Carved Slingshot SBS

[TicTokCroc]

Start with an oversized fork. This is a plum tree I have been pillaging. We have a lot of semi wild plums around as the whole area used to be an orchard. Fruit trees and hardwoods work the best. Plum and dogwood can have some very cool heartwood and grain.


I paint the end cuts with Elmer's glue, superglue or similar so they don't dry too fast and split. Then they go in a dry place. It can take 6 months to a year to dry out and season. Or you can put them in the trunk of the car for the summer. You can also speed dry by putting them in the oven on low heat. If you do the oven method cut the forks longer to make up for any splitting that may occur.



I think this was cherry. Unfortunately I messed up and cut the handle too short. The bark and unstable wood in the fork joint went lower then I thought. Would of been cool with the two tone. It's like breaking open a thunder egg, never know what your going to get.

Switched to a different one.
Once you have a flat surface you can trace a template or freehand a design.


I like a good palm swell.

Once it's roughed out, I use a dremel tool with different bits to shape, I'll have to take some pics next time. Various sanders are helpful also.

Final touches with sandpaper.
Still need to cut band grooves, seal, buff, and attach bands... To be continued.

 

[TicTokCroc]

@Zak @Chadk

Good how to vid.


I know you like grouse hunting Chad, check this guy's channel out.

 

[mcswny]

Damn, this looks like a fun project with the kid. I do wish I had a band saw, theyre so useful.

 

[TicTokCroc]

Damn, this looks like a fun project with the kid. I do wish I had a band saw, theyre so useful.

Same, that's my dad's shop. But I can walk in and use what I want

It doesn't have to be that complicated, smaller forks just need cut to size, finished up a bit and banded. I have also had good luck just using different rasps a dremel and sandpaper.

 

[Jim F.]

I carried a "flipper"/slingshot for years when I was hunting. Great for quietly dispatching small game that was encountered, but I also used it to flush big game out of brush/dense cover on occasion.

 

[mcswny]

Same, that's my dad's shop. But I can walk in and use what I want

It doesn't have to be that complicated, smaller forks just need cut to size, finished up a bit and banded. I have also had good luck just using different rasps a dremel and sandpaper.

Any reason you couldn’t carve it green? I do a lot of greenwood spoon carving. Rough it with an axe and carve it with sharp knives. Generally they don’t split since at that point they’re pretty small.

 

[TicTokCroc]

Any reason you couldn’t carve it green? I do a lot of greenwood spoon carving. Rough it with an axe and carve it with sharp knives. Generally they don’t split since at that point they’re pretty small.

You can, the guy in the videos I posted has another build sbs where he goes more into detail. He carves his green then finishes them in the microwave. I just have bad luck when I cut one, set it aside for a few months and it splits on me.

 

[mcswny]

You can, the guy in the videos I posted has another build sbs where he goes more into detail. He carves his green then finishes them in the microwave. I just have bad luck when I cut one, set it aside for a few months and it splits on me.

My guess it would need to be much thinner than what you have above so it cures a bit quicker

 

[Chadk]

I have been meaning to try grouse with my regular store bought slingshot. Would be cool to build one and use it as well.

 

[TicTokCroc]

Did some more sanding. Evening some bumps out and bringing out the grain in certain areas. Hand sanding with 90, 120, then 180 grit. Cut some band grooves(opposite side). First coat of superglue, I might do one more. Then sand with a 200+ grit, then buff.

 

[mcswny]

Did some more sanding. Evening some bumps out and bringing out the grain in certain areas. Hand sanding with 90, 120, then 180 grit. Cut some band grooves(opposite side). First coat of superglue, I might do one more. Then sand with a 200+ grit, then buff.
View attachment 84001

Coat with superglue?

 

[TicTokCroc]

Coat with superglue?

It seals and gives a shiney gloss depending on how you finish it. I got it from the videos above. This is actually my first time trying it. Put some disposable gloves on, rub it in, let dry.

You can also do inlays with superglue. Fill cracks or designs with powdered colored chalk (or turquoise) then use thin superglue(not the gel) and let it soak in, in layers then sand.

 

[mcswny]

It seals and gives a shiney gloss depending on how you finish it. I got it from the videos above. This is actually my first time trying it. Put some disposable gloves on, rub it in, let dry.

You can also do inlays with superglue. Fill cracks or designs with powdered colored chalk (or turquoise) then use thin superglue(not the gel) and let it soak in, in layers then sand.

Interesting.

 

[Merle]

It seals and gives a shiney gloss depending on how you finish it. I got it from the videos above. This is actually my first time trying it. Put some disposable gloves on, rub it in, let dry.

You can also do inlays with superglue. Fill cracks or designs with powdered colored chalk (or turquoise) then use thin superglue(not the gel) and let it soak in, in layers then sand.

Yes, one of my other hobbies is knife making and a lot of guys will use super glue as the top finish on wood, micarta or G-10 fiberglass handles. I haven’t tried it myself yet, but it supposedly does buff up to a nice durable finish.

 

[SurfnFish]

my hidden weapon back when regularly trolling the rivermouths early season was a Wrist Rocket and kids marbles...little known fact, sea lions will actually yelp when nailed mid torso at close range, behavior accompanied by a rapid departure..

 

[TicTokCroc]

my hidden weapon back when regularly trolling the rivermouths early season was a Wrist Rocket and kids marbles...little known fact, sea lions will actually yelp when nailed mid torso at close range, behavior accompanied by a rapid departure..

The "starship" style wrist rocket extends your draw length, then some real damage can happen.

 

[troutstalker]

The "starship" style wrist rocket extends your draw length, then some real damage can happen.
View attachment 84031

Dang! That thing is crazy looking. I wonder what the range is with that thing.

 

[TicTokCroc]

Dang! That thing is crazy looking. I wonder what the range is with that thing.

Im sure it could go 100 yards, but not accurately...

 

[jaredoconnor]

Brilliant project. I love it.

I have a lot of great memories, with sling shots. My grandpa made some for my cousin and I, when we were about 10, using fencing wire and bike tubes. They were awesome. Gramps was basically a god to us, so we (mostly) took it seriously when he told us to be responsible.

In contrast, an older kid we knew bought a proper hunting slingshot and was anything but responsible. He shot his little brother on the ass with a grape. Poor kid‘s whole butt cheek turned purple.

 

[Otter]

Nice project, TicTokCroc!
When my brother and I were kids, we lived beside a heavily-forested coastal B.C. ravine. There were a very few vine maples growing on the slopes, and they yielded a few nice slingshot crotches (or "forks"). Those are very rare trees, at least I've very rarely seen any since.
We just cut the three ends to length, cut the bark off, then cut a groove around the two ends, around which we attached surgical tubing, using thin twine. And just a leather patch to hold the ammo. Other kids used inner tube rubber, but surgical tubing was way, way more powerful. We mostly used marbles for ammo, and also "steelies" (ball bearings) that we found in the mud at the auto wreckers. Thankfully, we never injured or killed anybody, because we never fired at humans. I'm not sure why not, because we sure did a lot of stupid things back then. (like drop rocks on .38 or .44 rounds that we found down the ravine! Did I say that? Didn't happen!)