"Compass" design on steroids

Hello,

I have attached rollers to the compass slingshot design.

But this time, I went all the way - I attached rollers at the top AND the bottom of the frame, adding more than 30 cm (12") of rubber! This is so much that you have to pull out a bit in order to move the pouch over the top of the forks... but the result is worth the efforts, a ton of power in a small frame.

I even made the bottom rollers detachable, so if you need a compact slingshot, then you can simply shoot it without the draw length increase.

I used tiny ball bearings (inside dia 8mm, outside dia 12mm) for the pulleys, those are from RC cars... They work really well.

I am pleased with the way it came out!

And here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO_Meq0Hiac

Unidentical twins: Carbon and Steel

Carbon fiber fascinates me. The stability and the low weight, plus the cool look, is just amazing.

But so far my carbon fiber models have been rather small, even tiny. Small slingshots are lightweight no matter what they are made from, so the advantage of the carbon fiber is not so great for small frames.

So I decided to design a larger frame model, based on my "compass" design. But I used 16 mm tubes in addition to pieces of the 5 mm board.

The "heart" of the design is formed by the board, which extends into the tubes a bit. This means that the glue does not "carry the load", the slingshot shoots with no glue at all. The glue just prevents shifting. You can see the construction by looking at my "blueprint", the outlined parts are made from carbon fiber boards.

In order to compare it with steel, I made a similar one from 16 mm steel tube. The steel one ain't heavy at all, just 340 gramms, not too bad for such a big frame. But the carbon fiber one is 60 gramms only!

Both slingshots are strong enough for my toughest bands. Of course they have a low fork and 10 cm effective fork width (measured from the middle of the bands).

The attachment method works well, too! Clean, smooth over the top style.

Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrYxetJ6o6U

Smallest slingshot: The video

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdE4hJ07WSA

5th gen "W": Lightweight, Powerful and Deadly

After the idea to use a steel ring as the basis for a self centering "W" slingshot proofed functional, I decided to reduce the weight. For this, I used an aluminum ring that I found on ebay (cheaply), originally a loudspeaker assembly spare part.

This design does not need welding gear, just standard tools. The grip is a 12mm threaded bolt, with the usual ball bearings and aluminum tube as the outer parts. The self centering works really well and avoid fork hits 100%.

It is a powerful slingshot, as powerful as the steel version, but at half the weight (400 gramms).

Since people love to see destruction, I shot at some pieces of fruit and recorded the impact at 1200 frames per second. Impressive!

Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xOLW3HPzcU

Comments on youtube

The number of comments people leave for a youtube video is a fairly good indication how popular a channel is.

My last count: People left 2,968 comments for a total of 70 videos. That comes down to 42 comments per video on average. Not bad at all, for a channel that is just 13 months old!

People left 188 comments for "Slingshot vs. Ballistic Gelatine", that is number one.

Thoughts about a "race gun" target slingshot

I am planning to make a target slingshot. So I spent some time thinking about what kind of features I want.

- Fork width: Freely adjustable between 40mm and 120mm
- Fork height: Freely adjustable between 20mm and 80mm
- Sights: Adjustable in vertical and horizontal direction
- Spirit level for perfect horizontal alignment
- Grip: Self centering, with ball bearings
- Weight: 1000 gramms or heavier (heavy = steady)
- Bands: Flat bands (easy pull = higher accuracy)
- Pouch: With center hole
- Ammo: .60" (15mm) steel balls

The slingshot that I have in mind will of course be strong enough for my most powerful bands, but in target mode, I will use much lighter setups.

Will be interesting!

Micro Carbon Slingshot

Meet my newest piece, Mr. Mini Carbon.

5cm x 3,5cm x0,5cm.

Weighs 2 gramms w/o bands, 8 gramms with bands and pouch!

Don't underestimate it, it shoots 9,5 mm steel balls with 55 m/s. The way how you shoot it (the ball of the thumb in the middle of the fork), you always automatically "flip" it so there is no danger to hit your thumb.

3 new vids: Fish "Ergo2", next gen "W" + Carbon Fiber slingshot

Hello,

three new videos today.

A review of the new Fish "Ergo2", in my opinion the best commercially available slingshot today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrwPrdvZvrY

Next, the new "W", smaller than the previous models due to the circular frame:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN9hGS903XE

Last not least, the first Carbon Fiber slingshot ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=562EtayIk4w

Enjoy!

500,000 views on youtube!

The 500 k milestone was reached at the 6th of March, 2010, just 13 months after the first slingshot video was uploaded, and only three months after 250,000 views had been recorded.

1,383 subscribers by now! The Slingshot Channel is proud. Thanks to all subscribers, supporters and viewers - it's a wonderful little success.

The Sling of the Ring

I have further worked on the "W" design with the ball bearing equipped rotating handle.

In order to make it more compact, I bought a 12 cm inner dia steel ring, cut off the top part and welded two rings to the ends. Then I added the rotating handle as normal.

This is very nice! Shoots great, looks great, and is very small, much less bulky than the the previous "W" models.

Carbon Fibre Slingshot

Carbon Fiber is a truly exciting high tech material. It is extremely durable, tough and lightweight. It also looks stunning, absolutely beautiful.

This slingshot is made from that material, a 5 mm boardcut. Very hard to cut and also the dust is nasty (pure coal dust). The result is certainly worth the effort: Extremely thin, weighs less than half a chocolate bar ready for shooting (50 gramms, 800 grain, 0.11 lbs).

It is strong enough for monster bands!

The design is an "ergo" type, because of the thinness of the frame. It is held with the thumb and index finger on the fork, so there is no need for a "hammer" grip around the handle.

A spectacular slingshot, truly!