# Hype-X four



## Rapier (May 28, 2011)

I decided that my cattys where all on the large side and went about designing a simple, practical and hopefully accurate smaller shooter...

Well it didn't really take much to come up with this one and for a bit of individuality wrapped the handle katana styyle. It's 25mm marine ply with one cote of 'boat cote' epoxy resin applied warm/runny with a brush and rubbed in with linnen cloth. This won't be as shiny as urethane or laquer unless you polish or buff it after it's fully cured but I prefer a matt finish anyway. What it does do though is strenghen conciderably and waterproof the frame. This one is banded with theraband black tapered from 80mm to 60mm and is 260mm long and is very fast with an 'intuitive' style release shooting 13mm / 1/2" steel balls. It's my favorite to shoot so far and is very comfortable/concealable.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I like this design a lot. I like the palm swell ... looks really comfortable. And the circular section fork design looks good and gives nice low forks. I approve of the flat finish. Glossy finishes look good to us, but in a hunting situation, that gloss readily reflects light and is much more visible to potential prey. I do have a question about the band attachment method. Does coming around two "corners" at draw lead to faster band wear? I have no experience with this band attachment method. How does it compare to the double slit (or single slit) on the old Whammos?

Cheers ....... Charles


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Cool, very nice design


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## Rapier (May 28, 2011)

Thank you gentlemen. I forgot to mention the graph paper small squares is 1x1mm therefor the larger, more visible ones are 5x5mm. Also the drawing shows two different band attachment methods as I was trying to figure out which might work better. I went for the one on the right fork but the drawing dosent really show how it works so you can probably figure it out in the photos.

To Charles, The front of the forks where the band wraps over is completly rounded and very very smooth, much more than the rest of the forks that you can see. Plus the epoxy makes the frame as hard as glass so theres little friction compared to timber. I dont get to shoot all that much as I live in very built up surburbia and folks kinda freek when you start shooting anything bar nurf balls around so band wear hasn't even come into it yet. As far as comparing to slit style attachments I have no idea, not yet experienced enough to comment and I've never made or used a slit stlye slingy. I use this method primarily because the forks are low and flat so attaching bands over the end wont work unless I flair the tips to accomodate bands. It seems to work realy well and I think it speeds up the shot a bit because you have 20mm or so extra rubber and it kind of flicks over the fork when you shoot. It is however a bit awkward to set the shot but this is mainly because I've folded or rolled the bands from 80mm at the fork to about 18mm to attach them and they can unfold when your trying to set it for a shot but I got the hang of it after 10 shots. I wouldnt use this set up for rapid reloads though!


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## wombat (Jun 10, 2011)

lookin' good! i was thinking of using marine ply too, but wasn't sure of it's strength. any idea on how it compares with normal pine ply as opposed to birch ply?


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## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

Absolutely awesome and new design. Thank you for posting! I like the attachment method.


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

Nice design, and nicely executed as well. One thing does concern me a bit though. Are you relying on the original glue between the ply's to hold the small section that anchors the band ties? I might like to see a couple of pins epoxied in and peened over to provide a little more mechanical strength to that joint. But of course, I may just be being paranoid. A few months of heavy use will tell the tale.

I like it either way. Keep up the good work.

James


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

Nice design, and nicely executed as well. One thing does concern me a bit though. Are you relying on the original glue between the ply's to hold the small section that anchors the band ties? I might like to see a couple of pins epoxied in and peened over to provide a little more mechanical strength to that joint. But of course, I may just be being paranoid. A few months of heavy use will tell the tale.

I like it either way. Keep up the good work.

James


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## Rapier (May 28, 2011)

NaturalFork said:


> Absolutely awesome and new design. Thank you for posting! I like the attachment method.


Cheers NF. Thanks for your kind remarks. I appreciate it

happy plinking


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## Rapier (May 28, 2011)

@ Jskeen and wombat, AAA grade marine ply is alot stronger than regular furniture grade ply as it is formed for structural strength in boat building. It does always need to be finished with a poly, lacqure, or as I use and is actually used in boat building, two part epoxy. This stuff is awesome because it adds so much strengh to the finished product. The one I use is called 'Boat Cote' and is used for waterproofing, glueing, scalloping joins and even to apply fibre glass sheets! Yep the one product does it all. The trick is in the consistancy/viscosity which is mostly attained through specific temps when mixing. For this application what you want is for the ply or timber to absorb as much as it can so I leave timber in a warm environment for a a few hrs (3-6 should do it) to 'open' the grain and mix the epoxy over a heat lamp making it runny. Once this stuff cures off, say after 72 hrs in a dry place, its as hard as glass and because its gone into the wood the wood becomes very strong. No further reinforcement is nessisary when using these materials. The ply is 25mm thick so is pretty strong to begin with.

And to jskeen, the original glue holding the ply doesent really take any direct load from the bands at the point of attachment because I've rolled the bands right around the fork so the pressure is applied to the entire fork. Little pins would look awesome though, Can you imagine how a whole bunch of silver or brass 1mm pins around the forks would look. Like a top bench made knife handle.... I might just have to try that...

Thanks very much for your questions an comments and I hope I've answered them to your satisfaction

Cheers


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Keep up the good work. Let us know how this one holds up over time. Hope to see more work from you in the future.

Cheers ...... Charles


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