How to make a slingshot at home from available parts is shown in detail in the video. We will slightly change the drawings of this slingshot, which will simplify it and later upgrade it: mount a device for shooting arrows on it.
ATTENTION! A hunting slingshot is a dangerous weapon. It can cause injury and even kill some small animals. DO NOT point the slingshot at people or animals. This is especially dangerous when shooting arrows. You must understand that you bear full responsibility for using such a powerful professional slingshot.
A homemade wooden slingshot can be used to play paintball.
How to make a slingshot with your own hands
If you are thinking about how to make a slingshot with your own hands, the first thing you will need is to find a suitable tree for making it. The wooden slingshot is a classic model from childhood. Only hardwood trees with a good combination of hardness and elasticity are suitable for making slingshots. Acacia or rowan are ideal. One of the main criteria when choosing a blank for a future slingshot is the same thickness of the “horns”.
The workpiece should be cleared of bark, sanded and thoroughly dried. You need to make grooves at the ends of the “horns”, where the rubber for the slingshot will be attached. Some craftsmen, when asked “how to make a slingshot,” will answer that for a slingshot, in addition to wood, you can use steel rods, thick plywood or plastic. However, steel slingshots are considered the best, and you can turn a slingshot into a work of art only by using wood with a beautiful structure.
A rubber medical bandage is used as “strands,” although surgical latex is now the most optimal material. If you want to be one hundred percent confident in the quality of the rubber bands, the slingshot construction scheme should include branded rubber kits for slingshots. Products (USA) are distinguished by stable quality and reasonable prices.
Manufacturers of modern slingshots
It’s not enough to find a slingshot that fits the shape and parameters. It is very important to choose a quality product, because the modern slingshot market is filled with fakes, which often completely copy famous brands. It must be remembered that a good manufacturer will always provide a guarantee for their slingshot, and sellers’ assurances about the quality of their product are not a document that will help in case of defects. There have been numerous cases where a broken tourniquet led to injuries to the eyes or face, and a steel slingshot (made of an unknown alloy) that broke when pulled could have a broken piece stuck in the arm or face.
If funds allow, it is better to choose a slingshot manufactured by “Marksman” or “Combow”. The Italian slingshot brand “Advance” is also of good quality.
The best rubber band for a slingshot
What kind of slingshot can do without an elastic band, which is scientifically called a pull?
Perhaps none: after all, the main duty of the rubber band for a slingshot is to accumulate energy for its further transfer to the projectile for throwing.
A reliable, durable and elastic elastic band that can withstand heavy loads and quickly return to its original size (retraction speed) is held in high esteem.
This is why the best slingshot is not the one with the tightest rubber, but the one that contracts quickly.
The following types of rods are found:
Round rods are the most affordable category of rods.
Flat rods are the fastest rubber for slingshots, which, however, are difficult to find on sale.
The best prototype of flat rubber is a fitness band.
Thick tapes turned out to be more durable. Tubular ones are also often found on the counter. They are distinguished by convenience, simplicity and accessibility. This rod is easy to pull and ideal for sport shooting.
By purchasing a black tubular rod, you become the owner of the ability to shoot heavy projectiles from a slingshot. When choosing tubular rubber, you should take a closer look at its age: the older the rubber, the less efficient it is.
The fact is that tubular traction under the influence of sunlight, like any latex, loses its properties.
You can check the tubular traction by stretching it: the tested guideline is that good latex stretches 5.5 times. Thread or also called “Hungarian”. Most often you can find them on sale in a fishing store.
It is better to shoot with staples from a Hungarian gun. The most common material used for rods is surgical latex. That is why at home, a medical tourniquet is most often used to construct a slingshot.
Although there are those who make quite good rubber bands from gas masks and dielectric rubber gloves, car or bicycle tubes. So the Russian land is not short of talents.
When operating a rod made of any material, you should be prepared for its wear. Based on this recommendation, during sport shooting from a slingshot, the rubber is stretched only to 80 percent of its possible value, thereby increasing its shelf life.
It's no secret that men are mature boys. And their habits also remain boyish. One of the brightest attributes of “that” life is the slingshot. I offer a selection of a boy’s dream, in the form in which it currently exists.
At the end of the video - How to properly make a slingshot at home.
DIY slingshots
How to make a slingshot with your own hands?
Finally, especially for crafting enthusiasts: how to make a slingshot with your own hands, where to get a good elastic band and how to securely fasten it.
Homemade slingshots are much inferior in power to professional ones, but they can also serve well - at least as training ones for beginners. For the base, a strong branch is most often used, less often metal or horn. Wood is the easiest to process, so this is what I recommend to you.
As an elastic band for the slingshot, you can use a medical tourniquet and other latex products from the pharmacy. No, we are not talking about condoms - they are too thin, which means they are not strong enough. All sorts of tubes will do, but best of all is a Pezzer catheter, No. 22 or 24. Many old-school shooters recommend rubber from a gas mask or bicycle inner tube: if you heard such advice from someone, you can be sure that the person has not made a slingshot with his own hands for a very long time . Modern inner tubes are not even rubber, but some kind of soot... You won’t be able to spoil a new gas mask, but the old one is of little use: rubber has an expiration date, after which it becomes rougher and brittle.
Shooting with a slingshot is not child's play
Shooting with a slingshot can be either a regular hobby or a way to get food, protect yourself from an aggressive dog, or even from a person.
Modern combat slingshots are not inferior in power to air pistols. Those who are familiar with the intricacies of the practical use of the latter know all the disadvantages of this type of weapon:
heavy and bulky, will not fit into any pocket, and in general it is better to carry it in a good holster - but choosing clothes under which it will not be visible is quite a task; shooting with a pneumatic gun at a person in winter outerwear will only make him laugh; activating a gas cylinder takes time: even just a few seconds, but they may not be enough to repel the aggressor; the high price of the pistol itself, constant expenses for maintenance and consumables. Slingshots, on the other hand, are usually compact (except for models with a rest on the forearm), light in weight and ready to fire as soon as they are taken out of your pocket. They don’t require any maintenance, they’re inexpensive, and some craftsmen know how to make a powerful slingshot from junk lying around in the garage. That is, without any costs at all. When shooting at thick clothes, they are just as useless as pneumatics - alas. In addition, pistols have a sight, but slingshots do not, so learning to hit accurately with the latter is somewhat more difficult.
DIY wooden slingshot
The most important thing is to find a suitable tree branch that has symmetrical branches. It will become the basis for the slingshot. The branch must be strong enough.
Using a knife, make small grooves around the branches; they will be needed to prevent the gum from flying off. For this, take, for example, stretch PVC tape. Use scissors to make two longitudinal holes in a piece of bicycle tire to thread your elastic through. All that remains is to tie it to the base branch and trim off the excess ends. That's it, you can shoot!
