[MOJAVE MO]

Here is something that puzzles me. When is a Natural, no longer a Natural?
When I first came to the Forum it seemed obvious that Dennis the Menace shot a Natty. A proper stick from a proper tree tied with bands and a pouch is simply.... A Natty!
The shooters that live and die by their Natural should have an opinion about the un-natural Natty's right?
If you take a treefork and cut it down to a template design to be shaped and sanded, is it still a Natty?
If you add a non-natural component like a brass tube is it no longer a Natty? How about Micarta fork tips, or a second type of wood to create a butt-cap or fork tip? Is it still a Natty?!
Leaving some bark-on has a name, a Bark-On Natty.
If your natural is filled with colored epoxy is it still a Natty?
If you cut your Natty in half and use a wood core fused between each piece, is THAT still a Natty??
Of course a metal-core isn't natural, so we can take that off the list. Thoughts??

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[Tag]

I’m not sure on this question, but it is definitely beautiful. So the finish brings out the natural beauty

 

[Hulla Baloo]

A natural denotes the bulk of a sling

Cut from a tree, devoid of all bling

Augmented yes, but not the whole of a thing-

Confirmed as a perch, on which birds used to sing

 

[MOJAVE MO]

Hulla!
Indeed lovely prose! But I'm still left hanging! Augmented too far and your Natty is gone? A toothpick could be a broken Natty. But is it?!

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[Hulla Baloo]

Augmented too far becomes a composite

The natty's still there, it's just in the closet.

 

[MOJAVE MO]

Augmented too far becomes a composite
The natty's still there, it's just in the closet.

No doubt Hulla. If your professional Sling Career ever snaps then your Poetry can bring home the bacon!

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[hoggy]

Here is something that puzzles me. When is a Natural, no longer a Natural?
When I first came to the Forum it seemed obvious that Dennis the Menace shot a Natty. A proper stick from a proper tree tied with bands and a pouch is simply.... A Natty!
The shooters that live and die by their Natural should have an opinion about the un-natural Natty's right?
If you take a treefork and cut it down to a template design to be shaped and sanded, is it still a Natty?
If you add a non-natural component like a brass tube is it no longer a Natty? How about Micarta fork tips, or a second type of wood to create a butt-cap or fork tip? Is it still a Natty?!
Leaving some bark-on has a name, a Bark-On Natty.
If your natural is filled with colored epoxy is it still a Natty?
If you cut your Natty in half and use a wood core fused between each piece, is THAT still a Natty??
Of course a metal-core isn't natural, so we can take that off the list. Thoughts??

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

methinks it's all about who's interpreting the term natty.

 

[MOJAVE MO]

Here is something that puzzles me. When is a Natural, no longer a Natural?
When I first came to the Forum it seemed obvious that Dennis the Menace shot a Natty. A proper stick from a proper tree tied with bands and a pouch is simply.... A Natty!
The shooters that live and die by their Natural should have an opinion about the un-natural Natty's right?
If you take a treefork and cut it down to a template design to be shaped and sanded, is it still a Natty?
If you add a non-natural component like a brass tube is it no longer a Natty? How about Micarta fork tips, or a second type of wood to create a butt-cap or fork tip? Is it still a Natty?!
Leaving some bark-on has a name, a Bark-On Natty.
If your natural is filled with colored epoxy is it still a Natty?
If you cut your Natty in half and use a wood core fused between each piece, is THAT still a Natty??
Of course a metal-core isn't natural, so we can take that off the list. Thoughts??

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

methinks it's all about who's interpreting the term natty.

I get it. That is like speaking Spanish in Arizona but it sounds like English in Spain?

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[Ibojoe]

A slingshot made from a natural fork. Plain and simple. Carving doesn’t make it less natural just a better fit in the hand.

 

[MOJAVE MO]

A slingshot made from a natural fork. Plain and simple. Carving doesn't make it less natural just a better fit in the hand.

So a 'natural' cut and shaped from a tree stump is still a natural, though not of a fork?

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[Ordo]

For a natty to be called a real-man-natty, you must break the fork with your naked hands and finish it using just your teeth.

 

[Ibojoe]

A slingshot made from a natural tree FORK.
We used to have a wonderful ssotm until stuff like this started popping up.
Then the question was "is it really a slingshot if it doesn't have bands on it"?
Bout as silly as this.

