Black Ops Slingshot

I want to give a total of four ManuMortars to Cold Steel on Saturday. I already have the Osage Orange one. Next, I tried something very different: Rubber as material for scales.

I bought a huge rubber mat, 1 cm thickness, on amazon. Not expensive. That isn't foam rubber, it is the massive type. Think car tyres. Butyl, of course, so useless for slingshot bands.

But it offers more friction than anything else. Like a competition grade motocross bike handle.

It was easy to shape (you can cut it, saw it out, file it, sand it - no problem). What you can't do is polishing it - it will always stay rough, like suede leather. And - like the motocross handle - it will always rub off a bit. So dirty hands are to be expected.

You can glue it onto wood with epoxy, no problem. The only issue arises when you finish the frame. No matter what you do, it is impossible to NOT darken the wood with the rubber particles that rubbed off. Since the effect is uneven (kind of blotchy), I decided to go ahead and use black ink on the wood. I put on the ink, then sanded with 1200 grit, then inked again - and afterwards, I applied linseed oil. The oil takes the ink deep into the wood, and seals it there.

The effect is stunning (I think). With Thera Band Black, this will look so cool. And the purchase you get from the rubber is out of this world.


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