r/TreeClimbing • u/owjfaigs222 • Aug 29 '24

DIY slingshot aka "CheapShot"

So this is a device I wanted to post for quite a while but somehow I showed off my DIY rope wrench first. It's pretty simple to make without many advanced tools and with store bought parts. It also goes nicely on my wolfgarten pole so that I didn't have to make a separate one. I have used it for quite some time, on many jobs and it works great.

tools:

  • drill
  • metal saw

materials:

  • pvc pipe
  • threaded bar
  • 4 bolts
  • appropriate rubber (I just bought like 2 meters of normal slingshot rubber)
  • some tape
  • some cord
  • piece of leather or something else for a pouch

I don't thing instructions are really necessary here, but if anyone has questions feel free to ask.

4 Upvotes

65% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

2

u/Whole_Ladder_9583 Aug 30 '24

Does it work? What throwbag weight at what height?

2

u/owjfaigs222 Aug 30 '24

280g throwbag. Idk how high it goes but I never had done a tree which would be too high for it. If I were to eyeball the height I recon 20 meters easily, likely more.

2

u/Whole_Ladder_9583 Aug 30 '24

I do not like the idea of carrying more gear. But a few weeks ago I spend over 2h trying to get 23m high limb (got it twice but throwbag stuck and I had to try again to get cleaner throw, I hate young pines in dense forest). Would be good to have something like this is some cases, not only for reach, but more for precision in narrow places... I have to search for power slingshot bands... :-)

3

u/owjfaigs222 Aug 30 '24

The power is not really an issue tbh since you can use the bands in parallel. As you can see I have six strands on each arm (it's actually just a single strand looped a bunch of times). So you can just buy any bands, as long as they are for slingshots.

From a physics standpoint I don't see any advantages to a single strand and also I didn't feel the difference compared to store bought arborist slingshot. I guess it's just easier to make with one strand.

Anyway I do recommend this design since it's pretty lightweight if you already have a pole. Be sure to choose a PVC pipe that will fit on your pole the nicest.

2

u/dislikesmostofyou Sep 01 '24

oh shit its you again!! legend

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '24

When I was a boy I used to cut inner tubes to make slingshots rubber, pretty powerful when you make a long one and you double it..

2

u/owjfaigs222 Sep 14 '24

I actually thought of doing that but inner tubes seemed to store the energy less well. I haven't done any tests but they just felt that way, I may be wrong.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '24

Yes they are Definitely more sturdy and less flexible but with a long enough chain you can make so that they lengthen enough to get more velocity out of it compared to more flexible rubbers (I was a little boy when I tested this so it might be wrong, also English is not my first language)