With thanks to Neolyth and FunSlinger - I just spent the morning finishing up a signal-whip style sling, which I am just going to call a "signal sling" from now on. He answers a few questions that we talked about in a Neolyth's recent thread, and a couple that have been hanging around for a while as well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/SigSling1.jpg
First off - Material. I have been holding onto this spool of lead cored trolling line for a while. I made one experimental sling out of it (that could throw ping pong balls!), but never really had a plan. It is great stuff if you like knots, as the lead core really makes it nice to work with, while hilding knots beautifully.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/SigSling2.jpg
I started out with a "braid on a string" on four strands to form the finger loop.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/SigSling3.jpg
The core is then round braided using the eight strands from the finger loop + four additional strands (two doubled - the blue is one "tracer" pair). The braid is continued, dropping strands to taper the core. I split to two three stand braids (same as a Balearic style) for the pouch, then back to a round braid. Eventually, the core drops down to two strands, that I twist together for the last little bit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/SigSling5.jpg
I was originally planning on doing one braided belly with an eight-plait overlay, so I started the next layer with twelve strands (six doubled) and plaited the cover using a standard four-type braid.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/SigSling4.jpg
Strands are dropped to taper the braid again. The covers for the pouch cords are the same four-braid, with four strands each.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/SigSling6.jpg
When I finished up the first layer, I started to have second thoughts about adding a third. One, it was going to be a whole lot more work ;), particularily since I wanted to do a more complicated pattern, but also the sling was feeling pretty heavy as it was. I wanted a sling that could crack, not a whip that would sling, so I finished off the braid with a eyesplice and tied on a nylon fall/cracker. The loop and lark's head knot form the grip point for the sling. The leather pouch was sewn to the frame cords.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/SigSling7.jpg
Closeup of both ends, showing the amount of taper (twenty-four to four strands in the sling), the attachment point and the "cracker".

....

Do does it crack? Now keep in mind that I've never played with whips, and haven't ever really been interested. To be honest, I don't own any tight black leather pants, which seems to be a bit of a prerequisite... There was some concern expressed about whether the pouch would slow it down, and I put a solid leather one.

I was expecting a wet towel type *pop*... I mean this is a pretty tiny whip as far as things go, and who knows how to swing the thing.

I wasn't expecting a forest reverberating, neighbour police-phoning, altogether startling thunderclap of a *CRACK*...  :o

Ok so now maybe I understand why people like playing with these things. (I have a pretty good idea why they trend toward leather pants as well - I'd be wearing my full fencing getup before I'd try anything bigger than this little guy).

Next question is "does it sling ok"? Feels really good! I think the retention stiffness and cord weight really do contribute to a more accurate release. The other good news is that the rock seems to help direct the sling to not whip back at you if you screw up. This might just be due to much more practise with the sling than the whip.

That said, does the rock inhibit the cracking? Not at all! In fact, for my mediocre newfound whip cracking skills, it seems to make it even easier/louder! It seems a little funny, as the slinging motion is nothing like a standard whip crack, with the energy stored in the retention side hardly contributing? (maybe should have thought about that before I braided twenty four strands up there...) I don't know - but I do know that it cracks effortlessly while slinging. Range doesn't seem to be affected at all either - if I didn't know better I'd say I was getting a little more power...

....

I thought you guys deserved a video. Quality is not great, and the sound recording is mediocre at best, so the crack is not really as pronounced as it is when you are standing right next to it. A plane flew over too. Turn up the volume and enjoy!

Click here to watch Whip Sling


Matthias

I've been trying for five minutes to organize a coherent expression of what I feel watching that video.  I can't come up with anything better than this:

[glb]WOW!![/glb]

jesus christ on a bike!!!!
sv

Oh man, this thing is hilarious... I need to un-mod myself for a few minutes so I can let loose with whole string of expletives expressing how *&^%ing cool this is ;D. I can't stop grinning - even after I raised a nice welt on my leg (AFAGUSLAE http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/Pirate.gif).

