Well, having had a chance to test out my sling in the local "everything I can think of" chamber (a lonely racquetball court in the basement of my office building), I can say that it works almost completely! Unfortunately, I don't think the owners of said chamber would be too keen on me slinging rocks or lead weights around the place, so I had to use a light foam ball. I was able to get good release with it, it consistently went in a generally forward direction and it had a reasonable amount of force. It was certainly going much faster than I could throw it.
Until I get a chance to test it with something heavy like a rock or a golf ball, I won't know how well it works with the ammunition it was designed for, unfortunately. I have high hopes, though. I'm thinking about trying to head out to an empty field near my apartment to see if I can just throw a bunch of rocks. I'd really like to set up a backstop and some kind of soft, reactive target, if I had my druthers. Maybe some plywood with a pumpkin on a bale of hay in front of it. That way I could gauge accuracy, force and not have to go running all over the world trying to find wayward golf balls. I might see if I could set up something like this at my parents' house out in the wilderness. I'll keep you all informed.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous geekdom
I don't know if a sling as such is by necessity a geeky project. I'm sure there are plenty of non-geeky reasons someone would be interested in making and using a sling, but those aren't why I did it. I'm thinking about the inevitable zombie apocalypse, and it seems to me that a sling would be a pretty handy weapon. With a fair amount of practice and some well-designed ammo, it could be a near-silent headshot machine. Many thanks to an old friend for the design on this one. He's the one who originally got me interested in slings, and this is as good a copy of his design as I can recall.
With that in mind, I decided to make myself a sling with a few items I just had sitting around the house. Here's what you'll need, materials-wise: leather, parachute cord and wire. The tools for this are scissors (leather and paper varieties), a lighter, some needle-nose pliers, a leather rotary punch and various marking/measuring implements.
First, you'll want to draw this pattern on some paper. Make a rectangle 8" long by 4" wide. Draw bisecting lines in both directions, so the rectangle is split into four parts. These will help you measure the final shape of the sling pouch.
Now, measure 2" from the center of the long side toward each end and make a mark. Then measure one inch from the center toward the edge on each short side and make a mark. Now connect the marks you just made, turning your rectangle into more of a truncated diamond shape.
Cut this shape out.
This is the shape of your sling pouch. Trace this onto some leather, and cut the shape out with your leather scissors (paper scissors don't cut leather well, and cutting paper with leather scissors can be bad for them, too). You can also use a hobby knife to cut out the leather if you don't have leather scissors.
Now, you need to punch some holes. Get your rotary punch and turn it to the third-smallest setting. It should be a bit more than 1/8" but what really matters is that you can get the parachute cord through it without too much trouble. However, make sure that the fit is pretty snug so you can keep the parachute cord from pulling back through with a simple overhand knot. Use a pencil to make marks 1/4" in from the edge and 1/4" from the center line heading to the narrowed ends. These holes will be where you wrap the wire that helps to create the pocket shape in your sling pouch. Now that you have your marks, punch your holes with the rotary punch.
Now, you need to punch the holes for the lines you'll actually be holding. Again, you'll measure 1/4" in from the ends, then 1/4" in from the sides where those marks are. This should leave enough leather all around the holes to keep anything from tearing through. If you're planning on throwing extra heavy stuff with this sling, consider putting on some two-piece brass grommets to further reinforce the holes. I don't think it's necessary for most applications, but it would certainly make it more durable.
This is a good time to do your wire wrapping. I got some light-gauge stainless steel wire from my local everything store, and it worked well for me. Just pass the wire through the holes near the base of the pouch a few times and secure them, either by twisting the loose ends together or just by tucking them between the layers of leather. Make you you do this with the rough side of the leather facing outward. Having smooth leather inside helps your ammunition release more easily.
Now, you'll need to make your suspension lines. These will pass through the holes on the end of the sling pouch to create the attachment points for the swing lines that you hold in your hand. You'll want these lines to be about 6" long after all is said and done, so tie a n overhand knot in the end of a 8-10" piece of parachute cord and pull it through the hole (from outside to in, with the rough side of the leather facing out)until it stops. You may need to burn the end of the cord with a lighter and form it a bit with your fingers to get it to go through the hole. Be careful! That stuff burns and will stick to your hands. I will sometimes use the smooth side of a piece of scrap leather to form the ends so I don't burn myself. You can also dip your fingers in cold water before forming to help reduce the chance of injury.
Once you have these two suspension lines tied and secured (again, using a lighter to soften the ends, then smearing the knot together to keep it from coming loose) you're ready to run the lines you'll be holding onto. This takes a bit of measuring on your part, so you're at least a little on your own with it. Cut two pieces of parachute cord about a yard each. Tie a knot of some kind in the end of one of the lines (I used a figure eight back with an overhand knot, then melted) and a slip knot in the other (I tied an "Ichabod knot," but any slip knot will do). Now you need to figure out how long your sling is going to be overall. You should stand up straight, hook the loop around your middle finger, hold the other knot between your thumb and forefinger, and let the lines hang down. This is where it can get a bit tricky. You need to find a way to measure where on the hanging lines you need to tie your knots around the suspension lines to get your sling to hang with the bottom of the pouch an inch or two off the ground. If you have a wife (like I do) get her to help you. If you don't, ask a friend or a cat. If you're all alone in the world, you can do this task with a measuring tape and some math. I'll leave that to you.
