Shedbodgery (not suitable for hill-walkers)

[Chance]

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.

 

[gregorach]

[...] Maybe someone with flint tools, home-tanned deerskin and a decent set of cordage could fashion a true bushcraft model.

I think this may fit the bill...

 

[Heathenpeddler]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1712&cat=500&ppuser=3662 - link to shedbodgerry photo for you

Nice design btw

 

[Chance]

Thanks.
And thanks.

 

[Chance]

To suit a standard golfball.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1901&cat=500&ppuser=3662
It works best if the three lines on each side are joined at a distance of two golfballs from the pouch (if that makes sense).

 

[rickety-root]

And here was me thinking I was the only one strange enough to recycle old shoes as a sling-shot. The pictures below are of my first sling-shot, made during the christmas holidays after spending some time browsing the slingshot website. The shoes were a classic pair of suede Clarkes Wallabees which I loved and was loathed to part with, despite the fact that they had irrepairably split. What better way to celebrate all the many hours said shoes and I had spent together, dancing in Birmingham night-clubs, than to turn them into a sling - and it works really well!

 

[Chance]

How long did it take ?
I'm definitely getting Scarpas when I next replace my boots.

 

[Chance]

Although the template shown is computer-designed, the simpler prototype method can be transferred to any object.
1. Cut out several shortish strips of material (I used paper and scissors, primitive technologists could use bark and flint).
2. Make a simple 'net' around the object to be carried, by gluing these strips along the appropriate lines; e.g. from the base to 'tangent' points where cordage will be attached. Around a curved object, each strip will be at an angle to the next one, creating a curved line.
NOTE: ensure that there aren't too many cross-connections, or the pattern won't lay out flat.
3. Lay out the resultant 'development'; and you have a template that can be cut out to fit neatly around your shape; be it a golf ball, a gourd or a cooking bowl.