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Sling Materials (Read 2030 times)
LMarshall
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Sling Materials
Aug 8th, 2004 at 8:18pm
 
I just started slinging about 3 days ago. I made my first sling in a bout 5 minutes, out of some nylon cord, and a canvas patch. Its probably going to fall apart pretty soon, since the canvas is starting to fray. I braided a second sling out of nylon, but that turned out pretty bad...

So I just started braiding a third sling, but decided to use hemp. Now, I've seen hemp necklaces get pretty ratty, after awhile they just fray and fall apart. How long does hemp last for a sling? What fibers have you found to last the longest, and work the best?
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SnapCut
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Re: Sling Materials
Reply #1 - Aug 11th, 2004 at 11:29am
 
I am currently using hemp to make a sling and I am wondering the same things you are and how similar thing like jute and sisal compare?  I my have misspelled one of those words?

Good luck with your slings and I hope we get some replies to our questions Smiley
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A SLING IS SO MANY WONDERFUL THINGS
 
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chrismax
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Re: Sling Materials
Reply #2 - Aug 11th, 2004 at 12:23pm
 
Well, For laurent and I, the problem somewhat lies in our ammo. We jsut use rocks found off the ground, and I have noticed with my sling (nylon cord) the puch is taking a beating because of the rough rocks that I use. So as long as the ammo used is smooth. That will atleast help it last longer.
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WildAtHeart
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Re: Sling Materials
Reply #3 - Aug 11th, 2004 at 4:39pm
 
Leather pouches hold us a surprisingly long time, even with rough rocks. I have one that has lasted for 5 years.
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LMarshall
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Re: Sling Materials
Reply #4 - Aug 11th, 2004 at 5:53pm
 
I was at the craft store today looking for some clay to make glandes, and looked over the leather. Most of it didnt look to durable, like calfskin, or something really thin and stretchy. It was also about $8 for just one square foot, and I'd only use about 10 square inches of that, so I passed on the leather.  In hindsight I probably should have bought some, since I'll end up making more than one or two slings.
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David_T
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Re: Sling Materials
Reply #5 - Aug 11th, 2004 at 8:54pm
 
I have made slings out of hemp and they last very well except when I occationally snag a fist size chunk of concrete and it cuts the release knot off. In the Gallery you can see some that I have made from hemp. They usually sell a lagre hemp and a small hemp. I believe the smaller hemp is 48# but I'm not sure. I use 8 strands doubled up and do a 4 strand round braid. I use the 20 steps Method by Jeff H in the Articles section. The larger hemp is too stiff for me--especially hard on the finger loop part.

I also put a dab of hot glue on each stich. The first sling I made was jute and the concrete cut through the stiches in about 2 hours of slinging.

You will also see a nylon braided sling. I bought braided nylon (it is better than twisted) at an outfitters store. It is small cord like shoe string. I do a 4 strand round braid with it. It has lasted a year.  The only time the leather pouch had problems is when I sling too low and hit it on the ground and tear it.

I have to put new hot glue on the release node every few weeks. The snapping at release eventually wears  it off. I also wrap duct tape around the release cord from the pouch up about 6 inches. If I don't the rough concrete slowly wears through the cord over time.
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Zorrro
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Re: Sling Materials
Reply #6 - Aug 13th, 2004 at 9:07am
 
Last ones i've made are  nylon cord,  i've used 3 cords braided and it last for long even using irregular surfaced rocks. long ago i made them from nylon cord and cloth plaster and it also stands abuse quite well. but the later ones look indestructable Smiley
as soon as i get time i'll post some pics of how to make both of them.
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Matthias
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Re: Sling Materials
Reply #7 - Aug 13th, 2004 at 11:40am
 
One thing to keep in mind when talking about different fibres is that the handling and treatment during processing and then the construction has as much or usually more to do with the end product as the chemistry/characteristics of the raw material.

There are lots of tradeoffs to be made when manufacturing twine. Short staple fibres (cotton, sisal etc) need quite a lot of twist to mechanically lock the fibres together. This twist then needs to be balanced by twining two or more strands or else the construction will be unstable. Adding twist also makes for desnser, more "wiry" string, which may kink. Since lots of what is easily available is designed as "utility" cord, ease of handling is  often given a higher impotance than ulitmate strength.

Synthetics are a whoel different problem since what we see as consumers is usually filament (continuous strands making up the yarn) spun. In this case, ultimate strength (and lowest stretch) is highest when the filaments are most parallel (no twist) Some twist can be added to keep the whole mess manageable, or it can be braided. Now almost all the sythetics are stronger than we really need to start with, but this "strong" config has horrible abrasion resistance. Poor long term strength too, as losing one strand essentially takes it out of the picture for the whole length. Mechanically locking the strands togetherby twisting or braiding dramatically increases the wear resistance. The cord may get "fuzzy" but it will take some beating before it wears through.

Ooof. All that said, hemp _should_ be a nice sling fibre, though I suspect that the stuff that they sell for necklaces etc is designed to get ratty looking Angry. Jute can be quite nice if you find good stuff. Mos of what is sold as sisal these days is pretty poor, but you might get lucky.

Wool would be good if you can find worsted type yarn (not fluffly mitten stuff). Needs to be plyed/cableds/braided.

Any of the synthetics should be good if you want to go this route. If you are keen, you'll gain by starting with the smallest diameter you can find and plying or braiding tightly to get up to the size you want.

The trick of course is _finding_ any of this stuff. In today's everything-prepackaged, precooked, preassembled etc world people aren't expected to _need_ string. Cry
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Zorrro
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Re: Sling Materials
Reply #8 - Aug 13th, 2004 at 12:06pm
 
This is a pic of old sling and new one, it's the same material (nylon cord) old one is about 2 years old and has hundreds  of shots, new one only has 30 to 40 shots used.

...

old one has compacted a bit but still in one piece, wearing is almost inexistent. no fibers have broken or shown out .and external layer still in good condition .
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Never disturb your enemy when it's making a mistake (Napoleon Bonaparte)
 
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