Desk Top Slingshot Cannon

OK, as you may know I am planning to make a petanque ball shooting carriage mounted slingshot cannon. The goal is to shoot the 3" (8cm) (800 gramm heavy) steel ball with 70 m/s, almost 2000 Joules of energy.

So I wanted to do it like the Mythbusters and started out with a 1:10 model of it. This means the ammo has got to be 8mm steel as the petanque ball is 80 mm steel.

I have to say that working on such small mechanisms is not easy, in fact it is a lot easier to work big size. I am not totally happy with the precision of the job, but it is functional, even dangerously so. It fires 8 mm steel balls through a few layers of tough cardboard (moving boxes).

I have changed the lock mechanism, made it more sturdy by adding two more lock arms on the opposite side. This gives the lock arm much less play.

Have completed the model weapon now, including a second winch to adjust the shooting angle. This needs some finishing work and is ready to sit on my desk!

The "real" version will be almost 4 meters in total length.

Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ9keWOP2To

"Hex Box" - No Handslaps, guaranteed

OK, following the "Cutlass" and the "Shield", now I completed my first 100% efficient no-handslaps slingshot.

The frame of the slingshot is made from thin 6mm plywood, now very stable due to the hexagonal construction. It is a box now, completely shielding the entire hand.

The handle is made from round rod and there is a long M8 screw that runs through the whole slingshot. The "forks" are M8 screws as well, forming the cores for the round 20 mm wood rods.

Due to the thin wood, it weighs about 450 gramms only.

It may look strange, but it is a very good shooter.

Now my wife wants a new bird house for the garden :-)

Cannon in action: The video

Too cold for destruction videos, but here is the cannon on action anyway.


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

Winch Operated Slingshot Cannon: Tripod Update

Have finished the tripod today, minus the paint job.

Looks pretty good! Full and free motion, and the weapon can be detached just by lifting it out.

It has beeing snowing since yesterday noon, and we are buried in snow. It is also freezing cold. So no destruction video yet!

You can see a pic of my snow covered car.

And last not least, my 18 yr. old niece Julia, who lives with us, in a nice Zombie parody during our christmas feast. I think the greed is genuine! The bird smelled and tasted heavenly.

(She is really quite pretty normally...)

Hand Howitzer 30mm steel shooter

The slingshot I designed for Hogancastings (at no charge as always) is small, but very strong. I christened it "The Hand Howitzer".

The name bears a challenge.

Can a slingshot with such a low fork shoot 30mm monster steel balls, weighing 120 gramms (1920 gr)?

Of course.

Pete sent me a few samples, here is the one in bronze. Looks like solid gold to me.

Two layers of TB black per side, each layer is 14 cm x 5 cm x 20 cm.

The impact is huge.

Winch Operated Slingshot Cannon

Took me 10 hours, but now it works!

I wanted to make a REALLY powerful slingshot crossbow. But of course there is only so much draw weight you can handle, and even the push-out forks have their limits. So I had to incorporate a winch.

So I used an entirely new concept. The entire trigger/lock part slides between two 40mmx20mm wooden rails. The winch rolls up a mountaineer type rope wich draws out the band. A rubber powered arm locks the winch every 45 degrees of turning (8 positions on a full turn) Trigger and lock have aluminum tubes glued into the wood so the force is evenly distributed and the screws do not wear out the wood.

The force vector of this slingshot is entirely straight, there is NO fork height at all. This makes the weapon incredibly strong.

I had little time to shoot it as it is dark, but it has a ton of power with the first test bands (20cm x 14cm x 7cm Thera Gold per side). A child can operate the winch, and there is much potential for even stronger bands.

A fantastic new toy!

Here is a short video, it was too dark for more shooting... stay tuned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHVQ27a-ric

Jörg

Video: Four new shooters

I did a short video, presenting four of my recently made slingshots.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuAi30DgswY

Jörg

Neanderthal Shooter

OK, I do know that Neanderthals did not have rubber... but what if?

Took the antler I picked up on ebay a few days ago and sawed a huge fork off.

Then I cut out the rough outline, with a monstrous palm swell.

I had to leave some of the outer material intact in order to maintain stability.

Attached a set of bands from Bill Herriman.

It shoots well, is very comfortable in the hand. And it has this Flintstones look!

Flechettes - the video!

Here it is - my new sling-x-bow for shooting Sabaca's really cool darts.

It works really good, and has that sniper-like look I borrowed from .50 Browning rifles.

I used 11 mm plywood for the outer two layers and an inner layer of 18 mm plywood, with the trigger/lock part left out. This results in a nice, thick stock that is very comfortable.

It is equipped with Thera Band Gold, 1,5 times hunterband strength. Even in this cold weather it shoots pretty hard.

The lock is slotted so it is easy to notch the flechette into it. One moving part is enough for the entire trigger and lock.

You load it by stomping on the fork and pulling the flechette upwards. Easy and not dangerous.

This is fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI8hpf6KNyk

Jörg

Steel Flechettes - Pure Badass!

OK, started to test the flechettes (short bolts from massive steel). The design is not mine, a fellow slingshooter from Italy (Sabaca) invented them, quite simple to make with a few hardware store pieces.

I needed a slingshot with a bit higher fork, and goind through my collection, I found the Bunnybuster Tom sent me a few months ago. Perfect for the job!

I attached rubber with a paracord loop on each end (so there is no danger of entanglement, active band length 20cm x 7cm x 4cm Thera Gold. The loops are hooked into the wing nut wings, you grab the rounded hex nut at the end and draw out.

I had to get used to the flechettes but got the hang of it soon. No danger for the hands. The loops work very good.

It is amazing to hear the hissing of the arrows in flight. They need a few meters to straighten out, then they fly really straight.

I have shot them against a wooden board, 22mm thick. The flechettes hit the board very hard, from about 10 meters. It takes force to pull them out. They do not go through the board all the way, but you can see the cracks in the plastic coating (backside) already.

The M8 version has the same impact depth as the M6 version, surprisingly.

But then I took the Monster and butterflied 16mm lead balls into the same board, from the same distance... go figure.

All in all, a lot of fun, but I am not certain if the flechettes can really bring down larger game than lead balls can.

Will continue to test, and make a crossbow that really has some force!

Jörg