as cuffs?

Cheers,
Northerner


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Northerner said:


> Is it possible to use Tex tubes with cuffs also made from Tex tube? Maybe the Tex tubing is too big to be used as cuffs?
> 
> Cheers,
> Northerner


it can be done fairly easily, it just takes a bit of patience, the tubing has enough stretch to accomodate, but you would still need to tie to exert the pressure on the joint.


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

I have found that the pulled latex that Tex sells is a little loose to be used to cuff itself. 1745 over it is great, but the ID is just a bit large for the applications I have tried it on. YMMV of course.


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## August West (Jan 21, 2012)

Wingshooter said:


> for the 'tapers' i wrap the transition part with teflon tape or a strip of plastic bag before i tie. helps with abrasion


I will try that, I put a cuff of 1745 with the tie right on top. That really helped but they still didn't last nearly as long as the doubles. Chris
[/quote]
Try a 3/4 inch piece of the 1745 with out the extra tie
[/quote]

Made up 2 17/45 bandsets today with cuffs and no ties, I used good ole spit for lubricant so I am going to give them a day to dry then will givem a go. I love these bands just want them to last longer, I have plenty of 17/45 and it is too heavy for me doubled so I will probably use it up as psuedos. Chris


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. I just did a quick comparison of the Tex tubes to the 1745s and I can see why the Tex would be a bit large for cuffs. Tex tubes compute to 3248. The ID is almost twice as large as the 1745s (1.7mm vs 3.2mm).

Cheers,
Northerner


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

Success!
I finally got a set of "tapered" 1842s to work for me. I reduced the length of the full piece to 10" and tied the loop at 3.5" from the pouch end. These shot well and were pretty fast, blowing a couple of holes in a free-hanging steel bean can.
I still find them tedious to make. I imagine if I could tie a constrictor not around the cuff it would be easier. As is is I cuffed the joint with 1745 and then tied it with a thin latex strip. Cuffing alone, even double cuffing, was not sufficient to keep the joint from slipping when drawn back.
Glad I kept at it!


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## August West (Jan 21, 2012)

I'm with you M_J, the two sets I made were slipping with just the 3/4" cuffs I put a constrictor on top. I guess I shouldn't complain about longevity they still last longer than most bands but not as long as loops and are much more difficult to make than loops. Chris


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

M_J said:


> I'm with you M_J, the two sets I made were slipping with just the 3/4" cuffs I put a constrictor on top. I guess I shouldn't complain about longevity they still last longer than most bands but not as long as loops and are much more difficult to make than loops. Chris


If you use the brand new shiny slick tube the cuffs will slip. I have been using up some older stuff that has the grey look to it and that stuff holds with just the cuffs.


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

After my last post I made up a set of 1745's 4 inch to 3 1/2 just to see how long they would last. I just retired them after 1,214 shots. They never broke but developed pin holes where the single came out of the cuff when you drew them. I just made up a new set and could not get the cuffs to hold the tubes in place so had to put on a constrictor knot. It has been to windy to go fishing so I had to keep busy doing something


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

I made a double set of tapered 1842 this afternoon. I'm getting 220+ fps with .495 lead. The ball sailed right through a suspended steel bean can at 10 yards.


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

Henry in Panama said:


> I made a double set of tapered 1842 this afternoon. I'm getting 220+ fps with .495 lead. The ball sailed right through a suspended steel bean can at 10 yards.


Do you tie your doubles together as in a single cuff where the taper is or are they seperate? I need to try this.


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## pop shot (Sep 29, 2011)

Two separate sets of tapers- 4 looped tapered tubes tied at the pouch. Hyperdrive.


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