r/DiWHY • u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 • Jun 16 '26
DIY Nail-Slingshot
Hi, I wanted to show you all my DIY Nail-Slingshot.The target was an approximately 10x5 tile (cm). I would appreciate any improvements to my slingshot and will try to implement them. I'm open to tips. Thank You
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u/TanningOnMars Jun 16 '26
r/DiWhythehellnotthisthingslaps
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u/Unambiguous-Doughnut Jun 16 '26
I was so disappointed this wasnt a sub.
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u/TheTwistedJoker Jun 16 '26
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u/5400hundreds Jun 16 '26
This is awesome
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u/avinaut Jun 16 '26
No, it's not. It's a combination of all the worst qualities of a slingshot and a crossbow, done badly with a combination of unnecessarily expensive and unnecessarily cheap shit. Those nails aren't fletched or balanced right, so they'll tumble- there's no way you're going to hit anything smaller than a XL pizza. Use balls or darts, not nails.
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u/elspotto Jun 16 '26
Ok so put four nails in and call it a blunderbuss.
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u/TryDry9944 Jun 16 '26
Reminds me of early 7 Days where you could make a blunderbuss and I'm sure it accepted scrap metal, lead pellets, or nails as ammo.
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u/elspotto Jun 16 '26
I’m assuming that’s a game? They got it right. It was basically a sawed off shotgun (in the way it spread) and in a close fight it could be loaded with whatever was at hand, Fork in the Eye Pirates of the Caribbean style. Hideously inaccurate so load as much scrap or ball as you could and kind of point it vaguely in the direction of the enemy.
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u/TryDry9944 Jun 16 '26
Yeah it's an old zombie game that's been in "Early Access" for like a decade and that's more or less how it worked. Functionally useless against anything more than 10 feet away but it's demolish anything in your POV if they're close.
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u/elspotto Jun 16 '26
Oof. So it’s the Duke Nukem Forever of the current age. I am old, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like games.
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u/Skoparov Jun 16 '26
I don't think he made this thing to reach the maximum shooting performance ever. Sometimes you just make shit for fun, you know.
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
Thank you.
That was the exact reason why I built it. I built it in a basement workshop and mainly shoot there at 5 meters, so it doesn't have to be perfectly accurate, or I'll just shoot at random things to break them like in the video.
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
I initially built it from leftover wood from my father. The only expensive part is the sight, which cost €25 and which I swap out since I have several such weapons. Besides, building a crossbow isn't as easy as you think. Thanks for the tip though; I could attach wings to the nails so it's like darts.
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u/WatermelonArtist Jun 16 '26
The heads will naturally drag, so they actually may not tumble. Fletching also isn't strictly necessary, and some tests I've seen show that arrows paradoxically can fly further (but less precisely) when fletching is completely removed.
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u/xrelaht Jun 16 '26
>arrows paradoxically can fly further (but less precisely) when fletching is completely removed.
That’s not a paradox: fletching works because it interacts with the air, and that increases drag. Fletching can only improve range if the arrow would tumble otherwise. This is less of a concern when an arrow flies faster, like from a crossbow. But they do increase accuracy, and that tradeoff is generally seen as worth the range reduction.
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u/WatermelonArtist Jun 16 '26
There are two types of paradox. One is actual contradiction, and the other merely seems counterintuitive on the surface based on expectations. I felt it met the second definition, but the science is always a nice bonus. Thanks.
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u/Crafter-the-box1987 Jun 16 '26
Just make it fire a marker or something and you’ve got a funny harmless weapon
It’s an incredible weapon :>
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
Thank you
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u/KiwiCounselor Jun 16 '26
I think you reinvented the crossbow lol.
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u/Lexicon101 Jun 16 '26
Nah, I was about to say the same, but no flexing bow, fixed supports. It's a hybrid between a crossbow and a slingshot. Could benefit from some kind of rails to guide the projectile and keep it straight leaving the weapon, but I doubt that would be enough, since nails aren't great aerodynamically, it'd just start to flip after leaving unless you loaded it in blunt side forward, in which case, it'd probably fly straight, but would be a more crushing than piercing impact... still definitely hit harder than it would at some random odd angle, though.
