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General >> General Slinging Discussion >> Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
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Message started by Curious Aardvark on Apr 16th, 2018 at 1:05pm

Title: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 16th, 2018 at 1:05pm
Previous thread got hijacked - so started anew.

Finally screwed the final 4 brackets on and put the whole thing together :-)

Can be easily carried by one person. No idea on total weight, probably 10kg ish. Might be less.
Still need to drill and hang the centre metal disc.

But other than that she's done :-)
Threw some sockballs and tennis balls at it. The net just drops everything. No bounce back. needs more cable ties - but that's the work of a few mnutes.

Goes up and down in about 5 minutes. Fits in the car.
So I WILL be getting training in this year - even if just with tennis balls.
Fine with me :-)

stl files for the flexi brackets available if anyone wants to make this and knows someone who has 3d printer.

Model agencies all refused to work for a bag of toffees. Luckily grizzly adams was passing and said he'd help :whistle:
Not sure why he was wearing knee pads :noidea:

when we get it out in a field, i'll get some video footage.
Now just need to find a good source (read cheap) for used tennis balls. You need the proper ones, the cheap dog ones just break too easily.
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Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by kicktheotter on Apr 16th, 2018 at 1:29pm
Great work C_A!

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Morphy on Apr 16th, 2018 at 1:39pm
Nice job! That is real dedication right there. The fact that you designed and made your own brackets on a 3d printer is pretty amazing to me. Welcome to the 21st century.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by David Morningstar on Apr 16th, 2018 at 1:45pm
Very good! Any chance of you coming to the Bushmoot?

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by vetryan15 on Apr 16th, 2018 at 1:59pm
Awesome. Such a great idea

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 16th, 2018 at 3:06pm

David Morningstar wrote on Apr 16th, 2018 at 1:45pm:
Very good! Any chance of you coming to the Bushmoot?


Unless I'm getting paid - just can't afford it.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Slingbasket on Apr 16th, 2018 at 4:00pm
C_A awesome work! I like it!

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Rat Man on Apr 16th, 2018 at 5:12pm
Perfect!  Good job!

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by NooneOfConsequence on Apr 16th, 2018 at 8:13pm
Very nice!  By flexi-bracket do you mean it needs to print with  ninjaflex?  Do you use Thingiverse or myminifactory to post your design files?

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by NooneOfConsequence on Apr 16th, 2018 at 8:18pm
By the way, you can usually find a fair number of free tennis balls in drainage areas next to public tennis courts if you don’t mind searching in the weeds. You can also 3D print unbreakable ammo from Ninjaflex or semiflex.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 17th, 2018 at 11:52am
Not a big fan of ninjaflex. I am the reason they came out with semi-flex (kept running into janaan turner at a tct show, when nf had just come out and she was marketing manager, and I kept pointing out they needed something a bit stiffer. She never got round to sending me any, but did admit it was my idea)  but even that is somewhat problematical. 
I prefer flexible pla. It's stiffer, works great in my delta and is just ridiculously tough and real easy to work with.
The sienoc flexble pla, I'm currently using is every bit as good as polyflex, but less than half the price.
fantastic stuff.
The red bracket in the pictures is made from esun-flexible pla. It's a lot stiffer than any other flexible I've used. But works great for this kind of thing.

I do have some designs on thingiverse.
Pretty much just stuff I can't see any commercial value in :-)
https://www.thingiverse.com/curiousaardvark/designs

This is probably the oddest thing I've got on thingiverse :-)
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:582323/#files

For the sling target brackets, I'd just email the two stl's.
Along with a list of required plumbing supplies.

As far as printing sling ammo with ninjaflex - what are you, made of money ? lol
That stuff is really bloody expensive and sling ammo always eventually gets lost.

I don't know of any public tennis courts round here. 
Must be a source of used balls somewhere. I'll keep looking.

ebay - got loads. :-)

50 for £15 including p&p.
That'll work :-)

Hell it'll be worth it just to see Dream's face when i open a box full of tennis balls. He won't know what do with himself. I'll have to let him steal at least 1.