So now the question is how to make one to a slightly more accessible design? I need three or four more! I guess next thing to try is shot loaded core so that I'm not relying on the leadline for mass. I'm going to see what I can come up with... big roll of duct tape, some bicycle inner tube and... Cane anyone think of a cheap, quick, and relatively available source for heavy tapered flexible cords? We need a paracord-simple equivalent to get more of these in circulation.

Matthias

what about electrical flex?
sv

That sounds like one of those sheperd slings. Very cool sling Matthias.

Yes, the weighted strands used here are a pretty uncommon way to vary the mass dist. What I meant I guess was: are there any easy/ready made core materials that would open this up to the non-braiders. The paracord slings are rightly popular since all you need to do is cut them to length and tie a couple of knots. We need something like that.

I've already made a bicycle tube whip since my last post. (BTW if you want to avoid looking like an S&M whip-type, you probably also want to avoid black rubber whips...) and if you had a non-structural core and tapered cover strands, you could probably get away with one pass of fours strand braid. Pretty quick - the pocket remains a problem as the contruction gets simpler...

I'm on it though.

sv - Electrical cord might be a reasonable core (I've seen whips like this on the web) but you need to taper the mass, which means binding more than one cord together, which means you sort of need to cover it, which puts you back to braiding...

me - Have you been able to crack a shepherd's sling like this? I get a mild chuff from some of my heavier braids, but nothing like the boom this one produces. I'm very interested in other's experiences!

Matthias

(I'll send the video to Chris a bit later - maybe I'll get someone to help me make a better one...)

That is the coolest sling I have seen to this day! :o

You can flock sheeps and tame lions at the same time!?? ::)

Thanks for sharing.  How long did it take for you to make it?

You talked about making money with your design in another thread........If you want to start a business selling  those whip cracking slings, I am sure you'll get plenty of business ;)

wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2005 at 9:02pm:

me - Have you been able to crack a shepherd's sling like this? I get a mild chuff from some of my heavier braids, but nothing like the boom this one produces. I'm very interested in other's experiences!

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/Feathered_Serpent/36apachesling.jpg

I made this one with a tapered release cord. I always just called them rattails. No cracker on it at the moment, but I still get some decent cracks. Nothing compared to yours though. After watching that video I immediatley wanted to
try it with a cracker attached.

Inspirational, Matthias.  I can't imagine having that baby in a valley and just letting it roar, with the flying stone to boot.  Very nice work, as always.

I want one !
And I'm not alone :-) Which begs the question Matthias: How much ?

Funslinger, that slinging technique is the one I use. And from my point of view (ie: until finding this website a week or so ago assuming I was the only person left who'd ever used a sling) it's the natural way of using a sling, ie: the one I adopted without knowing there were traditional techniques.
The initial up and down swing gives the stone momentum and the sideways release gives you straight line accurate aiming. Plus you can walk around with the sling in the resting position and get a shot off accurately inside a couple of seconds without looking like a prat. (no offence meant to the people who hold their slings above their heads first  and look daft :-)

But more importantly, How much Matthias ????
Yeah yeah I know I should make one myself. And I have just printed off the guide to making a simple braided sling. Getting round to making it (getting cord etc) could take months. Making one of those babies - well conservatively we're talking years :-)
So yes there's a market, name your price mate :-)

Anyone know what controls the pitch of the crack? It varies with the style of throw and how hard you sling, but is there a design characteristic of the sling/whip itself that biases it one way or another?

FS the style of throw I'm using is the one I came up with in my (pre-internet :)) early days. The only real difference might be that most of the "historical" styles start with you holding the rock? In the video you can see me pinching up a bit in the shoulders, which is pretty poor form - at this point I was still worried about lashing myself across the head/back/leg! I can develop about the same amount of power  with this throw as any other, and you can effectively use more body movement to add some extra grunt. I never have trouble with losing stones anymore, with any style (this one especially) and any shape rock. Not sure if this is something to do with practice, or the types of slings I normally use (shallow cord edged pouches)? Ammo shape seems to make little to no difference either.

