"Lubricating" the tubes

[steelman]

Ever since I broke an RR-t at the pouch, after only 250 rounds, because of small tears inside the knot
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/slingshot/5.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/slingshot/5-1.jpg
I lubricate this part regularly by carefully inserting a small steel rod and applying a few drops of glycerol. The steel rod is the worked allaround to spread it everywhere :
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/slingshot/1407.07.jpg
BTW, I had a look inside the bottle of "Gummipflege" (rubber care) and found the stuff to have the same colour, consistency and smell as ordinary glycerol. Which, being much cheaper, is what I use now.

[Bill Stark]

Thanks for the great maintenance tip and close-up pictures. The pictures really help to make the forum more informative, and interesting. Also, it gives us feedback on real "use/testing" in the field.

Sorry to hear you got only about 250 shots on this band. At the factory, we do some testing from time to time to see how many shots we can get before a band breaks. If the band happens to have some small tears in it from the "get go", that will definately shorten it's life span, especially if you're a tall guy and have a long pull. It's a bit unusual for the band to break in front of the pouch. Our experience, over the years, is that the bands generally break first at the prongs, especially if the prongs have some small nicks in them. Your tip on how to lubricate the bands is a good idea, especially if you do it before using the band for the 1st time. The good news is that we have gotten more than 1000 shots on some bands before we got tired of trying to make them break! Some of the bands tested have been laying around the factory for at least 10 years, and still held up quite well. Although we took them out of packages that were sealed air tight, it was still remarkable.

[steelman]

I think it was down to bad luck, these things happen.:(
I bought it, unwrapped it, shot and it broke. Fortunately at the pouch, because even with the safety glasses I always wear it would have hurt a bit, I think.
Oh, and while waiting for the replacement I made a simple 30min-handle to replace the original one. which is, to put it mild, not the most ergonomic one:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/slingshot/Image00007.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/slingshot/Image00008.jpg
I will make a photostory of it, pour encourage, once there is a suitable forum for it.
Being a (wintertime only)knifemaker, I work a little bit with wood, but was not too motivated right in the middle of the summer to spend hours in the workroom :)
A BAT will be high on my wishlist once the next paycheque comes through.
Much as I like wood as a classic material and because of its workability and feel, the modern design of the BAT combined with an equally modern material is too good to pass.

[Copper]

I came across the same problem the bands broke in the same spot. However i got alot more shots from the slingshot. The bands developed a small hole after 800 rounds started to lose an exesive amount of power at 1800 and broke at about 2100.
At the moment my misses is letting me use her slingshot (her slingshot was formaly known as my back up...lol)

[Smitty]

I shoot Trumark RR-T tubes all the time and I lube the knot at the pouch with Aerospace 303 before I shoot them for the first time and anytime I hear them squeak while shooting. I love RR-T tubes for target shooting. I don't know how much research went into them by Trumark, but I suspect they spent a lot of time and money coming up with the single best slingshot product on the market! I feel that using 303 helps extend band life a great deal for me. I have over a thousand shots on several slingshots and only one set of bands is showing wear and it's only rub marks from over the top shooting.

[ammo]

use SILICONE OIE ,it is good after use:)

[pelleteer]

Yes, silicone oil should work very well, since it doesn't damage rubber and plastics the way some oils can.

[Bill Herriman]

I agree with what has been said, but will add my 2 cents. Ultra heavy weight silicon oil works well or 303 aerospace protectant even better. A built in the rubber UV protectant will help band life but slows the reflex of the rubber, so you must trim to get the same speed, there for pulling harder. There are some brand new compounds that don’t have this problem, but are very expensive. I have shot tubes and flats a lot and my experience is when they are shot at the same speed they last about the same, if the slingshot tips are very smooth and the rubber is fresh. The faster you shoot bands, the shorter the life. I have shot flats at 160 FPS and got over 1000 shots from them although the next set you might not get that. With rubber, you will always get differences in life. I normally shoot at about 200 FPS and get 250 to 300 shots out of a set of bands. That is one reason that I don't try to shoot over 200 FPS. It is a compromise between a flat trajectory and life of the bands. I think that everything in slingshot shooting is a compromise in some way. Bill

[pelleteer]

Actually, after doing a little more research on mineral oil it said it can damage latex, so mineral oil is out. I'd stick with silicone.

(I've amended my previous post to reflect this new info.)