Now I know why I got such a large canvas bag !

This is Dream:

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Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by kicktheotter on Apr 17th, 2018 at 12:07pm
There's a second-hand shop I know of that has all sorts of stuff including tubes of tennis balls. 1€ for a tube of 4 balls. Not bad considering I don't really need hundreds. 12 balls is enough for me for the moment but I might go back and get some replacements for some of the older ones.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 17th, 2018 at 12:12pm
it does depend on what you get.
The real cheap ones you get in the pound/dollar stores, just don't last more than a couple of minutes.
You need the actual meant for playing tennis with, tennis balls. Much much tougher.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by hubert on Apr 17th, 2018 at 12:13pm
Super Alex, sieht gut aus

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by TheJackinati on Apr 17th, 2018 at 12:20pm
Let us hope you don't hit the PVC piping with a big rock.

There's a youtube video with a guy who had a PVC framed target, and he broke one of the pipes within around two minutes of slinging.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by kicktheotter on Apr 17th, 2018 at 1:03pm

Curious Aardvark wrote on Apr 17th, 2018 at 12:12pm:
it does depend on what you get.
The real cheap ones you get in the pound/dollar stores, just don't last more than a couple of minutes.
You need the actual meant for playing tennis with, tennis balls. Much much tougher.


Absolutely. That's what's great with this place is they are actual name brand tennis balls :D

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 17th, 2018 at 3:33pm
ordered 50 :-)
was £0.49 cheaper when i went back to the ebay listing.

Might sound like a lot. But it's only ten rounds of 5.
You don't wnat to be walkign back and forth all the time.

So next up - tennis ball picker upper. My knees can't take the rock picking in mallorca and that's going to be nothing compared to this :-)

After quick perusal of the interweb. Looks pretty simple. If I can get a plumbing tube wider than a tennis ball. Just shove a little one way rubber end and off you go.

Failing that i was thinking large pop bottle attached to a broom stick.
watch this space lol 

As it turns out, standard guttering downpipe is 68mm. Now tennis balls are 65mm. So it all depends how thick the plastic is.
That said. I can always cut the pipe and insert spacers to make it that bit wider.
:-)

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 17th, 2018 at 3:44pm
yeah pvc - I'm using polypropylene - totally different animal.
pvc is brittle - polypropylene is anything but.

I took a piece of my piping and battered it against the concrete floor of my workshop, repeatedly as hard as I could. Barely scuffed it.

The only - vaguely -vulnerable bits are the parts that hold the the rubber washers that give the pipe  a tight fit.
If it ever proves a problem, I'll make my own from flexible pla.

But this really isn't for large rocks. Tennis balls and the odd clay missile. Still got a few left from hodd hill.

I have thought this through :-)

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by walter on Apr 17th, 2018 at 9:21pm
Pretty good target stand... beautiful dog :)

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by NooneOfConsequence on Apr 17th, 2018 at 10:00pm
@CA I might print a two part mold from semi flex and then do a silicone pour for ammo.  That’s a lot less expensive than printing ammo directly.
I agree with you about nf. It’s too oozy for my tastes, but I’ll have to try the e-sun flex PLA.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 18th, 2018 at 6:48am
Oops - SUNLU NOT esun.
Jeez all these chinese companies kind of merge into one after a while.
https://www.amazon.com/SUNLU-Filament-Flexible-Dimensional-Accuracy/dp/B01N2U3RTZ/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524048286&sr=8-3-fkmr2&keywords=sienoc+flexible+pla

Good stuff to print with for things that need to be hard but also super tough and a bit flexible.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Bill Skinner on Apr 19th, 2018 at 9:32am
Have you tested it with rocks or is that not in the plans?

My biggest complaint with tennis balls is that they aren't quite as heavy as the rocks I like to throw.   ;D

When I let fly with a good rock and it hits the bank with a good smack, it just feels more satisfying.   ;D

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 19th, 2018 at 10:19am
rocks just aren't feasible.
Unless you want to spend a whole day picking up the broken, razor sharp shards that will kill a lawn mower.