Aardvark/Tint etc. - This is a pretty quick (relatively) sling to whip up, even with the tapered cover, which is by far the most work. I figure that I have about 5-6 hours in this one, including quite a bit of experimenting and running back and forth to the computer. I'm a bit surprised that there is not more info on whip-braiding on the net considering the number of people interested. Using a leather pouch cuts the time down quite a bit. As for selling things, well, I think my hourly rate puts sling-making out of reach. Happy to give lots of free advice though!

I'd love to see some more of these turning up. A couple of more data points would go a long way toward figuring out the best approach. The crack is a really cool effect, and certainly attracts attention. Even my jaded family and friends took notice right away:

Q: "How are you making that noise?"
A: (with pig in $%^ grin) "Speed of sound, man, whaPOWwww!!;D"

Matthias

That there is a pretty cool slingwhip....I am really like that lead-core cord. I will be definately looking for some of that.

Hey all you gotta do is put a 2 oz weight on the end of the retention cord just below the finger hole and it could be used as a flail too.Close combat AND projectile weapon too. ;D ah violence all around.

So what's your hourly rate ?
Don't underestimate the amount of money idiots like me are prepared to spend on essentially useless toys :-)
And as for toys that go BANG !
Well, lets just say at the moment in england to have something that goes bang and you can't be arrested for using, that's almost priceless :-)

Plus the pound is worth many of your canadian dollars :-)
Go on put a price on it - you know you want to :-)

I wouldn't push it c_aardvark.  

Matthias said he'd offer help.  So why don't we give it a shot and make our own.  I am sure it would be more cherished that way.

Matthias,

Where do you get those lead core stuff?

Tint,

Lead core fishing line should be available anywhere you can find fishing supplies.  It is exactly what it sounds like: fishing line consisting of a thin lead wire, wrapped with some sort of fiber braid.  It is commonly available in the U.S., even in California where products containing lead are frowned upon and lead shot (for duck hunting) is no longer allowed (spent lead shot gets scooped up when waterfowl are gathering gravel for their gizzards, and the lead kills them).

[glb]Wow[/glb] Nice signal sling Matthias.

Thanks Dale, I'll look around! :)

Nobody tried this yet huh? I thought for sure that slingers everywhere would be scampering off to their local tackle shops... :-/

As for me, I'm not sure that I'm ever going to be able to use a regular sling again, except maybe for missions requiring extreme stealth. Gen II is coming soon...

Matthias

No doubt,  it is impressive.....I am sure my son will want to try it sooner or later.

I am sure that acceptably accurate ammo velocity measurements may be obtained by slinging at an accoustically accomodating target at a known distance and measuring the amount of time between the sling's report and the impact report.  Plugging in the known speed of sound at your altitude and the difference in time for reports to reach the ears of the measurer as well as a reasonable assessment of the time differential of the ammo dump and time of sling report.....yada yada....of course, one may simply use a normal sling and start the stopwatch at the moment of release and stop it upon hearing the impact and calculating from there as well.

Knowing Caleb, he will use a signal sling to bamboozle the neighbor kids into thinking he can sling a rock at supersonic speeds!

I don't doubt as well that you, Matthias, may find a way to actually foment such an actual eventuality!  Hmmmm...



Peace,


TS

8)

Matthias,

I like the whip effect very much. Some time ago I used slings with leather strings, they crack very nicely and loud, but it can't be compared with yor whip-sling. I'm sure that the stiffnes and proper elascity of the cords are significant factors, either.

It would be great thing to get an idea, how to accelerate missiles by the whip ending, in a good direction. As TechStuf said - a supersonic sling  :o

Jurek

I think the crack gives a better more precise release to the throw.

