Wednesday, December 14, 2011

More work on the Lead Launcher Design

I did the Lead Launcher design a while ago for John the "Gamekeeper" Webb. I had to work under constraints.

- Hammer Grip (my specialty, John prefers the finger support style)
- Multiplex in 18 mm (that is what John uses)
- Secure fork height (in other words, OK for beginners)
- Not too much filework required (John's products are very inexpensive)

It came out very very well. To this day, I believe this simple design is one of my best.

However, the better is the natural enemy of the good.

I added finger grooves to the slightly altered handle shape, and adjusted the fork accordingly.

Then I used car body epoxy putty to smoothen all edges and surfaces, then added a delibaretely coarse camo paint job. This looks like it has been carved from a single piece of wood, no seams. And it gives a lot of purchase due to the rough surface.




9 comments:

  1. perfect shooter for butterfly-beginners with heavy bands. solid grip and secure fork, but i miss the grooves to attach bands...

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  2. Grooves aren't needed. Tightly wound rubber strips will hold 110%.

    Also note that the fork tips are negatively tapered (thicker at the top), additional anti band slippage safety.

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  3. Excellent craftsmanship. I especially like the Bond-o to erase the joints. Elegant simplicity. Probably the strongest wood hammer grip you have made.

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  4. Nice simple design on this one. Did you have to use any sort of mechanical fasteners on the joint between the forks and the handle or just strong adhesive?

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  5. The fork part goes all the way down the handle, which is slotted. In other words, the fork part is a functional slingshot in itself, just not comfortable to hold. Therefore all you need is some glue.

    http://slingshotforum.com/topic/11226-lead-launcher-pdf-designed-by-joerg-sprave-for-gamekeeper/

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