2009/12/22

Yule Tide Slings


Nothing says "I have no idea what to buy you" better than the gift of a sling...Merry Christmas!  These are some of my first pinch-pocket, single rivet slings.  It was this idea that led to my double tucks many years from this point.  We all have to start somewhere.  Also notice how the stays tie-on point and the subsequent rivet basically make up a two-tie point configuration which later also became a standard feature of my slings.  Ah... it's fun looking back... sling nostalgia

Slingmoore

2009/12/11

Slinging at Iroquois Park




The really wild thing about this video is how long my first slings were.  This monster looks like it's a meter and a half... Looking back now, I know just how hard they are to get wound up and to aim.  Well, live and learn.  This was filmed on the south side of Iroquois Park in South Louisville KY.  There's an archery spot there with setup targets.


2009/12/01

Smaller and Smaller Moore Experiments #4

This prototype has stays made from six strands of sewing thread. They are unbraided but tucked neatly under the back folds of the pocket on both sides giving the pouch a natural bearing-hugging curve. I think this may be as small as I can go and still control the release, the two beads are so small you have to wrap them around a finger to hold them well. It's a funny design, and I think I'll send it to my brother in law, I mean because what else is he good for if he can't test a super small sling for me? What else is there to do out in Oregon?! I mean honestly?! The innovation here, which I also tried out on the staple-hack-job on the former post is to have the stays folded back behind the pocket folds, it does an amazing job of curving the pocket. It makes for excellent pockets for perfectly spherical things, random rock shapes are betting fit into a flatter pouch, which I've already seen, but I'm curious to see if even the flatter pouch could benefit from the stays-behind-the-fold action. We shall see when slingmoore goes back to the drawing board for a new and improved sling.

Slingmoore

2009/11/27

Moore Experiments #3: Tiny Sling



The experiments have thus far led me to pursue two goals simultaneously. Goal One: To make slings built to sling particularly-sized spheres. Goal Two: To make a sturdy sling of near-negligible weight. With this sling, I'm half way to both goals. The innovation here is using the stays as part of the pouch. This is THE advantage of a woven sling, the contiguous threads yield a good hold within the pouch. The great thing about it here, is that it saved the weight and space of the rivets PLUS (and this is the best part) the stays themselves formed around the bearing making an excellently spherical pouch. I was in haste to finish this one and so I used staples to close the folds. Other than this tacky detail, it's perfect. Lighter, smaller, faster slings soon to come...stay tuned.


light is right
sling in the new year with
SlingMoore

2009/11/20

Nothing says, "I have no idea what to give you" better than the gift of a sling from slingmoore



Enough experiments, let me show you some proven designs. This sling's made from genuine leather, over six feet of paracord, including over 2 feet just for the knots, and of course wood for the stay and trigger. Not to mention months of design and testing have gone into making this sling pull off the one trick that every sling must know. The trick? It's the dual ability to fully cradle, and easily release. These two contradictory jobs live or die based on the pocket design. In addition to doing these jobs beautifully, a stiffer leather is employed here to add a snap to the opening. The rivets hold the cupped shape in both dimensions. The stay and trigger are wooden, allowing a light but secure hold. And of course the absolute best thing about it is... that nothing says "I have no idea what to buy you..." better than the gift of a sling.

Got Sling?
slingmoore@gmail.com

2009/11/17

Done with cotton twine

Maybe it's the low friction combination of cotton and steel, maybe cotton is just too stretchy, or maybe it's because I don't even know where the little bearing went but I'm done with cotton twine for now. I tried slinging the sling in the previous post into a dirt mound yesterday. I lost the ball, and I don't even know what happened. I didn't see where it hit, I'm not even sure I loosed it, it could have just fallen out. In any case, I think I'm done with cotton twine for awhile. I may still try a thread-sling made for a marble still, but later I think. It's time to focus on proven designs... the leather pouch always works, fits nearly anything and throws like a cannon. Slings still just $16.00 at SlingMoore all through Christmas, prices will go up after the new year, so this is a good time to get your sling on.

you can weave now, see you next time
Slingmoore


2009/11/16

Woven Slings...Moore Experiments


Nearly 70 feet of medium gauge cotton twine, a 3/4 inch ball bearing and an evening of weaving unweaving and reweaving and voila! Still experimenting with weaving slings to particularly-sized projectiles, in this case I had a carry-anywhere pocket-sling in mind, but... I am unsatisfied... it's still a lot of string... I am thinking about trying heavy gauge thread next. These experiments have produced some new knowledge however. I have learned that you must have 12 strands minimum, and I've obtained a feel for how long to make each of the strands in the pocket...the splitting is delicate and I've never been able to construct it correctly the first time... Next stop... a thread string that can hold a marble.