Supersonic throws would require a very clever design.......we are shooting at less than 1/3 of the speed of sound at the moment.  Even crossbows darts are going at less than half the speed of sound.

Talking about stealth and supersonic, did anyone see the movie "Stealth"?  I really enjoyed it.

Wow....Tint you saw it in HK already?  It's ok, you can admit it....you downloaded it didn't ya!


:D


Peace,


TS

Good points Funslinger......I am sure that.....say, a 50yrd shot could provide meaningful data without necessitation for factoring any kind of ballistic
parabola.  Possibly more using the overhand cast with a backspin release and the right ammo....


TS

Hello Matthias,

I really like this piece of art, amazing!
Do you think i could have good result with something else than lead core string? I went to a local fishing shop this morning, and was a litte disapointed: this king of fishing line is very expensive (10 Euros for 10 meters), and they have only one color (dark green).
And could you give some informations about the total lenght of string needed for such a sling? I am not a specialist in braiding, but i really want to try this, even it take me months.

Thanks

Joseph

Hi Joseph,

That's about 10x more expensive than I remember mine being. They do make leadline in different weights (I have some that weighs 3kg/m!) so that might have been part of the problem.

The pictured sling has ~30m of line in it (the colour on mine changes every 10m and I used three colours + a little). You can work it out from the braid as well - 24 strands tapering to 0 over about 1.5m = 36m / 2 = 18m + the allowance for braiding. The braiding is actually much easier than it looks. I f you can handle a "standard" four-strand round braid, you can figure this one out - just need to keep the strands under control!

I've been trying to come up with something that would be easier to reproduce. The trick with the weight is that it needs to be heavy, and taper smoothly from the grip to the release end. Braiding in the mass works well, but is certainly not the only option. Leather whips are often made with a sewn conical bag that is loaded with lead flour of shot, for instance, and copper wire or similar would probably be ok as well. If you can track down any whip-making resources you'd be ahead of the game.

My sling doesn't seem to be cracking as loudly as it used to, and I don't know enough about whips to diagnose it. I think probably the cracker is getting too "fluffy" and soft (easily remedied), and the braid seems to be softening up a bit as well. I'd like the next one will be heavier and a bit longer.

I think a better approach might be to try to make a tapered solid core (split at the pouch) and then tightly braid a cover using tapered leather strips or synthetic twine. Maybe bind the core with cloth surgical/athletic tape first? I'm not certain - but the more people experimenting the more likely we'll come up with something good!

Matthias

nice, real pretty

i dunno if this is going to be of a lot of help to any of you but this is a place where i learned to make whips maybe it can help
http://www.dallasdogsled.com/Whips/CowWhip.htm

Is the video of your "signal sling" available anywhere else?  When I click on the link you supplied it says that it was removed and is no longer available.  >:(

I'd really like to see and hear this puppy.
Thanks
Brian

I'll repost it when I'm home next week - I can't find a copy on my local machine. Otherwise, I'll see if I can record another vid (and this time we'll send a copy to Chris, rather than relying on dodgy servers)

Matthias

Putfile take II... I'll send a copy to Chris when I get back home. Remember to wait for the video to load before quitting in frustration!

Click here to watch Whip Sling

Matthias

WOW!  That is very cool.  Thanks for reposting that video.  I need to make one of these.  Even if you miss (which I'm sure I will do more times than not) it is impressive.

Brian

that is awesome:o! Anyone make another 'signal sling'?

anyway, if you want that type of lead core line i think this stuff is very similar http://www.4fishin.com/Lead%20Core.htm

I imagine it's identical - most cordage that you see packaged for retail like this came off the same factory line before being rebadged.

I think my sling is getting softer with time, and that is reducing the volume a bit. Might have to try dipping it - 50/50 it will make it better, and either way we'll learn something new... Seems a shame to tinker with the only one in existence though (hint hint)

Matthias

I have to try that!
It's tough though, that'll have to be my second project...
Focusng on one project at a time is so difficult.

