# The Flippinout Sampler



## flippinout (Jul 16, 2010)

Ultraman commissioned me to create for him a "Sampler" of my work and left it at that.....

I love it when someone gives me free reins to simply create. Of course, by now I do have good sense of how Ultraman's tastes run, so that makes it a little easier to narrow down my choices.

He wanted a broad sampling of what I create, so here it is with descriptions.

First, I thought back on what got me into slingshots again. It was the simple board cut pocket shooter. No frills, nothing shapely or wildly ergonomic. Just a frame that fits in the hand well, holds the bands, and gets the job done. Simple, classic, and coincidentally incredibly accurate shooting platform. This little sweetheart is made from common, yet very beautiful north American woods- Red Cedar core sandwiched with Mulberry. Since both of these woods are not dense, I added Argentinian Lignum Vitae tips to provided a wood with sufficient density and interlocking grain to protect against possible fork hits. I chose to not file in band grooves for several reasons, but primarily to maintain the simple and flowing lines inherent in the pocket shooter design. 
I use several different finishes in my work, and I chose to use a hand rubbed gun stock finish on this one(Birchwood-Casey Tru Oil). The frame was sanded smooth and 9 consecutive hand rubbed coats were applied. The result is stunning. The Mulberry will darken to a deep chestnut color with age and the three woods will continue to complement one another. This one was banded with .040 latex tapered to shoot 7/16" steel.









Naturals are what most folks think of when they think "Slingshot" and no sampler would be complete without one. But I can't just make a simple natural, not for a Flippinout Sampler!!

Ultraman was concerned that I may send him a natural in the mix and he really had no interest in receiving one(his only directive to me in commissioning the work). No problem, I decided to make him a hybrid natural and it came out GREAT!!

I began the build by choosing a White Oak fork that was asymetric, as I tend to like the less than perfect 'Y' for my naturals. After cutting, gluing, drilling, sanding, shaping, and tinkering- his natural was not so natural anymore. I had been playing around with an idea to make naturals more ergonomic, beyond the ergonomics mother nature provides. I really wanted to lock the hand into one place, and create what I call "positive hand placement" on a natural platform. It is my belief that the more points of positive contact you can have with the frame, the more repeatability one can achieve when shooting it. I added the a large butt end to the handle to wrap around the hypothenar aspect of the palm so that the frame "nestles" itself into the hand the same way everytime. 
The core of the frame is once again Red Cedar. The fork tips are Purpleheart and Micarta, pinned through the forks with 1/8"brass rod for added strength. The butt end is laminations of Paduak, Purpleheart, Micarta, and Maple. To top it all off, I added a brass lined lanyard hole and braided lanyard. It is finished with an ultra hard two part catalyzed varnish. It is banded with .040 latex tapered to shoot 3/8" steel.
This is a brilliant shooter and as I told Ultraman, "I hope you don't like it, I would be glad to make something different for you!!" This is a great slingshot!!










No Flippinout Sampler would be complete with one of my _Original Roosevelt style Leather Laminated slingshots_. I have come a long way since I introduced the first Roosevelt. The leather offers not only a unique and rugged beauty, but personality. The more this slingshot is carried, handled, and used- the better it looks. Much like a good belt or pair of boots.
This particular model is my latest design and the debut showcasing of it. The forks are the same size as the Small size in my current design line. However, I stretched the handle to make it longer and changed the cross section to accommodate a larger hand. It is an incredibly accurate and comfortable shooter.
There are four laminations of 10-12 oz top grain saddle leather with an Ipe core. The palm swell is made from Black Cherry and sports some fantastic figure. It was banded with double theraband gold cut to JohnBoy's Hyperband dimensions(my personal favorite band setup) I will let pictures do the talking.










Thanks for looking and if anyone would like to have a Sampler made for them, send me a message and I will get to work!!


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## Ultraman (May 20, 2011)

Thank you Nathan!

Just for everyone's information I not only order a FLIPPINOUT *SAMPLER* but days later commissioned Nathan to make me a WHAM-O Sportsman reproduction as I am learning that I prefer a bit larger frame and double slotted TTB set up. Of course Nathan said "sure" but can I do it "My way?". So I thought, "what the heck"... hey Nathan YES do it your way and do me up a *TTF TRIO *as well!
Well I'm sure he will be posting them soon as well but I want to tell you all that YES I SPENT a few hundred bucks but EASILY received well over double what I paid in value!

Thank you again Nathan, I can't wait until you start on my FLIPPINOUT *VICTOR 20* reproduction!

All I have left to say at this time is...


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Oh my.







Can't think of anything good enough to say.


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## shawnr5 (Feb 16, 2011)

Beautiful set. I think that Ultraman may just have an addiction. A heck of a nice collection, but an addiction nonetheless.


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## Ultraman (May 20, 2011)

You my friend are SO right!
I do have plans to get one more from Nathan, a *VICTOR 20* a-la FLIPPED-OUT reproduction, one more from Slingshot Canada and some kind of Pocket Predator.
After that I HOPE I'm finished.









Seriously though If you want the BIGGEST BANG for the $BUCK$, Just tell Nathan what you want and just tell him to keep the price under whatever.
You WILL get double or triple in value of what you spent. 
I told him just last night that I'm so GLAD I found him BEFORE he gets FAMOUS!











shawnr5 said:


> Beautiful set. I think that Ultraman may just have an addiction. A heck of a nice collection, but an addiction nonetheless.


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Heck of a job Nathan, and nice work by you Bill for picking the right guy to get treasure from! I went crazy too the first time I saw Nathans craftsmanship and talent. He is easily one of the most talented woodworkers I've run into. Awesome creativity and designs and they shoot too!!!!!! Good luck with that addiction thing Bill. I've never heard of it










































Flatband


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## mckee (Oct 28, 2010)

fantastic job


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

Fan-freaking-tastic!
Those are all sure-fire winners and putting them all together is probably all the collection anyone would really need.
Well done once again Nathan. Are you still finding time to shoot with all the buisness you're doing?


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## NoSugarRob (Jun 3, 2010)

words fail ....


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Ultraman said:


> You my friend are SO right!
> I do have plans to get one more from Nathan, a *VICTOR 20* a-la FLIPPED-OUT reproduction, one more from Slingshot Canada and some kind of Pocket Predator.
> After that I HOPE I'm finished.


Uh-huh, yeah, right. "Finished". Sure thing. You betcha!









Henry


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Dayhiker said:


> Oh my.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Martin (Jan 17, 2010)

Ultraman should be pleased with these beautiful slingshots.

Martin


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## Ultraman (May 20, 2011)

ULTRAMAN IS VERY PLEASED!!!! However feels a bit like he cheated FLIPPINOUT.

I can't say how much I was charged for these three forks but I will say that what I paid was barely enough to cover ONE! Let alone THREE!
I LOVE ALL my slingshots and the Craftsmen that made them but honestly DOLLAR for DOLLAR one gets TRIPLE what you pay for
when dealing with... FLIPPINOUT SLINGSHOTS!




























Martin said:


> Ultraman should be pleased with these beautiful slingshots.
> 
> Martin


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