Not convinced about woven slings... still need to experiment some more.

Go to Moore Experiments #3:  Tiny Slings

till next time
Slingmoore

2009/11/06

Woven Sling Experiments



When I first started making slings, two pathways presented themselves: woven slings, and pouch slings. I researched both and it seemed to me that the woven slings were too size specific. In my experience coming across a rock is a rare event, let alone a rock that's the perfect size. So I still throw a pouch sling mostly because they're so versatile. But. I can't help just liking the way woven slings look, so I started experimenting with them. My first try was a denim pouch with hemp stays only. It was a 6 strand 3-plait weave: fun, but the weave was a draw-back, no advantage gained in weight or handling, purely aesthetic. So I started weaving the single split pouch. Wove one to fit a baseball, a ball bearing, and a golf ball. But still the weaving was very difficult to get to the exact right size even with the projectile right in front of me.


Then I had a revelation while I was teaching math one day. I was not limited to the one split design, I could split the weave multiple times if I liked. And so I did...This sling is the culmination of all that wandering. Made from burlap, it was woven from six, eleven foot strands. The draw (length from trigger to pouch) is 26" and woven in a herring-bone style. Pouch is specifically designed for golf-ball size projectiles, but the the four-split pouch weave will allow for a large range of projectile sizes, smaller and larger. This is my newest design, all of one material, and a great gift for that impossible-to-shop-for person.

2009/11/04

How little is too little to be a Little Slinger?




Top Five Ways to know it's too early for your child to be slinging...

5.  They have a near-uncontrollable desire to put the trigger bead in their mouth
4.  If the pouch was just a little bit bigger you could use it as a diaper
3.  They've been mistaken for a projectile more than once
2.  You still speak of their age using "months" as your unit of time.

and the number one way to know it's too early for you child to be slinging

1.  Their first throw was aimed at you...and didn't miss.

Sling Early... Sling Often
SlingMoore
slingmoore@gmail.com

2009/10/21

First Projectile Caught on Tape























With my sweet wife behind the camera, I caught the first projectile on film. They're usually moving so fast that any digital camera that I can afford won't pick them up. But this was not the only thing. Apples have now moved to the top of the possible perfect projectiles list, they are inexpensive, slick on the outside, just the right weight, and about the right size, and did I mention...edible? There's a quality we haven't considered. On the sling just before this one, I came just a foot away from hitting a telephone pole 150 yards away. I am slinging a wine-sap apple here.

slingmoore.com

2009/10/13

If my father-in-law can do it...























In general, one should be wary of sentences that begin with "if my father in law can do it..." But in this case, I must say, this is a very good first sling, in the rain, with two bad knees, and a light projectile. Maybe it's him, maybe military men are prone to excellence... or maybe... just maybe... it's the sling... Nah. The sling is nothing it's the slinger that matters. As I have said before and have confirmed every time I sling. Slinging is all skill, and perhaps a bit of good fortune, and of course I'm sure the sling from slingmoore didn't hurt. One more point of interest is that this is tennis back-board is an excellent practice ground. The field is small and contained, the projectiles abundant and cheap, and the best thing is... they come back to you. I would highly recommend this to anyone starting out. If you don't have a sling and would like to purchase one. Email me.

slingin in SC
slingmoore.blogspot.com
slingmoore@gmail.com

2009/10/12

South Carolina Slinging



The great thing about slinging in South Carolina is that there are tons of wide-open flat spaces. Many clean shooting ranges everywhere... tons of buoys right off shore... targets out the wazoo. The major problem with slinging in South Carolina is that... there are absolutely no rocks... I've been so starved for good projectiles that I have picked up raggedy pieces of asphalt that were so pock-marked they could have been asteroids and thought to myself..."hey there's a nice one." But I have a plan. Circa 1770's when hundreds of ships would sail from England with their holds full of enormous basalt boulders used as ballasts. Upon arriving in the States, they would chuck the rocks and fill the ships up with merchandise to ship back to England which was hungry for all sorts of products/raw-materials from here. So in hopes that some of these ballast rocks (now used as jetties) have broken down over the years into some tolerable size for slinging, I'm going to head over there and see what I can find to sling.