In any case it will give me more incentive to finnish already!

BTW. why did you use soft flufy flappers?
:D

wrote on Feb 13^th, 2006 at 8:49pm:

BTW. why did you use soft flufy flappers? :D

Because I don't know any better? Most whips that are meant for cracking seem to have fluffy poppers. You need it to be light for sure, but maybe the greater surface of the tassle gives a louder crack? Where's Funslinger (or Whipartist :-/) when you need them?

These are easier than they look. Really just a four strand braid, which anyone can pickup. Keeping track of the extra strands is a little tricky, but I'd rank this one just a little past the balearics (and well below any fancy woven pouch types) in terms of difficulty.

Like I said, my sling seems a little mellower now. Replacing the popper is an easy thing to try, but I suspect that it needs stiffening up.

Matthias

Well noted Matthais.

I'm not any expert, but I did go through my own phase where I wanted to learn the whip. (Never took flight like so many projects)

It seemed that most whips had two small/thin strands at the end of them of leather or cordage. I didn't see any with the yarn exposed. I believe many of them had simple overhand knot tied tight right before the end aswell.

Well keep it up, let us know how well it stands up to use. A toy like that has to be hard to put down.  ;D

It seems like most modern whips use a nylon popper, either with or without a replaceable fall. The end of the braided section, you typically have a length of leather thong that brunt of any damage that might happen. The popper itself is knotted on (sometimes to an eye in the fall) and is what does the cracking. Old whips might have used horsehair, but everything I've seen on the internet ( ::) ) uses some type of synthetic. They are designed to be easily replaced, so maybe that is a hint for my sling...

Matthias

Is the entire sling softening, or just the poppers?

How are you going to reinforce it?

Both subjectively, and the popper for sure. I'm planning to dip the sling in my stiffening mixture (commercial trawl treatment - polymer) and try replacing the popper with a new one that still has some of the resin stiffness intact. The popper gets pretty limp after a while, and the fibres start to break. I have a few different twines that I can try out as well.

It's entirely possible that there really isn't any difference between the way the sling performs now and when it was first built. It hasn't had *that* many throws put on it, and my original slinging was in an echo-rich environment.

I'll try the new poppers tonight and post my impressions. Then I'll try to dip the sling to let it dry at least overnight.

Matthias

I've finally tracked down the video and fixed the broken link in the first post / instructions. Worth a look for those members who missed it the first time around...

The Old Video

Fun project (hint hint) we need a few more whip slingers out there so that we can figure out the best design.

Matthias

Ok, I'll take the hint.  Once I get my leadcore line I'm going to try doing a standard 8 strand round braid, of hemp probably, around a leadcore core, cutting strands of the leadcore out at even increments down to 0 at the terminal end.  

I'm thinking of starting with 8 or 10 strands of leadcore.  Do you think that will give a high enough mass at the retention end to facilitate a good crack?  I have to admit this is going to be my first experience with cracking whipslings.  I do get a decent pop out of my tapered hemp braided/woven sling, but it's not that great since it wasn't the intent of the design.

I enjoy the braiding aspect of sling-making so I shall experiment a bit after I make my requisite shopping trip tomorrow.  

A few more questions for you Matthias...  Is your sling light enough to still be able to sling for a while without discomfort?  Did you have to make any adjustments to your slinging style to accomodate the increased weight of the sling or did you transition over without a problem?  Do you release from the point at which the cracker is attached or from the end of the cracker?

And another question for some of the science types...  What is your opinion of where the accelerating "loop (wave)" originates?  My thoughts are that it would originate at the release side of the pocket rather than at the retension end due to the motion that the sling undergoes during a cast.  I guess it would depend on style, but I am thinking that the whipping motion wouldn't occur in the retention half since it is essentially fully extended at the time of release.  Having never watched slow motion video of a sling being used this is all just theory at this point but I would love to get anyone (everyone) else's point of view on the subject.

