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Balearic maker of slings (Read 55473 times)
HHornblower
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #90 - May 29th, 2009 at 5:14pm
 
I took a good look at the beautiful sling posted by Hondero on page 4, and if i'm not mistaken, it seems that the two splits have a thickness very similar to the first part of the sling (the part with the fingerloop, which has the same thickness from top till bottem). This implies that extra fibre was added during or just after beginning the split. We can see that the retention cord is nearly twice the thickness of the part before the splits. Could this be a viable way of getting very solid and broad splits in the pouch area?

Cheers,

Hornblower

The original post by Hondero:
Hondero wrote on Feb 17th, 2009 at 12:36pm:
justgeorge wrote on Feb 13th, 2009 at 11:36am:
Funny you should say that!  As they all look critical to me.  I still don't know if I have the split correct.  I really need to get my hands on one constructed right. 


As it seems that the Balearics slings take a little in arriving Sad, I have asked a friend who lives in a town near Madrid, and that knows how to braid slings Balearic type, some photos of one of his slings. According Diego the transition part between the retention cord and the pouch seems to be most weak and difficult to made, and I don´t know if the sling of my friend is made with the proper technique at this part since the photo is not very clear for me there, but in any case the sling has a wonderful look. I´d like to be able to braid slings like him.



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Timothy Potter
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #91 - May 29th, 2009 at 9:15pm
 
HHornblower,

I think your observation is correct. It agrees with what Diego says on his video, and looking at the pictures Hondero posted I'd agree with what you noticed. So now the question is:

How do you double the amount of material being braided all at once?

I wonder if the middle of the fibers being added is placed across the braid. If this is the case, then there would be no ends to hide or trim off until the tapering of the release cord, where they wouldn't show as much.

-Timothy Potter
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HHornblower
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #92 - May 30th, 2009 at 5:00am
 
Timothy, I was thinking along the same line. In the video you can clearly see that Diego adds some fiber using that very method you suggest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ouNR6djZy4&feature=related

At 2:03 and following. You can see he takes the middle of the strand he is about to add and subsequently puts it in place.

I must say it is some very clever thinking.

Regards,

Hornblower
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HHornblower
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #93 - Jun 6th, 2009 at 3:08pm
 
I've just experimented with different ways of adding more fiber and I concluded that adding the middle of the new strand is the way to go. When you add a fiber and fold it in half, you effectively get two strands. The trick is to add one half of the strand to one of the 5 plaits, and leave the other. There is a way to add that second part of the strand without interrupting the braid, but I'll need to experiment with coloured strands in order to give an exact formula (e.g. x = plait of the first half of the strand and x -/+ a = the plait where you add the second half without interrupting the braid, with a = difference in order between the two plait.)
If you add thick strands the point in the braid where you added them will be noticabely bulkier. To avoid this effect thin strands are a necessity.  

I'll try to get some pics up in the near future.

Cheers,

Hornblower

Hans

Edit: I Think i've got the formula:
Add the middle of the new strand to the outside plait
Fold it as you do with a 5-plait braid.
Add the second half of the addesd strand to the plait, now the first in line to be folded over, which is on the same side as the plait you added the strand to in the first place.
So: plait 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, with strand added to 1.
Will become 2,3,1,4,5
Then add the second half of the strand to plait number 2, and all should be fine.

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« Last Edit: Jun 6th, 2009 at 6:34pm by HHornblower »  
 
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HHornblower
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #94 - Jun 8th, 2009 at 3:36pm
 
Hondero or 4accord or anyone with a balearic sling made by the federation or made by a professional,

Could you guys give me some exact measurements (dimensions) of your slings? I am particulary interested in the pouch area and I would love some detailed information on that part, even plait alignment if it isen't too much trouble.
My project has come to a bit of a halt (lack of fiber as well though, not only problems with the plaits/design).

Thank you,

HHornblower
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Hondero
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #95 - Jun 12th, 2009 at 2:36pm
 
HHornblower wrote on Jun 8th, 2009 at 3:36pm:
Hondero or 4accord or anyone with a balearic sling made by the federation or made by a professional,

Could you guys give me some exact measurements (dimensions) of your slings? I am particulary interested in the pouch area and I would love some detailed information on that part, even plait alignment if it isen't too much trouble.
My project has come to a bit of a halt (lack of fiber as well though, not only problems with the plaits/design).

Thank you,

HHornblower



In February I called Mateo Cañellas, the president of the Federation, and he promised to send me one of the “pita” slings made by Diego, but till now I have not received it. Don´t know if somebody in the forum has had more luck than I. What I have from some years ago is one Federation sling of crushed “esparto”, probably made by Diego also, more rough than pita slings but very common too, although perhaps the braiding technique is a little different, being the pita fibers thinner and longer. The measures of  the sling are:

Retention cord:
Length = 60 cm
max. width =  1.5 cm
min. width = 1 cm

Realese cord
L = 80 cm
max. w. = 2 cm
min. w. = 0.3 cm

Pouch
L = 15 cm
Max. w. (each strand) = 1.5 cm
Min. w. (each strand) = 1 cm


Some pictures of the pouch:


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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #96 - Jun 13th, 2009 at 12:36pm
 
ooohhh pretty O.o
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #97 - Jun 14th, 2009 at 1:41am
 
xxkid123 wrote on Jun 13th, 2009 at 12:36pm:
ooohhh pretty O.o


ill say!

