Functional DIY Projects

DIY your very own Wood Sling

Every household needs a wood sling to say goodbye to splinters in your fingers and forearms, and bits of debris on the carpet when transporting wood to your fireplace.

Materials:

  • Piece of canvas
  • Tarpaulin
  • Stout cloth or shade-cloth – 400 x 700mm*
  • 4 brass eyelets
  • 1m ski rope or skipping rope.

These materials* are available at selected Mica Stores. To find out which Mica is nearest to you and whether or not they stock the items required, please go to www.mica.co.za, find your store and call them. If your local Mica does not stock exactly what you need, they will be able to order it for you or suggest an alternative product or a reputable source. *You can use shade-cloth or a piece of stout drop-cloth if your local Mica does not stock canvas or tarpaulin.

Method:

    Make a Fire Wood Sling 1

  1. This is all you need for no splinters and no mess when lugging wood from your woodbin to the fireplace when preparing for a cosy night in.

    2. Make a Fire Wood Sling 2

  2. To start, cut the material to size. We worked with the dimensions listed above, but you can decide on something smaller or larger as you see fit. If you want to make it much larger, bear in mind your carrying capacity. Add a little more cloth so that you can hem the ends. You can use fabric adhesive to create the hems for great strength and to prevent tearing.

    3. Make a Fire Wood Sling 3

  3. We then folded over the corners about 40mm as shown and punched a 12mm hole in each (the punch/eyelet set from Mica includes the punch, eyelets and tool).

    4. Make a Fire Wood Sling 4

  4. Neat holes.

    5. Make a Fire Wood Sling 5

  5. The male part of the eyelet inserted through the holes that are punched.

    6. Make a Fire Wood Sling 6

  6. Slip the female part of the eyelet into place and use the tool to compress the two together.

    7. Make a Fire Wood Sling 7

  7. Place the four eyelets in place.

    8. Make a Fire Wood Sling 8

  8. This is optional: to stop the ends of the rope fraying, we whipped each end with some duct tape. In the case of a nylon ski rope, simply burn the ends to melt the fibres into a solid mass and they will not unravel.

    9. Make a Fire Wood Sling 9

  9. The sling takes up no space once rolled up.

    10. Make a Fire Wood Sling 10

  10. Look, no splinters, no mess.

    Project Guide:

    • Difficulty: Novice
    • Estimated time: 30 minutes
    • Cost: R20 or so