Ok, off to check out where around here carries leadcore line.

Happy slinging.

Cipher20,
Wal-Mart carries lead-core fishing line, if you are in the U.S.A.  (Wait 10 years, if they folks in charge of Wal-Mart get their way, and you can get stuff at Wal-Mart anywhere in the world.  That will be a sad, sad day.)

Your question about the wave, has been discussed before in another context.  Myself, I believe that the wave starts at the pocket and travels down the sling to the release knot.  But there is another wave that travels up the sling to the finger loop, and if you are using certain grips, you sometimes get your hand slapped by your own sling!

This happens if you are using the Forsyth Apache narrow grip (finger loop on pinky finger, retained cord passes across palm and between thumb and forefinger) or a wrist loop (retained cord runs from wrist, up palm and between thumb and forefinger).  It is most common if the sling uses thin cords like nylon utility cord, less common if the sling cords are thick (braided natural fibers).

my grandpa once year ago had a nice leather whip hanging on his wall, and he once took it down and let me play with it on the back porch.  (amazing i didn't take an eye out!  :P )

this was my first enounter with a real whip.  i was cracking it away, and after a minute, i noticed all these little fibers floating around in the air around me.  i took up the end of the whip in my hand and looked at it, and found that there was a little cord tied to the end that was falling apart.  it was a long time ago, but if my memory serves correct, then it was something like that really course, ugly, rough packing twine that they sell really cheap, but a more refined peice.  it is a pale yellow, and really uneven along the length.  you probably know what i mean.  anyways, try some rough natural fibers, like you said, as these may have good results, even though you may have to switch them out often.

whipartist still has a webpage up, and you could check that out to see what he uses, though you most likely already have.

My sling makes a loud crack when I cast too. The inch or so long piece of rope on the end  below the release knot has become frayed so it cracks quite nicely. The sound you hear is the end of the cord switching directions so quickly that it breaks the sound barrier and creates a mini sonic boom!! Thats why a whip crack cracks.

like i said, with a certain kindof super power overhand cast i am able to get a pretty consistent crack with my braided nylon sling, and the end is nicely frayed from hundreds of casts and months of pocket travel

Ahahaha! Oh my God! I must have one  :-[

Well, Walmart (and Kmart and Dunkelbergers) has failed me again.  They stopped carrying leadcore line.  So it is off to find a good place online to order the stuff.  I'll do a little price comparing and update you guys on a good site to pick it up at the best price.

Ciao for now.

-
-
-
-
-
And the update is that Cabelas.com has leadcore line for ~$15 for 200 yards of 18# test strength.  Everyone else I checked was in the $20-$25 range.  Shipping turned out to be $4.75.

if you have a dick's sporting goods nearby, you could check there.  they are pretty cheap, and the one near me has a gigantic fishing section.  i did not see if they have the line the last time i was there though...

Well, I finally got it made.  I decided on 16 strands of lead core line tapering down to one at the release end with acrylic yarn braided around it with a nice spiral pattern in black and grey.  The cracker on the end is braided three strand acrylic yarn also.  I copped out on the pouch.  Rather than weaving it like I hade originally planned, I split it into two small round braids and made a medical tape pouch which I inked black with a permanent marker so that it would match the black and grey of the cords.

It sends off a nice crack when I use it, but it's not a nice powerful crack like I get with a leather whip, it's more like a really loud snap.  My in-laws said they could hear me using it at the end of the street when they went walking which is around half a mile away, so it is certainly loud enough.

I'm not very happy with its flexibility either... I may have to come up with a way to improve that in the future.  I have a few ideas floating around about that but it'll have to wait until I find some more time.

Overall I would recommend others taking the time to make one.  There is something very satisfying about getting a good crack out of it when you let a stone fly.

Ciao

sod it - bumping this because the more I watch the video the more i want one. And in four years I've yet to braid anything more complicated than 3 strands of car tow rope (had a big dog that needed a big chew toy).