Have rock will sling...
Slingmoore.com

2009/10/09

Splash-down in the marshes of South Carolina























It's funny how sometimes you find your self on the top of a three story marsh-overlook venue and you just happen to have your sling in your pocket.  Does that ever happen to you?  Well this happened to me today.  Nothing special about this video except that you can see the rock land out in the marsh, just a little white splash out among the reeds. I also had to contend with a low roof and high guard rail, but the sling is versatile, and it was easy to just keep the rotations parallel to the ground. I'm using my favorite sling and the usual back pitch to send it, and of course... my little man wanted to help throw the "big rock." (no marsh creatures were injured during the filming of this video as far as we know).  Also this was done from Palmetto Islands County Park Observation Tower, and I was slinging straight North)


2009/10/04

my first squirrel


I'm standing in my backyard with my sling in one hand, and a tennis ball in the other, and a squirrel is sitting up on a tree branch munching on a walnut... and I'm thinking to myself..."I wonder if I could hit him..." so I loaded the ball... back pitched it... around once, around twice, and released the ball kind of slower but squarely in the squirrel's direction...

In the past, the safest place to be around me when I'm slinging is near the thing I'm aiming at... I've been so unlikely to hit my target...that it's a very safe spot... but this time... I hit the little guy. Good news is... I just barely brushed his tail... but the better news is... he moved and his tail that I hit was exactly where he had been a moment before... not sure what to think...

slingmoore.com
slingmoore@gmail.com

2009/10/03

In search of... The Perfect Projectile #2


I just may have found it.  The perfect projectile.  A student of mine somehow acquired this polished piece of steel.  It weighs just under a pound, is as smooth as silk.  It's perfect save two small details which are revealed in the fact that I haven't slung it yet.  Here's why:  1.  I'm afraid to lose it as it would certainly go farther than anything I've ever thrown. 2.  I'm a bit afraid of what it might do. I found an academic paper on slinging recently that had calculated the terminal velocity for sling projectiles on level ground at 128 ft/sec...which translates to...87 mph... which seems low, I'll have to read it more carefully, but in any case, I personally am not interested in the a fore mentioned ball of steel hitting anything except a large pile of dirt wherein which I can find it... and not be found guilty of reckless endangerment.  So the only major problem with this projectile?...It's too nice, too expensive, too rare... It'd be like having a vintage Porche 911, who'd wanna drive it?  Just a tad too perfect...

Back to Perfect Projectile #1

slinging steel...what else?
glen
Slingmoore

2009/10/02

Making an Impact

heading into the Pacific Ocean but... at what speed?
A discussion ensued today at work over the relative power of a sling projectile versus bullets. The only academic article I could find on the subject, "The sling, The forgotten weapon of antiquity," states that even light sling stones can have a terminal velocity of up to 128 ft/sec or 87.2 miles per hour... and now I am chomping at the bit to aim a speedometer at these little guys and see if we can get a good reading... because in the end... I don't want to know what's possible, I know want to know how fast I'm actually slinging.




2009/09/28

Classical Slinging


Michelangelo's sculpture of the David depicts our hero carrying... you guessed it: a sling. It is easy to miss because most shots of the famous figure are taken from the front, but the sling pouch is visible only from the side and the stays only from behind. It got me thinking about Biblical references to the sling. The sling was used by ancient civilizations all over the world. Everyone from the Aztec's to the Egyptians knew and used this ancient weapon, Israel was no different. In Judges 20:16 a band of slingers are spoken of:

Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

Yikes... I'd be happy hitting a dumpster at 30 yards, in 1 Chronicles 12:2 the famous Benjamite slingers are mentioned:

They were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left {to sling} stones and {to shoot} arrows from the bow; {they were} Saul's kinsmen from Benjamin.

Slinging with both hands?! My left hand can't even hold a fork, then there's this interesting Proverb:

Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is he who gives honor to a fool.