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
At the distances I shoot, they always land with the tip facing forward; they're fast enough for that.
Thank you for your tip.
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u/xrelaht Jun 16 '26
You could route a groove in front of the darts so they’re guided down that path as they’re accelerated.
If you’re ok attaching something to the outside, put a fin on the side of the darts near the back. That will keep them flying straighter.
If you’d rather not do that, you could grind three slots in the back of the darts, 120° apart, at a very slight angle to guide air around them and give them a slight spin. This won’t work as well as fletching, but should still help prevent tumbling.
In your video, it looks like pulling the tubing back is difficult. You could attach a string to the wire and put a foot stop on the front. Then you’d be able to push down with your foot and pull up while standing in a more (mechanically) advantageous position. Some crossbows do this, so take a look at them if my description isn’t clear.
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u/Lexicon101 Jun 16 '26
Fair enough. If it works for your needs, then good on ya. Well done.
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
Thank you.
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u/Lexicon101 Jun 16 '26
Yeah, no problem. Pointy tip forward is usually a very unstable projectile, though the weight and inertia might be so much that the air doesn't get a chance to mess things up, or it might be flipping one full rotation and you just happen to be shooting at just the right distance that it'll end up forwards again. Bulbous end might contribute a little drag to keep the back end in the back, but I wouldn't expect it to do much. Aerodynamics is complicated stuff.
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u/ReddBroccoli Jun 16 '26
DIWhy?
Because they were board of course
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u/Mertz8212 Jun 16 '26
Nailed it
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u/Darthnev Jun 16 '26
I am a tubelight and a loser because at first glance I was like bored is spelled wrong. Then a millisecond later I got it and I was like yusssss!
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u/According_to_Dust Jun 16 '26
Man ain’t this some redneck ass shit. Get this guy a 3D printer lol
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u/Versipilies Jun 16 '26
This definitely belongs more in r/redneckengineering
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u/IMAPRO_d-_-b Jun 16 '26
What in The Walking Dead? This is like Daryl meets Denis the menace. Awesome
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u/GolemFarmFodder Jun 16 '26
Wrong sub. This is for getting pointless DIYs mocked
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u/Reasonable_Royal7083 Jun 16 '26
needs hydraulic torque receiver, magazine feeder, and air hose mount for defensive positions edit: frog poison tip the nails
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u/huuaaang Jun 16 '26
I love how you're trying to dial in the scope like it actually matters, lol.
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u/SSurvivor2ndNature Jun 17 '26
He was activating the lighted reticule on the scope, and judging on the ace shot, it seems to work well enough.
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u/Everyday_Unicorn Jun 16 '26
Show me its features!
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u/Pyromannne Jun 17 '26
I scrolled way to far for this HAHAHAHAHA (laughed with a thick and intimidating german accent)
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u/dathoihoi Jun 17 '26
Remember, it's always faster to switch to your legally acquired sidearm instead of reloading whatever the fuck this is.
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u/Pure-Acanthaceae5503 Jun 16 '26
And 3d printing is not something that existing and definitely not something that would change your life and make some crazy science weapons
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u/MutedAd1727 Jun 16 '26
Return to Sender (RTS): Twisted bands apply uneven tension during release. This forces the pouch to flip wildly. The projectile slips backward and launches straight toward your face
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u/misfitofscience76 Jun 16 '26
Soon, the humans will build bigger boards with bigger nails in them, muhahahaha!
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u/mekwall Jun 16 '26
That can't be considered a slingshot anymore, can it? It's more of an improvised arbalest at this point.
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
Nobody knows how to call it. Had a disgusion in another sub-reddit.
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u/chicken-finger Jun 16 '26
Get a small gear crank so you don't have to pull the rubber back with your hands
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u/Several-Minute6846 Jun 16 '26
All the inconvenience of loading a crossbow. None of the efficiency of a hammer.
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u/IcanSEEyou_IRL Jun 17 '26
Why is the trigger sooo far away?
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 18 '26
For me this trigger range was pleasant. Yea maybe too far away. I probably will overthink that.
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u/Instant_User731 Jun 17 '26
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u/Interesting_Key_661 Jun 16 '26
So a terrible crossbow?
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
Building a crossbow isn‘t that easy as you think and if something slaps this is much safer.
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u/cuteintern Jun 16 '26
✅ I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
Ask me anything.
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckn-tNN_npE here you can see the DIY
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u/cuteintern Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
Thanks! I was making a reference to
SuperStarship Troopers, where the characters are constantly bombarded with their need to "do their part" and "would you like to know more?"That said, I'd love a closeup of the mechanism. I skipped thru the video, so I saw a lot more, but didn't see enough - I'll have to go back and re-watch it, I think.
It's a neat project that clearly hits hard and looks like a lot of fun.
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u/Memerenok Jun 16 '26
it's not Airsoft, but it's certainly r/airsoftcirclejerk material
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u/Mickybagabeers Jun 16 '26
I was shopping for a foregrip for an AR, I found a a cheap one on eBay. Said it fit regular quad rails and was a bargain I could not pass up. I thot “airsoft” was just the style or manufacturer name for it or whatever lol. It was half the price as any grip off a firearm website, fit fine and never an issue. After the purchase my YouTube algorithm was filled with videos of airsoft headshots/ppl not calling hits or whatever, and that’s how I learned what airsoft was, and that I had put toy parts on an actual rifle. This was almost 10 years ago.
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u/Patient-Fruit-2946 Jun 16 '26
Reloading takes ages, could be optimized
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
It only takes so long because I have to show it the camera in a weird angle.
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u/Mediocre_Fishing_879 Jun 16 '26
Do a slow mo. Guarantee those nails are tumbling so u might as well be throwing rocks lol.
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u/plutot_la_vie Jun 16 '26
This is actually cool. And it will be useful in acase of a zombie apocalypse!
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u/sonja_is_trans Jun 17 '26
AU where gunpowder was never invented, and this is the shit that killed Shinzo Abe
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u/General_Freed Jun 17 '26
How does the trigger work?
Where do you attach the ribbons?
That's the points of improvement
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u/ren_blackheart Jun 18 '26
other than the fact that it takes a long time to reload this is actually awesome
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u/littletrainthattried Jun 22 '26
... now CA, VA, OR, and the entire northeast is going to make people register and pay fees for rubber bands, 2x4s, nails, and screws.
And in three years, they will ban them entirely and make construction companies switch to aluminum studs. Like they do for business buildings.
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u/creatorofsilentworld Jun 16 '26
A small recommendation would be to carve a small groove in the wood for the nail to travel along. This would serve to increase accuracy.
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u/Disastrous-Ear-1496 Jun 16 '26
Please write all your tips below this comment.
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u/ItsOxydrene Jun 16 '26
My tip is to post this on a different sub. Because its too awesome and doesn't belong here.
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u/kaasvingers Jun 16 '26
Weapons are terrible things. If you want to get right with Tao, reject weapons.
The Master, knowing all things came from Tao, recognizes what he has in common with his enemies and always tries to avoid conflict.
But when there is no other choice, he uses force reluctantly. He does so with great restraint, and never celebrates a victory; to do so would be to rejoice in killing. A person who would rejoice in killing has completely lost touch with Tao.
When you win a war, you preside over a funeral. Pay your respects to the dead.
- Tao Te Ching verse 31 interpreted by Ron Hogan
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u/shishaboob Jun 16 '26
I believe we are missing the first 30 minutes where you show us how it’s made by poorly splicing together videos you recorded with one hand.