So will someone Please make me one of these, pretty pretty  please.
I don't care what it costs or what i have to swap - I really don't.
(this is just pathetic now - give the man a break make him a sling that goes bang ;-)

Hey aardkvard, you probably know this, but the secret behind a good snap for your slings is leaving a bit of loose fiber at the end of your release knot.

---

why i dont get is all my slkings have a little fiber left at the end of the realease cord and none of them crack, i like slionging horizontally above the head and im getting better with fig. 8, what is the best style for cracking?

The snappier the style the more likely it is to crack. Fig.8 works well if the tufts are big enough, but bear in mind that this whip crack effect adds nothing to either speed or accuracy; it's purely for show.

OH but what a good show it adds.

This has inspired me to try a hemp design. After I finish with a hemp sling, I run it thru the washer. This softens it up beautifully :) and makes it like a nice old pair of blue jeans.  This takes care othe stiffnes problem with a lot of the hemp I use.  I plan to finish the tail and cracker in faux sinew.

Bump.

Has anyone else tried making one of these?

I find it really awesome and most likely worth pursueing such a great design.

Matthias wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2005 at 7:54pm:

Oh man, this thing is hilarious... I need to un-mod myself for a few minutes so I can let loose with whole string of expletives expressing how *&^%ing cool this is ;D. I can't stop grinning - even after I raised a nice welt on my leg (AFAGUSLAE http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/mhborstad/Pirate.gif). So now the question is how to make one to a slightly more accessible design? I need three or four more! I guess next thing to try is shot loaded core so that I'm not relying on the leadline for mass. I'm going to see what I can come up with... big roll of duct tape, some bicycle inner tube and... Cane anyone think of a cheap, quick, and relatively available source for heavy tapered flexible cords? We need a paracord-simple equivalent to get more of these in circulation. Matthias

Here is one idea- simply gut paracord and fill it with BB's. I have done this.

Curious Aardvark wrote on Apr 18^th, 2009 at 1:09pm:

sod it - bumping this because the more I watch the video the more i want one. And in four years I've yet to braid anything more complicated than 3 strands of car tow rope (had a big dog that needed a big chew toy). So will someone Please make me one of these, pretty pretty  please. I don't care what it costs or what i have to swap - I really don't. (this is just pathetic now - give the man a break make him a sling that goes bang ;-)

I can make a sling that goes CRACK when you use it, as long as your throw is powerful enough. use big stones.
International mailing.......... Not sure if it will work :(
-Squirrel
PS- I have a rather long list of slings to mail, havent been to the post office in a month

The comments on this thread are from 2005, Squirrel  ;D

Donnerschlag wrote on Feb 25^th, 2013 at 3:30pm:

The comments on this thread are from 2005, Squirrel  ;D

Oh, I know that. I have dug up threads from then too. this was the 3rd thread I read when I joined, just looking through random stuff. searched whipcrack and thats what I got.

Dan wrote on Feb 25^th, 2013 at 11:16am:

Has anyone else tried making one of these? I find it really awesome and most likely worth pursueing such a great design.

I didn't manage to find lead cored line, so I made something "in the same spirit"... using polypropylen as a core (and tassel) and a 4*2 strands round braid in some yarn, mostly wool if my memory serves me right, separating into 2 4 strands for the pouch and then tapered to a 3 threads braid including the core.


It took me a very long time, mostly because I'm not a fast braider and the wool keep tangling so I get bored and let it settle down between braiding sessions ^^

Here is the result :
http://caldazar.free.fr/img/slings/bibbs_mini.JPG
It made a nice CRACK but it would have needed a sewn pouch if I was to keep it.

So I can easily imagine the real BANG the real deal is able to make ^^
and I keep looking for this lead line ^^

agian, gut some paracord, fill it with BB's, and you have a nice core.

A bit too big in respect of the original one.

