The Mini Slingshot is Maxi, really!

Bastien from Munich sent me this wonderful picture... an installation at the Mini factory, obviously!

While the draw is very limited, the idea alone is cool... hmmm.... with a longer ramp and really, really strong bands... :)))

"Lascivious Jaundice"

Theodore from Crete sent me some great natural forks from orange trees.

The web is full of information about oranges (the fruit), but there is really nothing about the wood from those trees. So I did not know what to expect.

I started to work on this frame - probably the smalles Theodore sent :)

First, I sketched out the frame.

 Sawed it out!

 As usual, I start with a very angular version, to get the shape just right. I also cut in the fork a little deeper than originally planned.
 

After the rounding and rough sanding (80 grit), the orange-yellow color came out! I was amazed as well as curious. How would this end up?

 Here is the polished frame. I can't believe the color! Will be interesting to see how it ripens over the next few days.

"The Flute"

Recently, I found some forks from a dead Sambucus bush (German: "Holunder").

Sambucus is very dense wood, but it always has a canal filled with the soft marrow. In dead Sambucus, this marrow is usually dust.

Made a slingshot from the first part.

As you can see, a thick fork - just the way I like it. You can see the marrow canal already!

Debarked it first.

Then, I sketched the slingshot frame onto the wood.

Then, I sawed out the rough shape.

Kept working on it until the file work and rough sanding was done. You can see the marrow canal!

I decided not to fill the cracks and the canal - simply because this looks very cool the way it is. Just oiled (raw linseed oil) and polished.

I called it "The Flute" for obvious reasons!

One of the nicest naturals I made so far.

Brickshooter: Slomo footage

Here is a video with some slomo destruction shots, recorded with my new Olympus iSpeed LT camera:



It is not public, only for those who have the link.

Enjoy!

Brick launcher for TV: First pics

Just completed the filming... but still travelling.

Here are some pics:

See them on the Zombiehunter forum

Wish us luck!

Time spent watching youtube

Youtube (google) is now measuring the time people spend watching individual videos.

Analytics state that number. Interesting!

Within the last 30 days, people spent 5 years and 209 days watching my videos! An enormous number, if you look at it this way. This means that, since I started the channel, people spent well over 100 years watching my stuff. Wow.

Slingshot for "Gear" magazine

The writer for the German "Gear" magazine visited yesterday.

The task was to do a photo workshop how to make your own slingshot from a natural fork, starting from scratch.

I picked up some chunky forks some days back, but then we settled for a quite ugly one from a dead dogwood tree I harvested on August 1, 2011.

So I turned it into a nice, albeit small frame while he took lots of pics. I used hand tools only.

The finishing is somewhat less perfect than usual, simply because we didn't have enough time (we only had a few hours total). But the slingshot came out rather nice!

We then let a few steel balls fly. He had his own one when he was a boy (didn't we all?), so he was hitting the target in no time.

I gave him the slingshot as a present, together with some 15mm steel balls. I hope he enjoys it - I am carefully optimistic though :)

Fork harvest

GEAR magazine (German version) plans to feature me in an upcoming issue. They will visit me next Wednesday, for a photo shooting about how to make a good natural slingshot from a wooden fork. The article will start with the "harvesting". Have done that today!

German forests have owners - and these guys don't appreciate others to come along and fell their trees. Therefore I used dead branches from shrub rather than live wood. And anyway I prefer the colors of decay in a thick natural!

Launcher of Love - the video

Last details

Have attached a few more details.

A matching aiming device, and an adequately shaped foregrip.

Shooting with the new toy

Finished the weapon. Put on dual Thera Tube Silver (about 60 kg = 132 lb draw per barrel). 

Frightening. It send the 72 gramm missile about 10 cm = 4" into my new dense foam archery target.

Then I made an equally heavy short bolt from a wooden rod, and attached a spike. The effect is devastating. A flying ice pick.

Can't wait to see the effect on ballistic gelatin :)

Shooting thingies

I am planning to make a parody about myself. Also, a lot of fans have requested this. Who am I to ignore my fans?   :D

Therefore I made a new launcher. It has two shots, and is chambered for 28mm Destruction Inflicting Longitudinal Defense Object caliber missiles.

The ammo is available at amazon, just under 7 Euros a piece. They list it in the "drugstore" category.

See it on ebay Germany

I plan to lovingly shoot those into ballistic gelatin, both with the "motor" on and off to see if there is a difference in flight characteristics and... ahem... penetration.

First test shots tonite!

Loong crossbow vs. coconut

I never managed to shoot a 20mm steel ball through BOTH SIDES of a coconut.

Tested one inch (25,4mm) steel balls shot from the loooong winch cannon - here is the result: