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First DIY Hawaiian Sling (+polespear in different post)

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Should I use it?

  • You must, grasshopper.

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • Maybe. If you figure out how to rig it.

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • NO! Put it on display.

    Votes: 1 12.5%

  • Total voters
    8

Team Deniz

stoked to get soaked
Mar 7, 2011
74
12
0
I was going to wait until these two bad boys were 100% complete before posting pics, but I can't wait any longer.

This is my Hawaiian sling. After a few more coats of varnish and tying on the band, it'll be ready for action. Problem is, I'm in love with it and I'm worried I'll damage it if I use it; so it'll probably end up as a display piece. Besides, I'm not sure how to rig it so I don't lose the shaft after every shot. Any advice on that point would certainly be welcome.

All of the wood pieces were hand-carved by yours truly. When I began, I didn't have a real plan as to what it would look like. All I knew is that I wanted it to fit my hand comfortably. Once I had the handle the way I wanted it, I saw what I wanted the whole piece to be. From that point on I tried to make it look like a Chinook that got snacked on by a bear. I'm quite happy with the result.

No power tools were used except for a drill to create the bore. The slip tip is set up with 1/16" aircraft cable, but I'm not sure how to secure the cable to the shaft. Right now I just have the loop tight enough to grip the shaft but loose enough to slide if you really reef on it.
 

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Ha! looks like a caterpillar!
Nice bit of wood carving though (one of my hobbies) unfortunately I don't know much about your design but it looks like a solid piece of softwood?
 
Caterpillar, eh? Is that good or bad?

And yes. It's made of one piece of wood that I got from the scrap bin at my local finishing store. I'm not sure what kind of wood it is, but it wasn't necessarily one of the softer ones I've worked with. Somewhere in the middle.
 
OK well it looks like pine to me but anyhow I dont think it will like being submerged in water very much.
If it were a piece of oily wood like Teak then perhaps but you would really need to laminate several pieces of softwood together & ensure they were completely waterproofed with epoxy or similar to avoid the wood swelling up & splitting.
You could however bind it together with some oiled twine to hopefully stop the wood splinting as it absorbs water.
Or as you suggested put it on the mantelpiece & build a laminated hard wood version.
 
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My plan was just to seal/varnish it over and over until it's waterproof, but you're probably right that it would just get busted anyway. I thought about using teak or laminating multiple pieces together, but my resources were somewhat limited.
 
That way would certainly be quicker, easier and cheaper to make.... plus no risk of it getting waterlogged and splitting.
 
My plan was just to seal/varnish it over and over until it's waterproof, but you're probably right that it would just get busted anyway. I thought about using teak or laminating multiple pieces together, but my resources were somewhat limited.


I bet that there is someone on this board or spearboard that had a short chunk of teak already laminated up. Aka - a barrell cut off. I've got a chink of laminated Mahogany that your welcome to. The useable bit is roughly 5 x 2 x 1.25.

I always epoxy mahogany but i understand that you can oil it to??
 
I appreciate the offer very much, but I don't see the point in getting a chunk of wood sent to me from Arkansas. It'll be cheaper and easier to get some that's already here on Vancouver Island.
 
I had Ray Odor make me some sling shafts with line holes drilled into them about 2' back from the tip. I attached my shooting line through here and then attached the other end to the handle. IF you do a search on here you should find lots of photos of what my slings look like. I shoot them in limited vis water with lots of weeds and lots of mud, but have never lost a single one.

One thing you might want to think of is mounting the bands in front of your hand instead of behind it. This makes it easier to grip and gives the shaft more power. This isn't my own idea, but one I stole from Connor. He's the man when it comes to using slings and he's never steered me wrong on advice when hunting with them.

Another option that works is to mount a plastic coil to the front of the handle and use a pneumatic shaft with the sling- the SL types work the best. This makes for a much more compact set up and the slimmer profile of the SL spear butt doesn't seem to get hung up and the handle bore.

Jon
 
I appreciate the offer very much, but I don't see the point in getting a chunk of wood sent to me from Arkansas. It'll be cheaper and easier to get some that's already here on Vancouver Island.

No biggie.. . I would have mailed it on the company dime in a flat rate box. Pretty cheap provided it actually gets to you (gotta love the USPS). Really like the look of what you've done so far.
 
Two Hawaiian slings complete. The wooden one is not likely to see action since I've now got the other sling and my polespear. Once I get a wetsuit, the hunt begins.

The black sling is made from the handle of a knife sharpener. The part that holds the shaft is a marker lid. I got the idea for that from [ame="http://www.spearboard.com/showpost.php?p=924763&postcount=13"]this guy[/ame]. I went a little further by adding a thread to the back of the shaft so I can add a nut, locking the shaft to the sling itself. There is a spring in between that both keeps the shaft in position for quick firing, and cushions the impact between the nut and the sling. The shaft on this one is only 3 ft. It's come to my attention that most fish out here in BC won't run from you, so this will be for short range shots only.
 

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Is that a wooden slip-tip in the first image?!
 
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