By the way, what are BB ? Where I live, it's pronounced bébé, and it means baby... I'm not against using baby innards to make a sling, but the crafter of source material may not agree...

Caldou wrote on Feb 25^th, 2013 at 4:08pm:

A bit too big in respect of the original one. By the way, what are BB ? Where I live, it's pronounced bébé, and it means baby... I'm not against using baby innards to make a sling, but the crafter of source material may not agree...

BBs ("bee-bee") are those little metal or plastic balls that you shoot out of air guns ;)
Like these
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/smallBB_gun_with_CO2_and_BBs.jpg

Although I am now curious how baby innards would work as a sling material... ;D

Wow.... Sorry for not expaining that. BB's are a sort of round/spherical pellet shot from an air-gun or shotgun(as shot). they are 4.5mm in diameter, usually steel or copper plated steel. Lead BB's are called shot, and are used in shotguns. BB's are sort of a non-toxic alternate to shot.
I would love to see a sling made of innards, preferably not baby. maybe use catgut, you can buy it from musical suppliers, or just go buy a goat.
-Squirrel

I wish I was around when Matthias first posted this thread. I could have answered some questions for him. I've made a whip or three in my time, and I know why his plaiting (braiding) was loosening up, which would also affect the sound of the cracker. I might have to have a go at a Whip-Sling one of these days myself. Still trying to wrap my head around the Balearic sling and also working on my slinging technique. No point in shoving too much into my mouth, if I don't know enough to chew  :).


Mick

If anyone can reproduce matthias's original I still have cold hard cash waiting to purchase one !

BB is an abbreviation for ball bearing. I don't think they'll work very well as a core for a sling, but when you combine a BB with a bébé it'll still make lots of noise.

I've yet to try lead core line, but I probably will soon.  My best crackers have had cords made of, in order, jute, cotton, and polypropylene.  

Thunder Chief wrote on Mar 14^th, 2013 at 1:47pm:

BB is actually a size designation, not an abbreviation.

Like Kleenex and Coke, BB has genericized to mean more than what it originally did. Now it usually refers to "ball bearing" and by extension any round shot, while the size designation still applies to specifically sized lead shot. You can thank Daisy air guns for that change in usage.

Masiakasaurus wrote on Mar 14^th, 2013 at 1:56pm:

Thunder Chief wrote on Mar 14th, 2013 at 1:47pm: BB is actually a size designation, not an abbreviation. Like Kleenex and Coke, BB has genericized to mean more than what it originally did. Now it usually refers to "ball bearing" and by extension any round shot, while the size designation still applies to specifically sized lead shot. You can thank Daisy air guns for that change in usage.

i think it means the 4.5 mil steel ball bearings....
i use them for slingshot ammo. anyone got a few hundred 3/8 or 1/2 inch steel bearings?

Curious Aardvark wrote on Mar 14^th, 2013 at 9:55am:

If anyone can reproduce matthias's original I still have cold hard cash waiting to purchase one !

I plan on giving it a go down the track, when I successfully make one, I'll make another and let you know.



Mick

Love this thread. Needs a bump for 2015! Really impressive OP... curious_aardvark, did you ever get your hands on a nice whip sling?

As to the person above who recommended filling gutted paracord with BBs for a nice 'core' I wish there was an illustration or video regarding this, because I'd love to do it but I dont know where exactly the BB's should be, or how many there should be... and tons of other questions regarding construction. Id love to make one if I had deeper instructions, however a 4 round braid and a bunch of layering and tapering is not my forte yet, nor will it be any time soon so... :(

nah - mathias disappeared somewhere off the tip of south america, on a fishing trawler never to be heard from again :-(
He is/was a commercial fishing net designer.
And the only other person who ever made one wouldn't sell it to me either :-(
He also made a compound sling and wouldn't sell me one.
Some people are just mean ;-)

The cord mathias used is fly fishing line. It's weighted so you can cast a fly further - not difficult to get hold of. Just a bugger to braid by all accounts.