Now, secure your throw lines to the suspension lines with some more figure eight knots backed with overhand knots. Melt and smear these to secure. I also dabbed some superglue into mine as I think these are the knots that will be under the most stress in this whole endeavor. The thing to be careful of here is to make sure you're not shortening your throw lines when you're tying these knots. Before melting or gluing anything, stand back up and check the length.
That's really it! This is all the sling you need to get out there and start chucking stuff. I'm going to rub some neatsfoot oil into the pouch of my sling to soften it up, but until I see how that affects it, I won't make it an official step in the construction. If you make a sling using this method, please let me know how it turns out. I'm also happy to answer any questions or entertain any suggestions you have.
Apologies for the picture quality. I took these with my phone and on a shiny surface. I'll get a better camera and background for the future.
With that in mind, I decided to make myself a sling with a few items I just had sitting around the house. Here's what you'll need, materials-wise: leather, parachute cord and wire. The tools for this are scissors (leather and paper varieties), a lighter, some needle-nose pliers, a leather rotary punch and various marking/measuring implements.
First, you'll want to draw this pattern on some paper. Make a rectangle 8" long by 4" wide. Draw bisecting lines in both directions, so the rectangle is split into four parts. These will help you measure the final shape of the sling pouch.
Now, measure 2" from the center of the long side toward each end and make a mark. Then measure one inch from the center toward the edge on each short side and make a mark. Now connect the marks you just made, turning your rectangle into more of a truncated diamond shape.
Cut this shape out.
This is the shape of your sling pouch. Trace this onto some leather, and cut the shape out with your leather scissors (paper scissors don't cut leather well, and cutting paper with leather scissors can be bad for them, too). You can also use a hobby knife to cut out the leather if you don't have leather scissors.
Now, you need to punch some holes. Get your rotary punch and turn it to the third-smallest setting. It should be a bit more than 1/8" but what really matters is that you can get the parachute cord through it without too much trouble. However, make sure that the fit is pretty snug so you can keep the parachute cord from pulling back through with a simple overhand knot. Use a pencil to make marks 1/4" in from the edge and 1/4" from the center line heading to the narrowed ends. These holes will be where you wrap the wire that helps to create the pocket shape in your sling pouch. Now that you have your marks, punch your holes with the rotary punch.
Now, you need to punch the holes for the lines you'll actually be holding. Again, you'll measure 1/4" in from the ends, then 1/4" in from the sides where those marks are. This should leave enough leather all around the holes to keep anything from tearing through. If you're planning on throwing extra heavy stuff with this sling, consider putting on some two-piece brass grommets to further reinforce the holes. I don't think it's necessary for most applications, but it would certainly make it more durable.
This is a good time to do your wire wrapping. I got some light-gauge stainless steel wire from my local everything store, and it worked well for me. Just pass the wire through the holes near the base of the pouch a few times and secure them, either by twisting the loose ends together or just by tucking them between the layers of leather. Make you you do this with the rough side of the leather facing outward. Having smooth leather inside helps your ammunition release more easily.
Now, you'll need to make your suspension lines. These will pass through the holes on the end of the sling pouch to create the attachment points for the swing lines that you hold in your hand. You'll want these lines to be about 6" long after all is said and done, so tie a n overhand knot in the end of a 8-10" piece of parachute cord and pull it through the hole (from outside to in, with the rough side of the leather facing out)until it stops. You may need to burn the end of the cord with a lighter and form it a bit with your fingers to get it to go through the hole. Be careful! That stuff burns and will stick to your hands. I will sometimes use the smooth side of a piece of scrap leather to form the ends so I don't burn myself. You can also dip your fingers in cold water before forming to help reduce the chance of injury.
Once you have these two suspension lines tied and secured (again, using a lighter to soften the ends, then smearing the knot together to keep it from coming loose) you're ready to run the lines you'll be holding onto. This takes a bit of measuring on your part, so you're at least a little on your own with it. Cut two pieces of parachute cord about a yard each. Tie a knot of some kind in the end of one of the lines (I used a figure eight back with an overhand knot, then melted) and a slip knot in the other (I tied an "Ichabod knot," but any slip knot will do). Now you need to figure out how long your sling is going to be overall. You should stand up straight, hook the loop around your middle finger, hold the other knot between your thumb and forefinger, and let the lines hang down. This is where it can get a bit tricky. You need to find a way to measure where on the hanging lines you need to tie your knots around the suspension lines to get your sling to hang with the bottom of the pouch an inch or two off the ground. If you have a wife (like I do) get her to help you. If you don't, ask a friend or a cat. If you're all alone in the world, you can do this task with a measuring tape and some math. I'll leave that to you.
Now, secure your throw lines to the suspension lines with some more figure eight knots backed with overhand knots. Melt and smear these to secure. I also dabbed some superglue into mine as I think these are the knots that will be under the most stress in this whole endeavor. The thing to be careful of here is to make sure you're not shortening your throw lines when you're tying these knots. Before melting or gluing anything, stand back up and check the length.
That's really it! This is all the sling you need to get out there and start chucking stuff. I'm going to rub some neatsfoot oil into the pouch of my sling to soften it up, but until I see how that affects it, I won't make it an official step in the construction. If you make a sling using this method, please let me know how it turns out. I'm also happy to answer any questions or entertain any suggestions you have.
Apologies for the picture quality. I took these with my phone and on a shiny surface. I'll get a better camera and background for the future.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Welcome
Welcome, my geeky friends. This is a place of wonderment, where your deepest, most nerdy desires will become as flesh. Rather, this is the place where I make really geeky stuff and show you how to do the same thing. Sounds like fun, eh? Let's make some geek krafts!
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