# Flippinout and Dayhiker Chalice Mod



## flippinout (Jul 16, 2010)

Ever since Dayhiker introduced "The Chalice" in the shared designs forum, I have been a fan of not only his design skills, but this slingshot. I have made many iterations of this design, slowly honing in on what I think to be, the nearly perfect slingshot for the beginning shooter and expert alike. I contacted Dayhiker and shared with him what I had discovered while tinkering with his design. I sent him one and he agreed- the design was even better with the addition of a palm swell.




























I have found that The Chalice is quite possibly the perfect slingshot for introducing a beginner to fork supported shooting. The combination of the very narrow waist in conjunction with the sweeping butt- end allow for very consistent and _positive hand placement_. With my addition of the palm swells, this slingshot really exemplifies the concept of "positive hand placement"- allowing a very repeatable and comfortable grip. The size is large enough for all but the largest adult hand, but still very manageable for ladies and children. The ample gap between the forks and Dayhiker's natural style fork tips provides plenty of room for the pouch and ammo to travel safely over and through- reducing the chance for fork hits.

Please try out this design for yourself, as it is available to all and can be constructed with the simplest of tools. It is an excellent shooter for the most experienced tournament shooter right down to the rank beginner. The file is attached in a .pdf format. Just print it out, glue it to a piece of material and cut one out.

Here are a few words from Dayhiker:

"The two basics that stimulated the idea for this frame were the angle of the fork tips (not cut evenly across) and the thin waist of the handle.  The thin waist with the flaring base provides a more universal grip than handles with finger grooves. Finger grooves are nice if they're custom carved for your own hand. But making the handle this way provides, I think, a good grip for just about anyone. I was inspired by looking at Tex-Shooter's classic design which employs this thin waste. I added the flare.

As for the fork-tip angle, I have made and shot many naturals. With naturals, it is sometimes tough to get the bands to track right. They want to slide sideways off the tips. I found that cutting the tips perpendicular to each horn solved -- or at least ameliorated -- this phenomenon. Also, I suspect a natural that's cut this way shoots a little more accurately too. (I can't prove this, but I am usually inspired by the naturals I make in all the boardcuts I design.)

Now, the third thing about this design has to do with esthetics. Not all forks have to rely on circular arcs and Vee's or Y's, or U's. So to make something different and appealing to the eye, I decided to go with a catenary curve. That's what you get when you attach a chain to two points and let it hang down between them. Everything came together into something that worked real well and looked good too. I'm glad others have expressed their appreciation as well. But Nathan has turned my humble shooter into a real work of art, and, with his palm swell, made it even more functional." --- Bill Nilsen(Dayhiker) and Chalice Designer


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## gamekeeper john (Apr 11, 2011)

thats a great design, i love the slim handle, thanks for posting the pdf i think i will have to make me one of those tomorrow







thanks john


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Great design and great maker


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## CodyL (Jul 25, 2011)

Just got mine today, 1st slingshot in a long time and boy am I impressed. only got to shoot a few bb's out of it (still need real ammo) but felt great in hand and I managed a few can hits...and a frame hit. Oh well it adds character! Cant wait to get more time with it.


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## radray (Apr 30, 2011)

I agree it is a very nice slingshot. I have number 2 of 20 and I changed the bands to Tex's express bands. The slingshot is indeed very comfortable in the hand and the craftsmanship is flawless.


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

They look so good. I made one and love the feel of the Chalice. With the refinements and handle swell it must be amazing.


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## GameKeeper (Jul 24, 2011)

Looks great


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## mckee (Oct 28, 2010)

Wow i love the top one!


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