 

[StringSlap]

In my opinion a natty should have minimal shaping done to it and should still look like an integral part of the tree. A board cut frame that you trace a template on is a 100% natural wood slingshot, but you wouldn't call it a natty. I think the same should hold true for a slingshot that is made from an oversized fork that is slabbed and then a pattern traced onto. It's a 100% natural wood slingshot, but no longer looks like a fallen branch. Same for one that is not slabbed, but carved and shaped so that it is vastly different from it's natural state.

Keep in mind that this is simply how I perceive things in my mind and I have no problem with what other people consider a natty to be. I won't argue the fact, correct anyone, or get into a pissing contest over it!

 

[Tree Man]

Ok, ill take a stab at it. This is simply my understanding. A natural fork has two distinct stems that have grown together naturally by way of branch to trunk attachment (lower case y) or by co-dominant stems (upper case Y). Now if you flatten that out and trace a template on it, it would be called a "flat-Nat" or flat natural. Even though it's flat, you should still be able to see the center pith or at least the annual growth rings of each stem.
If you use dimensional lumber from the trunk wood or stump, or single branch, you're making a "board cut".
Now if you take a huge natural crotch, and flatten it, and carve it etc, and you don't see two distinct stems, then it would be a "crotch cut". Anything that gets cut apart and glued back together with spacers and cores etc all fall into the cores and composites category.
Thats all I got.

 

[SJAaz]

Good points all. It is kind of a poser isn't? Personally, to me if it looks like it was made from a tree fork, that is good enough for me.

You know, you can put lipstick on a pig but until it doesn't look like a pig anymore, I aint going to kiss it.

Just read treemans post, so I'm saying if you can show me three distinct growth rings, one on each end, then maybe I will kiss it.

 

[Pebble Shooter]

Having started out roughly 9 years ago making bent metal rod and birch plywood board cut slingshots, with a brief diversion into experiments with A-4 paper-based slingshots after I found a way to ensure structural rigidity of the forks, I have only recently started making naturals - partly because of the CCP virus-induced lockdown, and the need to do something creative.

There is something truly satisfying about rummaging about among tree branches scattered on the forest floor after trees have been felled, and finding some really nice hardwood to work with - ideally when it has already dried out to a large extent outdoors.

In my book, a natural, or "natty" as many of you call such slingshots, should by definition be made of a tree branch, or a section of wood extracted from a wood log with the correct wood grain orientation. I see nothing wrong with shaping such wood for the purpose of ergonomics and safety (top on my list), but would probably not go as far as forging a board cut-type shape for what might qualify as a "standard" slingshot design: that's not the point.

Indeed, I like the idea of using naturally flowing lines of the general natural fork shape and the flow of the wood grain as far as possible, while creating a frame that is nevertheless practical for the purpose is is being made for: to shoot with, albeit that it may end up as a piece of decoration in the house. I probably would not add other materials such as metal to a natural slingshot frame, and do have a preference for a colorless surface finish that highlights the wood grain and natural color as much as possible.

That said, people have different tastes and interpretations when it comes to things in general, so I would not be at all surprised to see eccentric natural slingshots with all kinds of gizmos at some stage. B)

 

[Ibojoe]

I think CPU turned in a great entry. If you don’t think you can beat it, simply change the rules.

 

[MOJAVE MO]

I think CPU turned in a great entry. If you don't think you can beat it, simply change the rules.

Hang on a second Joe! One of us is misunderstood here. This thread has ZERO to do with the Competition Forum outside of my question. If it has anything to do with the SSOTM then it would be wondering if the Natty I am working on would be an actual Natural! However, based on the responses here it appears to me that a Natty should, can, and will have traceable crotchwood. That seems to be the thrust of it. Just more FUN and interesting banter in the world of the Natural, or not!
If anyone else is bummed out at this thread then I know how to delete it!

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[StringSlap]

I think CPU turned in a great entry. If you don't think you can beat it, simply change the rules.

Hang on a second Joe! One of us is misunderstood here. This thread has ZERO to do with the Competition Forum outside of my question. If it has anything to do with the SSOTM then it would be wondering if the Natty I am working on would be an actual Natural! However, based on the responses here it appears to me that a Natty should, can, and will have traceable crotchwood. That seems to be the thrust of it. Just more FUN and interesting banter in the world of the Natural, or not!
If anyone else is bummed out at this thread then I know how to delete it!

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Same here! I was in no way, shape or form referencing anything to do with the SSOTM. Whatever is posted over there is fine by me. Judges have the final word in a competition. I was commenting on the subject of this thread in and of itself.

 

[Hulla Baloo]

The appreciation of art is subjective at best

What makes a natty is fun to digest

The answers aren't laws, but opinions with zest

The eyes of beholders will all pass the test :twocents:

edit: Good question. Great thread.