Shed·bodg'ery (n) : bushcraft practiced by enthusiasts without easy access to natural materials or natural skills.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1712&cat=500&ppuser=3662
Having witnessed firsthand the handiwork of tribal elders McGlinchey and Mears, I would never claim to practice bushcraft. As an engineer, I am allowed to excuse the rough edges on the corners that I've cut by labelling the result a 'prototype'. Here's an example of a shed-bodged slingshot :
1. Find a Source of Raw Material
In this case, a classic lady's Scarpa, left in my shed by the previous owners. Hill-walkers are advised not to look beyond this first image.
2. Process the Material
An exploded diagram of the same boot. Cobblers will forgive the incorrect nomenclature:
a) Rosa Klebb insert (proving that it's a lady's boot)
b) Tongue
c) Heel
d) Rear inner
3. Fashion the Required Pattern
Standard advice for a slingshot is that the optimum size of projectile is around the size of a golfball: the template pictured was computer-designed to fit one exactly. Going against conventional wisdom for improvisation of slings, I have used the inner from the boot, not the tongue.
4. Manufacture the Implement
On the left-hand side, a tennis ball-sized slingshot made simply by drilling four holes in the heel (c in Figure 2). On the right hand side, the more labour-intensive golf ball-sized version (about an hour from start to finish, once I'd got the boot apart). The candelabra shape fits the golf ball a lot better when it's under tension; but my house is too small and full of breakables to photograph it while swinging it around my head.
The golf ball version has achieved 120 metres in the past. Maybe someone with flint tools, home-tanned deerskin and a decent set of cordage could fashion a true bushcraft model.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1712&cat=500&ppuser=3662
Having witnessed firsthand the handiwork of tribal elders McGlinchey and Mears, I would never claim to practice bushcraft. As an engineer, I am allowed to excuse the rough edges on the corners that I've cut by labelling the result a 'prototype'. Here's an example of a shed-bodged slingshot :
1. Find a Source of Raw Material
In this case, a classic lady's Scarpa, left in my shed by the previous owners. Hill-walkers are advised not to look beyond this first image.
2. Process the Material
An exploded diagram of the same boot. Cobblers will forgive the incorrect nomenclature:
a) Rosa Klebb insert (proving that it's a lady's boot)
b) Tongue
c) Heel
d) Rear inner
3. Fashion the Required Pattern
Standard advice for a slingshot is that the optimum size of projectile is around the size of a golfball: the template pictured was computer-designed to fit one exactly. Going against conventional wisdom for improvisation of slings, I have used the inner from the boot, not the tongue.
4. Manufacture the Implement
On the left-hand side, a tennis ball-sized slingshot made simply by drilling four holes in the heel (c in Figure 2). On the right hand side, the more labour-intensive golf ball-sized version (about an hour from start to finish, once I'd got the boot apart). The candelabra shape fits the golf ball a lot better when it's under tension; but my house is too small and full of breakables to photograph it while swinging it around my head.
The golf ball version has achieved 120 metres in the past. Maybe someone with flint tools, home-tanned deerskin and a decent set of cordage could fashion a true bushcraft model.