We all know what happens when the stone won't leave the sling, but is bound to it... it comes back around to smack you in the head. And of course the most famous of them all in 1 Samuel 17:40

He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in {his} pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

I must say in my search for the perfect projectile begun in the last post, David has been the best guide so far... smooth-rocks-from stream bed, but the search continues.

sling....moore
Glen

2009/09/22

The Perfect Projectile


I am currently in search of the perfect projectile, I have slung many things, balls, rocks, sticks (this is a bad idea), toys, trash, and various other assorted objects... I would love to hear suggestions... but for now... the hunt is on... stay tuned.  The only thing I can do... is Sling... (wait for it) Moore

Go to In search of... The Perfect Projectile #2

what then shall I sling?
glen...
Slingmoore

2009/08/31

Not Slinging at Red River Gorge





















If you would like to join the throngs of people that have been arrested for doing really stupid things, if you would like to severely injure a tourist, or perhaps fall from a high ledge onto a rocky surface forty feet below...then you should go slinging at natural bridge national park... otherwise, you should do like I did... and practice the art of not slinging... rather...just enjoy the view.
Moore-wisdom from Mr. Sling moore
Slingmoore

2009/08/22

Another day at the Falls of the Ohio


I'm heading out to the Falls of the Ohio for some more sling action with a friend of mine... videos to come... We're back, the bird that you see in the distance, you know... the one that's not moving? If you're wondering why we have a video of a bird not moving from his perch it's because not a single rock came anywhere NEAR said bird, it had absolutely no worries... and was in no danger...


SlingMoore
Slingmoore

2009/08/17

Slingin at the Falls of the Ohio


best slinging is just north of where the bridge hits
the Indian shoreline...such wonderful rocks
Hands down the best place to sling near my house is the Falls of the Ohio, an exposed Fossil Bed beneath a river spillway with the important fact being... there are thousands of perfectly sized, perfectly smooth rocks, out in the middle of no where. I took my eldest boy there with me the other day to test two identical slings save for the length of their draw, one short, one long. So how does the draw length affect things? I'll be brief...Short draw... easy handling, improved accuracy over short distances, just plain fun to sling...
Long draws... distance and power, I was firing things so far I could barely see them by the time they landed... and when they did they were shattering... Now I should say here that this is one of those places where there are absolutely no people anywhere near.  I tremble to sling rocks.  You should too!  Slinging is dangerous, slinging rocks can be lethal.  If you take this risk make absolutely sure there is on one anywhere near you in any direction before you sling rocks.  Beware!  

sling out loud
Glen Moore

2009/07/15

the sling of my father...

I took my father slinging a couple days ago. He's a pilot by trade, mathematician by training, so I'm thinking... "I better duck." The sling training he received from me was as follows, "ok...swing it once around your head and release on the tangent." This is the same training that I give anybody when they sling for the first time, unless I feel the need to explain the word "tangent," but he's a mathematician so I skipped that part.

So he swings it once, swings it twice (uh-oh I thought he's already not listening), released the trigger...and...and...! he shot straight. Not just straight though, straight as an arrow, straight as a line drawn in the sand by a stick, straighter than I throw...

He proceeded to throw with a consistency that rivaled my best slinging days which could prove one of two things:

1. Slinging is a very normal thing and the less I say, the better, because people have their own slinging style...OR
2. Sigh... he's a natural...

Personally, I prefer the latter explanation...
ah...slinging...
Glen Moore
Slingmoore

2009/07/10

Slinging Side-Arm Lesson #2


Getting there...not so easy.
As usual, it's getting there that's the hard part, but not undoable.      Face your non-slinging shoulder towards the target, let your sling hang straight from your slinging arm behind you.  Take one slow wind-up around your head just to get the sling moving, take a second turn, still slowly around your head to flatten the plane of rotation so that it's parallel (lined-up) with the ground, on the third turn accelerate and release.  In this video, I'm swinging at least twice most times which is all that's needed, but I've found that the extra swing produces more power and better accuracy... also notice the way I step into the line of fire upon release, I highly recommend this as it vastly improves distance in particular...
sling on...
mr. slingmoore
Slingmoore

2009/06/29

Slinging is all skill

slinging eggs at the broadside of a barn... I had the barn owner's permission
The fist time my dad took me to shoot our little .22 we set up cans and pieces of wood to shoot at.  I didn't hit very many targets but I got close. IT WAS MY FIRST TIME SHOOTING EVER, and I got close?!

