Wednesday, August 29, 2012

First slingshot for the law professor

Recently, I received an email from a professor who teaches at a US law school. Turns out he grew up in Brazil, and loved his slingshot! Now, at pretty much the same age I was in when I got back into the sport, he feels the same urge...

He asked me about the recommended shooting style (hammer grip vs. finger support), and I said it comes down to personal taste (mine strongly runs towards the hammer grip).

So I offered to make two slingshots for him, as a gift!

So I was left with the task to design a slingshot for a law professor, who is a beginner (again). I settled on a variation of the lead launcher, as the slightly higher fork works good for beginners and experienced shooters alike. But I wanted more "3D" for the handle, and also a "butt" that swings out like my hammers.

For the details, I decided that I want to have as many analogs to a good law as possible.

A good law needs a solid base, so I chose a Multiplex core.

US courts often use oak panelling, so I chose oak for the handles. But in this case I used moor oak, as the tree it came from probably grew at the time of Hammurabi, when one of the oldest written legal codes were established (in Babylon).

I settled on the paragraph sign for the handles. Sawed them out of the oak and later filled them with light grey putty, for the contrast.





A good law is what I call watertight, so I covered the whole frame with polyurethane varnish.





Later on, I will wrap the fork with rubber, so the occasional fork hit won't damage the finish.

Next, the finger support shooter!

9 comments:

  1. Like your conceptual approach, this way your slingshots become pieces of art .
    And you inspired me to go make something of the pieces of wood and metal that are now stored for nothing, thank you .

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  2. Jörg,

    What a beautiful piece this has turned to. I can hardly wait to try it and review it. Interestingly, the § symbol you chose is a great choice as an homage to US law! In the United States, § is the short form symbol for "section," as in 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (famous among US lawyers as the diversity of citizenship provision, which can be found in volume 28 of the United States Code). I promise I will not bore you or your readers with further comments on law when I write the review. Again, thank you for your great kindness.

    --JFC.

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  3. hi, my name is Wilhelm, I'm from Brazil, I would like to know your email address to talk to people, I really appreciate your work, and I would send you a photo of gatlin gun that I saw on your youtube channel, I and my father did.

    att
    wilhelm

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  4. that's a very nice slingshot...

    I wish I was lucky enough to get a custom one from Jörg...

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  5. as a fellow craftsman/artist I love the conceptual aspects of this piece. There is something very important about giving finished pieces a "story" whether it is a unique source material, or a analogue like the above.

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  6. What a beautiful piece. It is good to see people with a love for what they do.

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  7. I love some of your slingshot designs. You should definetly have a gallery of all of them, and I would really love to have some of them ;)

    Great job Joerg!

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  8. This is great!! You should submit an idea to NissanInnovationGarage.com

    Best ideas win $50,000 and the most innovative Altima ever. So they say

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