About a week ago I had an idea… not an original one. I don’t know why I haven’t tried this until now, but I realized that I could probably shape limestone with a harder river rock… so I found a reasonable sized chunk and started shaping it. I’m using nothing but water and a river rock as tools.  It’s still a work in progress, and it takes some elbow grease, but it’s a simpler process than I expected.  Next I need to figure out how to capture the limestone mud, then cook it to make lime… then maybe use that to make my own concrete from scratch… but that’s a fairly nasty and potentially dangerous  chemical process.

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Blindsquirrel wrote on Mar 12^th, 2023 at 1:53pm:

Why not crush the limestone and make a limestone mortar and cast the glande?

I could… but it would probably end up more brittle and less dense than a shaped rock…. Plus, good luck building a mold using nothing but a river rock. I’m doing it for the challenge rather than optimizing efficiency.

Here’s another progress photo where you can see how it takes shape and how it loses mass.  It’ll probably be under 100g when finished.

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   Does the limestone's low density hamper its performance? 

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That isn't too bad, 120g is a decent weight. I bet those things would sail quite a distance.

If I remember right, the slingers of the Balearic islands used limestone balls during the timeof Rome. Tey were supposed to be about the size of a pool ball. That would be quite an impact.

Rat Man wrote on Mar 13^th, 2023 at 8:56am:

Does the limestone's low density hamper its performance?

The density of limestone is about 2.5. Most of land rocks have a density between 2 and 3.

IronGoober wrote on Mar 13^th, 2023 at 7:49pm:

That isn't too bad, 120g is a decent weight. I bet those things would sail quite a distance.

Yeah… I should’ve picked a slightly larger piece 🤷‍♂️


Rat Man wrote on Mar 13^th, 2023 at 8:56am:

Does the limestone's low density hamper its performance?

If anything, the problem will be how soft rather than how dense, but I think this thing would still do some damage.

Slowly but surely… a few more flat spots need to be fixed, but it’s getting there.

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That's looking great!

So the big question, when it's done are you going to sling it?

That looks great!

joe_meadmaker wrote on Mar 15^th, 2023 at 8:51am:

That's looking great! So the big question, when it's done are you going to sling it?

Of course!

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Blindsquirrel wrote on Mar 17^th, 2023 at 8:01pm:

U should make a silicone mold of it after u get done shaping it. That way u can make some concrete projectiles just like it.

Not a terrible idea… or I could just spend another two weeks grinding another one from another piece of raw limestone 🤣

I got down to 100g and it still has a few flaws, but I don’t really want to go any lighter, so I’m calling it good.  Next, I’ll oil and bake it for a tougher outer surface (just like seasoning a cast iron pan).

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And then shoot it  ;)

After a few cycles of coats of oil and baking in the oven compared to pre-bake

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Teg wrote on Mar 19^th, 2023 at 5:09pm:

And then shoot it  ;)

Exactly!

That looks seriously awesome.

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Very good.

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Mar 19^th, 2023 at 4:41pm:

Next, I’ll oil and bake it for a tougher outer surface (just like seasoning a cast iron pan).

I didn't know this technique. But it's interesting.

That's looks great!  If you had to estimate how much time you've put into shaping that, where would guess?

'Way too pretty, and too much work to just throw away!  Unless you have a sandbank you can throw into... 

StaffSlinger wrote on Mar 21^st, 2023 at 6:27pm:

'Way too pretty, and too much work to just throw away!  Unless you have a sandbank you can throw into...

This is why I can’t have nice things! 🤣
I had to try it out.  There was a flaw that was an obvious weakness, and after several hard hits against a block of wood, it broke Right along the flaw.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqOcrzSDMmk/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The grapefruit devastation video was a bit blurry too 😤
but overall that was a fun little endeavor!  10/10 would do it again!

@joemeadmaker, I put several hours into shaping the rock over the course of a couple weeks.  I think the next one will go a lot faster though.

Blindsquirrel wrote on Mar 19^th, 2023 at 10:31pm:

That turned out nice. What r it measurements? Length and diameter?

…by the way it ended up at 3” long, 1.5” diameter

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