I will try my clay balls.
Air dry clay is fine as it just dissolves in rain and even when it breaks, it isn't hard enough to hurt a lawn mower or a dogs feet.

Tennis balls are fine for weight.
Cheap, tough and reusable. Stones - not so much. 
 

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by kicktheotter on Apr 19th, 2018 at 10:39am
It was only last year I started using tennis balls and it does take some adjusting but I think I'm about as good with tennis balls as I am with rocks (so not all that good... :D)

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Morphy on Apr 19th, 2018 at 11:46am
There must be some trick to using light ammo like tennis balls and golf balls. I just cant do it accurately.

I have to second air dry clay. It works particularly well in your pill rollers CA. And you can buy it cheap in bulk online. It maintains some good mass as it dries as well.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 20th, 2018 at 7:07am
The point is that tennis balls are what are used for some competitions. So practicing with tennis balls for competition target shooting with tennis balls, is pretty much what I'll be doing.

To that end, inbetween helping the chap cleaning the pond, working, lunch, dog walking and tai chi. I designed and made the : Curious Aardvark, Patented Tennis Ball Picker-Upperer.

Essentially a one way valve sized for tennis balls that can be attached to any tube that will fit tennis balls.
The design is 100% parametric. So if I can get longer different size tubes in the future, change one dimension and everything else adjusts to suit.

I've used one of the tubes you buy tennis balls in - because that's what I had.
A recycled bit of wood and some sellotape later:


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Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 20th, 2018 at 7:10am
IT'll hold 5 and when you get the 6th the top one is easy to stick in your bag. Or you can just upend it and pour put all 5 straight into your bag :-)

Another reason to buy such a large canvas bag :-)
It'll easily fit the pipes, balls and picker-upperrer's
I'll make another one today.

All I need now are the tennis balls. It's slow post, so might be here today or tomorrow or monday. 

Only other thing to do is drill and hang the centre disc.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by NooneOfConsequence on Apr 20th, 2018 at 7:48am
Hmmm... If the stick is easy to detach, you cap the top end (or don't cut the bottom off the tennis ball can), add a belt clip or shoulder strap, and cut a slot big enough to put your thumb in to push the ball back out into your hand (maybe with a flexy shroud to protect against sharp edges on those thin plastic cans), maybe you could use it as a gravity fed magazine for reloading your sling too.

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Apr 20th, 2018 at 8:11am
you just upend the tube into your ammo bag.

But I see what you're getting at.

This is just a quick dirty version for tomorrow.  Hoping the balls will arrive sometime today. But if not, we've probably only got 10 or so between us and will be picking up a lot :-)
That's the absolute worst part of target shooting. The ammo picking. Buggers up your knees, back, ankles etc.
Tore my achilles tendon doing it in 2017. That was fun :-)

What i would like to do is get a tube with the right internal diameter, that is long enough to also be the handle. Guttering down pipe might fit the bill. Just need to get to my local diy superstore and try a tennis ball in different pipes.

But this is more than adequate for now.

A clip on the tube and a couple screws to stop it sliding up or down is all you'd need to make it detacheable for loading 5 shot 'magazines' :-)
But for now this works great and is using recycled wood and tube. 

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by kicktheotter on Apr 20th, 2018 at 8:37am
Ingenius! :D

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Aug 4th, 2019 at 1:07pm
just finished making a picker-upperer for the clay skull ammo. Fortunately guttering downpipe comes in 46mm internal diameter.

Now just need to make a lot more skulls :-)

Title: Re: Super tough, super light, full balearic target finished !
Post by Curious Aardvark on Jun 11th, 2021 at 9:37am
just a reminde in case anyone wants the stls files and bits list. (I mean I'd have to make a list - but I don't mind).

Also here's the world's toughest tennis ball picker-upperer.
it's a 1 metre length of 76mm diameter 3mm thick aluminium pipe !

As well as picking up tennis balls - can also be used for fighting off: dragons, bears, feral wolves, ninjas etc

It was all my aluminium guys had in their 'container of odd bits' :-) 

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