# Folded bands or double bands?



## Tendele (Nov 29, 2014)

I have question. I usually use double theraband gold on my homemade slingshot and tie them OTT. If I used just one band and cut it twice the normal width and folded it over on itself lengthwise and then tied it , would I get simiair results? In other words if my usual setup is double bands tapering from 25 mm to 15 mm , could I cut just one of 50mm tapering to 30 mm per side and fold it over so that it can still tie to the fork, and pouch?


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

I have made fold over band set before...Fold the band over..now at the fold you will want to narrow back some along the band tapered ..a couple inch's

this narrowed part ..when you open the band ..will look like a small valley....Now put the band thru the pouch hole.....fold over till you fork ends of the bands are even

tie the band at the pouch...then the free end to the fork.....this works better than cutting 2 bands for each side....Hope that helps

~AKAOldmiser.


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

Since I use slots on forks and no ties, I use double bands and for a reason. If one breaks I replace it and not the whole side...saves rubber in a country that doesn't sell any suitable elastic. But that's the only reason I double band.

I think if you figure the area of your band and have the same area for double bands that the two methods would either match or be similar. The double bands may, in a slow motion video, bunch up and congest more at the fork than a single band..dunno, have not seen a vid on double bands in slow motion..just thinking here.

Double bands MAY (don't know for sure) offer a little more air resistance and therefore slow down things just a hair...again I don't know if this would happen...just a possibility. I don't think it would matter much.

To figure the area of a tapered band, here's the formula:

The tapered end's width we will call TEW
The wide end's width we will call WEW
The length of the band we'll call L

.5 x (TEW + WEW) X L

Say if your band is what you said above, 15mm x 25mm, it'd work out thusly:
.5 x (40 x L) per band. X2 for double bands. I don't know your length but you can go from here.
Your answer will be in square millimeters. divide by 100 and you have square cm. of area (there are 100 square mm in 1 square cm).

Similarly for the other band, 30mm x 50mm
.5 x (80 x L) and do the above math from there.

This will tell you exactly how much rubber you have to compare and thusly will indicate any difference in pull and energy delivered.

Hope that helps. The formula is one for finding the area of a trapezoid.
http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol1/area_trapezoid.html


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## Tendele (Nov 29, 2014)

Glad to hear someone tried this before and thanks for the very detailed info guys. I will give it a try.


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## poekoelan (Jan 1, 2013)

When I shot flats, I started with narrow doubles but later switched to single wide folded. The only real difference I noticed was that the narrow doubles were a little quieter on the shot. Speed ( measured with a chrony ) was about equal.


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## calinb (Apr 4, 2015)

Like Chuck, I mostly use doubled flatbands and typically replace only the piece that's torn too (not because I can't easily buy rubber; rather, I'm just a cheapskate!). I typically also taper my bands and store extra length at the forks using a variety of methods, depending on the attachment system, or I just initially shoot a bandset at much less than 500% elongation on some easy drawin' target shooters. When a tapered band tears (inevitably just forward of the pouch), I can make good use of it again by simply cutting off the bad part. Sometimes I store the cut bands until I have enough strips at the right length to re-assemble them into a bandset. I often do this three times before I finally retire a piece of flatband!

I also vacuum bag my rubber supplies like game meat, but I don't freeze my latex; I put the bags of latex in the fridge and don't let them freeze. I use larger than required vacuum bags so I can cut and reseal them several times too, as I sometimes do with the nice elk, white tail, and antelope backstrap medallions and tenderloins that I butcher after a hunt! Overall, it reduces my vacuum bag expenditures.


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## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

I always cut double because I just think it looks cleaner.


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## Tendele (Nov 29, 2014)

I used the folded for a while , or till they broke at the fork and found them to be great. Htey didnt seem to twist as easily as double bands after each shot so the poch was mostly in the right position for the next shot. Power seemed fine too. 
Thanks for all the advice.


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

I always fold. On doubles, unless carefully measured and tied ,there can be a possibility of one band getting more of the work-more of a chance of unequal lengths.


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