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to Throw
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The maker and or / seller of the boomerangs is not responsible for accidents or injuries that may result from use or misuse of any boomerang. Boomerangs should only be thrown by adults or with adult supervision. Only throw in an open area free of trees, people and other objects. Allow for twice the given range of the boomerang in front of you (outward distance the boomerang travels), and that same amount of space behind you, and to each side. Also you should always use protective eye wear with safety lenses. Boomerangs are not just toys. Boomerangs are sporting articles. Throwing is a sport and safety is of utmost importance. Follow USBA safety rules. Failing to follow safety guidelines could result in injury to yourself or others around you. Boomerangs DO return, but may behave erratically in winds or in the hands of inexperienced throwers. Please read the throwing instructions carefully. By deciding to throw the boomerang, you accept responsibility for any accidents. If you cannot accept this or do not follow the safety rules, you must not purchase any boomerangs. If you are not old enough to read and follow these throwing instructions you should not throw boomerangs.
Safety rules you must follow when throwing any boomerang.
1. Always wear safety glasses
2. Never throw flat (side arm)
3. Only adults throw or throw with adult supervision
4. Allow for twice the given range of the boomerang in front, behind you, and to each side
5. Do not throw around people or crowds
6. If more than one person is throwing keep only one boomerang in the air at a time
7. Know the ground you are throwing on so that will not trip while watching the boomerang in the air
8. Do not lose sight of a boomerang in the air, if you do, turn, duck, cover your head and wait until you hear the boomerang land
9. Do not throw if the wind is too high
10. Do not let anyone else throw your boomerang
11. Do not try catching a boomerang that is coming in too fast
12. Do not throw competition boomerangs for events such as fast catch, mta, and long distance until you have learned how to throw basic sport and beginner boomerangs
Is your boomerang for a left or right handed thrower?
A boomerang is designed for only one direction of rotation, it will not fly if thrown backwards or upside down. A right handed boomerang is designed to be easier for a right handed thrower to throw and will fly in a counter-clockwise circle. A left hand boomerang is made to fly in a clockwise circle. You must have the correct boomerang.
Where are you going to throw?
A large grassy field is the best place to go with a boomerang. Check the ground for hidden rocks or other objects you could trip on or may scratch or break your boomerang. Most of my boomerangs travel out 30-45 yards before turning around and heading back. A good idea is for a beginner to allow for twice the range of the boomerang in front, behind, and to each side of you. A beginner needs a very large space, a football field is way too small.
When are you going to throw?
Wait for a calm day to throw your boomerang. If you are new to the sport do not try to throw if the wind is above five miles per hour. If you can see any tree branches moving at all, it is too windy. If an unfolded Kleenex, dropped form eye level, blows out of reach, it is too windy to throw.
How are you going to throw?
You may hold the boomerang by either wing you prefer, but you must be able to turn and see the top side. The flatter bottom side will face out. A wide variety of grips can be used, but for most boomerangs a pinch grip is best. Grip the boomerang between the thumb and side of the index finger. Hold the boomerang close to the tip, and cock the boomerang back along your arm to allow room for maximum rotation as the boomerang leaves your hand. The amount of spin you can put on the boomerang is more important than the strength with which you throw.
Before you throw you need to determine the wind direction. The best way to do this is to pick some dry grass and drop it and watch which way it goes. The boomerang needs to be thrown 45-50 degrees to the right of the wind for a right handed boomerang, and the same angle to the left of the wind if the boomerang is a left handed boomerang.
The boomerang must be thrown overhand, over the right shoulder for a right handed boomerang. The boomerang must be thrown near vertical ( | ) or tilted at an angle like this ( / ) for a right handed boomerang. A boomerang should never be thrown flat ( -- ), or with a side arm throw. A boomerang thrown flat will climb high into the air, stall, and then come down very fast to slam into the ground. This could result in a broken boomerang. The throw should also be thrown almost straight out not high up into the air. It may help to pick an object way off in the distance to aim at.
If your boomerang does not fly like you think it should you must change each variable until you understand what effect each variable has on the flight of the boomerang. In other words, you must experiment with and understand: grip, angle of throw to the wind, height of throw, angle of tilt or layover, strength of throw, and amount of spin.
How do you make a catch?
After you perfect your throwing, you may want to try catching a boomerang. A sandwich catch is the best way to catch a boomerang. As the boomerang hovers down to you, clap the boomerang between the palms of your hands. Do not catch a boomerang that is coming in too fast or at a sharp angle, only catch a boomerang that is floating in horizontal.
What is the science behind the flight of the boomerang?