Sisal slings look great.
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timann
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #98 - Jun 14th, 2009 at 4:37am
 
I wonder why the 5-strand braid is used in these slings.  Things was easyer before, with just the how-to from the El Foners Balear page, wich shows a 3-strand braid.

By the way, in August, when I braided a cat-tail-like rope from nettle fibers; I thought about how it should be possible to make a sling without making individual strands first.  But this was before the Diego video. Sad

I made a miniature 5-strand braid test-piece sling yesterday, from cut-offs after another sling.  
I sometimes prefer to experience  new difficulties in small scale before I start a full-scale sling project Cheesy
timann
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HHornblower
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #99 - Jun 18th, 2009 at 7:52am
 
Hondero,

Brilliant pictures there. Sorry for the silence, I was away for a week on a post-exam holiday. First I need to get myself some more fibers before I can continue, but hopefully I'll be up and running by next week. I must say this thread has become a treasure chest for everyone interested in making accurate balearic slings!

Cheers,

HHornblower
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David Morningstar
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #100 - Jul 12th, 2009 at 8:38am
 
Here is Ray Mears preparing fibres from Sisal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tILU0lvqqEM
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #101 - Aug 13th, 2009 at 9:26pm
 
Fundibularius wrote on May 1st, 2009 at 4:51pm:
Quote:
My impression is that for me it was more than a contact effect. The reaction was bad enough that for the only time in my life I took (large) doses of Benadryl to cope with it. I had reddening over pretty much everywhere I could look!


Looks like I was still quite lucky in comparison. I think we've both got away from the idea of growing our own sisal...  Embarrassed

TP. thank you very much! That is a lot of valuable information. I'll browse through the (long) varieties list and try to find the one that I worked with.

Quote:
It’s interesting that it says Agaves were brought to the Mediterranean in the 17th century, so the Balearic slingers must have adopted the fiber since that time.



This is what comforts me a bit. Slingers from the Balearic Islands in the centuries before Christ and until the discovery of the Americas must have used other materials anyway, maybe the plants Diego mentioned, or other fibers (nettles, palm, ...), if not rawhide. So, for absolute purists, the "sisal project" goes more to the Aztec (or Apache?) fraction...  

From what you wrote, yucca sounds like a very good alternative. It's a pity you don't find it here at all.


They are native around where I live. Same with Agave. (But knowing how California is, I'll probably get in some deep doo-doo if I cut parts off of them. Tongue) So, back to the drawing board for me.... Or, I could just buy some. Tongue
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #102 - Jan 10th, 2010 at 8:41am
 
Balearic Sling Im currently working on
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #103 - Jan 10th, 2010 at 5:03pm
 
Slingster,

  Interesting "twist".Proper that you bumped this thread,as we have been reading 4Accord's translation of Hondero's work.It appears that no one else ever was successful in contacting the federation and receiving one of Diego's slings?Something else to do...

     Brett
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Re: Balearic maker of slings
Reply #104 - Jul 9th, 2011 at 5:49pm
 
Hello

I read something here about the video where Mr. Diego Camuñas made several types of slings.

http://youtu.be/-ouNR6djZy4

I am Spanish from Andalucia, and here the sling type used by goat keepers is very similar and perhaps is exactly the same.

The fibers used by Mr. Diego are form several plants. The first is "pita" Agave americana. This species is not indugenous from Spain and it was boght here about the 16th century from Mexico.

The second fiber he uses in a three plait braid with a three branched pouch and very rough sling is "esparto" Stipa tenacissima.

The third sling he made with the bark of a bush called "torvisca" also known as "torvisco" Daphne gnidium.

Mr. Diego in a different video http://youtu.be/XENlaEIHTGI where he wears a hat says that he cut the "pita" (Agave americana) leaves in full moon, so the plant has its sap down and he shows it rubbing the fresh fibers against his face without any allergic reaction.

The accent which Mr. Diego speak it is not the Balearic accent. In the comentaries of the fist video Orestes Pérez says that his accent is from Extremadura, and it is very similar to the typical accent of some parts of Andalucia.

I see that some of you master very well the technique of braiding slings.

One thing very important that Mr. Diego says is about the pouch. When you make a sling and make the pouch you must split the braid in two branches. You wil notice that there is one strand longer that goes from side to side of the width of the sling in that point. Where the two branches of thew pouch join there is the same kind of long plait. If that strand breaks the sling falls apart.

So you must be care in which side you put the stone. As the stone can break this strand.

You must put the stone in the same face of the pouch that you work when you braid the sling because the weak strand is in the other face and when you throw the stone, this will not touch that weak strand when it begins to fly.

You can see the weak strand at the right of this pic where the retention cord joints with the pouch.

...

The other weak strand is under the sling where the pouch joints with the release cord that is thicker.

So that stone is placed under the sling, and you must place the stone on the upper face of the sling to avoid that the weak strand breaks when shooting.

I hope don't bother you.

Best regards.

P.D. THE SLING IN THE PIC I VERY FINE, AND WELL MADE.
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