One of the power tubes on my slingshot finally failed, and I was not looking forward to the arduous task of reconnecting the pouch to the tubing.

So I fired up AutoCAD and came up with this design. Realize it is quite preliminary and I only have about 10 shots on it so far, so it's definitely in the test and eval mode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BfBewgsFz8

Looks good Ron.

I have an easy method to reinstall the pouch on replacement tubing but it requires the webbing loops to be about a half inch longer. I'm due to install a new set of tubing so first thing I need to do is sew up a revised pouch with slightly longer loops. I'll document the install method.

To solve the problem of getting the tubing the exact same length, I cut the tube lengths a little long before attaching the pouch and then trim to exact length at the top before reinstalling the aluminum stopper plugs on the head.

There's a point in the firing sequence where the legs can get unbalanced even if the tubing lengths are perfect. After I load the slings on the trigger and pull down I always adjust the slings by pulling one or the other up or down down until they're visually balanced (both loops on the pouch match up horizontally). The lack of balance happens because the "hold" loop below the pouch has enough friction against the trigger so it's not self balancing (if that makes sense). A little tugging back and forth on the tubing and you can eyeball it correct. As long as I do that before firing I get a nice straight shot.
-AJ

I like where you're going with this. Does the tension pin go through the rubber and webbing? When I first started the video, I was thinking it would be like a cap with a screw that clamps down to hold everything together much like how a bike seat clamp holds the seat post- like this guy here:



What's holding yours together?

love
nick, who needs to replace his big shot tubes.

No, the tension pin does not go through the tubing. It only goes through the connector housing and the throw pouch loops.


It's both simpler and more elegant than a screw and clamp.


Innovation. Actually, I'm considering what I want to do with this, sooo...

BTW, I now have many more shots with it and I can't see any movement or change whatsoever in the connector. The tension pins tend to slip a bit - I may have drilled the holes in the housing a bit large, or it may be that the thin wall of the housing is not quite enough to keep the pins from moving a bit. That should be correctable - it's just not enough of a problem to motivate me to change it. I did replace the 1" pins with longer pins - that's helped quite a bit.

So the question is...how do I get a pair?

What kind of slingshot do you have?

The dimensions of these particular connectors are compatible with the SideWinder and my version of a slingshot.

However, if you have a BigShot, the tubing is a bit larger in OD and a bit thicker wall, so I'd have to change the dimensions accordingly.

Let me know what kind of slingshot you use and I'll try to get a set to you - no charge.

Anyone know where to get the same type of rubber as what comes stock on a big shot?

I've had no problem finding replacement tubing for the Sidewinder but... I just measured some BigShot tubing, here are the relevant specs (couldn't find any standard latex tubing sizes that matched it):

ID: 3/8"
Wall: 5/32"
OD: 11/16

I'm having a little trouble believing Sherrill had a custom tubing size manufactured, maybe I measured incorrectly.

Closest I could find is 5/16" ID, 11/16 OD, that's a slightly thicker wall than the stock BigShot bands:
http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=tygr

A slightly thicker wall might be ok, better than a thinner wall.
-AJ

moss

That's pretty much the measurements I got too. I wondered if the tubing is actually metric dimensions. And, like you, I too was unable to find that size tubing.