Hello,
This is not really a strict or detailed tutorial, just something that I've been playing around with and would like to share

To make the staff sling, I used:
- A stick (I used a 4’ (1.2m) one, I’m probably going to make a new 6’ (1.8m) staff)
- 550 Paracord (or some other type of cord)
- Sports tape (for wrapping the grip, maybe for the pouch)
- A knife, lighter, scissors, etc.

First, prepare the stick. Use stop cuts to carve a notch near the tip of the stick, about as deep as the diameter of the cord you are using. A grip can be added to the handle end with sports tape by twisting a section, wrapping that around the handle, and putting a layer of tape over it. This makes a ridged grip.

Next, prepare the pouch. This can be any type of pouch, as long as there is a loop at either end to tie the cords to. I ended up making a woven pouch.

To make the cords, cut a length of paracord a few inches longer than the desired length (my cords ended up at about 2' or 60cm in the end). Tie a loop that fits over your staff on one. This will be your release cord. On the other, tie a small loop and put the cord through it, creating a slipknot. This will be your retention cord. To keep the retention cord snug and in place, ridges such as those on the grip can be created with sports tape for the cord to rest in between. Furthermore, a knot can be tied to catch on the loop at a certain spot, preventing the slipknot from loosening.

Now, the sling is pretty much done. All that is left is to tie the cords to the pouch, making sure that the pouch hangs even. A single knot will suffice for this.

Since the cords are tied onto the pouch and not permanently fastened, you can adjust the length of them by tying higher or lower. You can also switch out staffs. I made this in an afternoon, and after a bit of testing and fine-tuning, it worked really well and was a lot of fun.
- Eino

David Morningstar wrote on May 3^rd, 2023 at 8:54am:

Thank you! 

I noticed that you used a different hook shape in an earlier thread (http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1272993139), and I'm thinking of trying it out when I make a 6' / 1.8m staff.

joe_meadmaker wrote on May 3^rd, 2023 at 9:25pm:

Thanks! As it turns out, you need to either tie the pouch on really securely, or at least check the knots occasionally, though. The pouch came off of the retention cord, and it flew about 25 yards / 21 meters Maybe some tape would help.

I did some testing with the taped and duct-tape pouches, and they worked about the same as the woven one.

joe_meadmaker wrote on May 3^rd, 2023 at 9:25pm:

Cool! Good luck 

Thanks for the advice!

I'm definitely going to experiment with longer cords when I make a longer staff, and I'll do some testing with a unnotched tip vs. notched tip. I guess if the notched tip breaks, I just have a slightly shorter staff with an unnotched tip.

Maybe if dowels at Home Depot are cheap enough, I'll just get two to test the other notch shape and unnotched.

Just make the retention cord extra long and attach it to the staff with a three loop clove hitch.

I did some testing, and the new staff did not perform very well, which I attribute to its thickness and weight (it is about 2.58 times heavier than my original, shorter staff. Per foot, it is still around 1.7 times heavier). The staff takes a bit too much energy to accelerate, throw the ball, and slow down before hitting the ground, so it cannot throw to its full potential. My farthest throw was about 125' (40m), compared to the previous staff throwing up to 180' (55m).

The dowels will probably need to be thinned to reduce weight. I'm thinking of using a rasp, belt sander, a knife, or rough sandpaper. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I had another thought: would it work well if I tapered it along its backside? Removing mass closer to the tip would probably have the most effect, while hopefully compromising strength the least. I think I've seen this on a staff in another thread.

EDIT: In this thread http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1272993139, Rat Man references using bamboo. At some point I should cut my losses and start looking for some. If thinning the dowels doesn't work, I guess I have some big sticks to play around with.

Thank you for the tips!

Since it's nice out today, and supposed to be nice tomorrow, I'll start on tapering the dowels on the belt sander.

I never thought of going to garden centers for sticks for some reason...my mind went straight to curtain rods... Now I know where to get my next staff!

I got some tennis balls about 180-190'-ish (55-58-ish meters). Sometime, I will need to go to an empty park and try out golf balls, as they sound pretty fun to throw and would probably fit in my primary rock-sling.