The arms of a boomerang are wings which provide lift. The boomerang is moving forward and spinning at the same time. As the wings travel, they speed up as they come to the top position and slow down as they rotate down and back. So the boomerang has more lift in one place than another. This greater lift is in front of the spinning, forward moving boomerang. This lift pushes the boomerang around and back toward the thrower. Gyroscopic precession causes the boomerang to layover in its flight and return with a horizontal hover.
How should you care for a boomerang?
My ply-wood boomerangs are coated with a sealer before paint is applied. Then after being painted the boomerang is coated with polyurethane, and then waxed with a carnuba based car paste wax. Periodically you may need to apply some of this type wax to your boomerang and wipe it down. My hardwood lap joint boomerang are finished with a danish oil finish and then waxed. Protect all your boomerangs from extreme heat and cold that could damage the glue used in the plywood, damage plastics, or warp the boomerang out of tune.
What is meant by tuning a boomerang?
Tuning a boomerang is bending or twisting the wings in order to change the flight of the boomerang. All the boomerangs I sell are tuned and flight checked before I sell them. Wooden boomerangs will most likely never need to be tuned. ABS plastic and polypropylene boomerangs are easy to tune and can be used to experiment with the effects of tuning.
If you are tuning your boomerang, you must be able to throw a boomerang very well and have consistent returns before you can hope to understand what effects your tuning is having on the flight of your boomerang.
When tuning a boomerang, you are bending the wing to change the angle of attack, the dihedral angle, or both. With more positive dihedral angle on the wings, a boomerang will rise higher in flight and have less range. With more positive angle of attack, the boomerang will usually fly in a tighter circle.
Another way to adjust the flight of a boomerang is by adding weights, flaps, or drilling holes in the boomerang. On days when the wind is just slightly too much, rubber bands can be added to the boomerang to act as a kind of flap, this adds drag and slows the boomerang down as it comes around.
Other Pages That Have Good Throwing Instructions
http://www.gel-boomerang.com/ Very good site by Gel Boomerangs
http://www.coloradoboomerangs.com/howto.html Colorado Booms how to throw and boom safety page
http://www.angelfire.com/nc/conally/safety.html Tom Conally has this very good boomerang safety page
http://users.nowonline.net/katos/mickey.htm How to tune a boomerang
The following, about spin, was written by Pat Steigman on the
boomerang list.
Everyone develops their own throwing styles and preferred boom shapes. I used to rely on notches, but after watching others and experimenting, I have gone almost exclusively to a pinch grip which does not require a notch. Nothing wrong with that style or technique, it's just that I do it differently.
By using a pinch grip, you add a pivot point in the center of the tip of the arm you are holding. This way you can throw comfortably with either lead or dingle, even the elbow for showing off. If you have enough grip for the stick you are throwing, you will learn by experience where the release point is. I have relatively strong hands. OK, they are not Vice Grips with micrometer calipers, but after using the pinch grip for some time, I throw even heavily weighted booms with a pinch grip. Some folks who work with our hands are comfortable doing this.
When using the pinch grip, you keep the stick cocked till the very moment of release, then slightly release the pinch and allow the boom to slip out of your hand. All the momentum of the throw is held in the stick until the last fraction of a second when it pivots out of your pinch.
I started developing my throw from watching B-man, first in a video, then when fortunate enough to throw with him. While he is preparing to throw, he is making false throwing motions with his arm. He whips the boom back and forth several times before he moves for the actual throw. This looks sort of like a fly fisherman making false casts before laying the line out for the final cast.
It warms up the arm and muscles. It gets begins creating the muscle memory. Billiard players can be seen doing this same things when aiming a shot. The only thing they need do for the final shot is to carry through. The boomerang pre-swing is different in that it is usually done letting the arm swing naturally down from the shoulder, rocking the boom back and forth, limbering up the arm and giving the finger tips their final instructions.
Once the thrower decides on the throw, they then bring the stick back behind their head and carry through with the throw, making sure they follow through with their wrists.
If you look at pictures taken of boomerangs just released, you will notice that the throwers hand in usually in a very un-natural position rotated down as if in a spasm. It looks a little funny when captured in that split second, but it was actually acutely rotated as shown.
When teaching new throwers, I tell them to hold the boomerang. Then I move the boomerang and their hand in the whole range of motion, telling them to relax and just feel what their hand is doing. Many people think they are snapping their wrists, but are not using the entire range of motion they have in the wrist. I don't know of any other type of throwing which uses these motions, maybe a baseball pitcher knows of a particular throw, but I don't. Therefore you need to learn, or teach your wrist, how to use it's entire range. That is the "trick" to getting spin on the boom.
Once you learn to use your wrist, you can actually throw a light weight boom with nothing but wrist action.
As the old saying goes, "It's all in the wrist."
Good luck and have fun,
Pat Steigman