As the technological advancement of a weapons increases, the skill required to work them, (seemingly) decreases. Since the sling is only one step up from your throwing arm, having almost no technological complexity of any kind, save that of the lever...The Sling is All Skill

Contrastingly, my first shot with a sling landed on my right foot, my second one went backwards, my third went straight up in the air and landed about a foot from me taking my sling with it. The second time I went slinging I was aiming at the the broad side of a building standing about 30 meters away. I slung 10 walnuts, never even touched the building, ironically I almost hit a squirrel. Good thing I was slinging walnuts...hey maybe that explains the squirrels... BUT at least they all went in the general direction of the building... I was already getting better.

Only practice has improved my slinging, but I'm still not keeping track of how many times I hit my target, rather, how large or small my angle of error is on either side. I'm still just getting close. Ok once...once I hit a telephone pole from 20 paces.

I think this is what I like about the sling, there's some difficulty to surmount, skill yet to be obtained. What slinging stories do you have? Post them in the comments!

with much yet to obtain...
mr. slingmoore
Slingmoore

2009/06/28

How to Sling, Lesson #1

The overhand throw. (see 2nd video for demo)

This is the safest and easiest sling. With your trigger hand close to your body, hold the loaded pouch out in front of you. Point the shoulder of your non-slinging arm toward your target. Drop the pouch and swing your slinging arm with the fall of the pouch to accelerate in a circle. As you approach the top of the arch, lengthen your arm out all the way and release the trigger at the top of the arch or just before.

DON'T SWING THE SLING IN A BUNCH OF CIRCLES! You can't get the pouch going much faster than you can on the first pass, plus it increases your chances of hitting something, or someone, you did not intend to hit, including yourself. Admittedly it looks cool, but that's about it's only usefulness.

Go to How to Sling, Lesson #2

Get your sling on...
Mr. Slingmoore
http://Slingmoore/

2009/06/24

Slinging Basics... and by basics, I mean physics.

Consider circular motion:

An object moving in a circle is only doing so because it is forced to. At every moment it's circular motion it's being accelerated toward a center, in this case by our stays. But, at the same time, at every moment the object would much rather travel in a straight line, and will do so if given the chance.

picture sent in my a customer in Oregon, thanks for supporting slingmoore!
The slinger intends to give the object that chance... BUT wants to choose the moment. The moment, of course is the release of the trigger. As soon as the trigger is released the object will move in a straight line that is perpendicular (90 degrees) to the radius of the circular motion. Simply put, when released, the object will travel along the tangent at any point on the circle.

This isn't surprising considering simple throwing. With a baseball, if you want the ball to go roughly forward, you have to release it at the top of your swing. When you release a frisbee to throw it forward you release it out to the side. In both of these cases the release is 90 degrees from the direction of travel. This is more difficult with the sling because the stays put the slinger at a distance instead of directly holding the object.

But of course the real world is not frictionless so there are three delays you need to consider:

1. Trigger Friction
2. Object/Pouch Friction
3. Weight of the Pouch and Stay

These three factors will delay the moment that the object actually leaves on it's new life as a tangent traveller which means only one thing for the slinger... RELEASE YOUR TRIGGER JUST A FRACTION OF A SECOND BEFORE THIS PERFECT 90 DEGREES.

get your sling on...
mr slingmoore

2009/06/17

Parts of the sling

The Sling has three parts.

The stay
The pouch
The trigger

The stay and the trigger work together during the wind-up to accelerate the ball. At release, their jobs diverge. The stay is held firmly, while the trigger is released. At this moment the trigger is the catalyst transitioning the pouch from the holding job to the releasing job... These contradictory jobs are described in more detail above. It is the precise moment of the release that is the most difficult thing about slinging.

Moore attention will be given to specific techniques is subsequent posts, but for now it's important to note that the trigger must be released on the tangent. That is, exactly 90 degrees from the ball's intended direction of travel. This is not intuitive and difficult to master at first. But as with most things in life, it can improve.

Two jobs...

The Sling. Simple in concept, but the design of an effective sling is subtle. The sling has two contradictory jobs.

Sling's Two Jobs:
1. Hold the ball
2. Let the ball go

The very best sling designs excel at the transition between the first job and the second. So while the cradle of the sling must be secure enough to keep the ball from rocketing off in some unintended direction during wind-up, that same cradle must also open quickly when the trigger is released. If the ball has to spend it's momentum pushing or rolling its way out of the cradle it will lose exit velocity and accuracy. In this way a good sling is known in the same way that relay races are won... that is... in the handing off of the baton.