[philly]

OK, here is my third natural, It was cut from a 25 year old Yew, you can count the growth rings on the butt end. A very slow growing bush. My goal was to try and duplicate the physical size of my favorite pocket shooter, the amazing and beautiful Curly maple EPS by Jim Harris. Jim's EPS fits my hand like a glove and has become my favorite go to sling in the last couple of months. I finished the Yew with 2 coats of Linseed oil and then a coat of Johnson's paste wax. Have a ways to go yet, and hope to get to the quality level of the many true craftsman on this forum. Thanks to JMP, Nico and Bane for encouraging me to go natural. I strapped it with Flatband's latex, shoots great.
Philly

 

[Hrawk]

What a lovely fork. Excellent craftsmanship there!

 

[Dan the Slingshot Man]

nice shooters

 

[Dayhiker]

Philly, that beautiful natural cries out to me, "Shoot me. Shoot me. I won't miss, I promise!"

Great slingshot, great wood, and great work! Hats off to ya buddy.

 

[philly]

Dayhiker, coming from you thats quite a compliment, thanks. There getting better all the time. What I learned from the forum is to look at what a fork can become not necessarily what it looks like on the tree. Thanks for the encouragement.
Philly

 

[GreyOwl]

Nice natural ones! Great work.

I love Yew, one of the best wood to make bows.. Here it is under protection!

My BlackWidow limbs are in Yew.

 

[philly]

Took my second natural and refinished it. Added finger groves (first attempt) and will add finish tomorrow.
Philly

 

[BaneofSmallGame]

Woah thats a mighty fine figure you've got in the Yew fork, good pick out of many in the woods, and excellent job finishing it up as you did. I'm sure it works like a charm with that latex. I am happy that I apparently helped you choose the route of a natural, not sure I deserve the plug along side members such as Nico and Jmp but that's okay. I'm glad some of my work may have sparked you to stick with naturals nonetheless, because you are very good at crafting them and choosing the right finish. And you certainly chose a fine frame to base the size off of, the EPS is top of the line.

Took my second natural and refinished it. Added finger groves (first attempt) and will add finish tomorrow.
Philly

Man you are on a roll!

Though not finished up yet, this one may turn out even better. Your naturals were excellent from the start, but you are getting better and better with each passing one. That one has a nice grain and will really look great when you bring it out. I await an update with great anticipation.....

Okay, now you've got me wondering with your quick work on that fork, what kind of tools are you using for these fine bits of kit? Whatever they are, don't drop them any time soon.

Take Care - John

 

[The Gopher]

great work

 

[Dayhiker]

Good idea on the grooves. That's a real improvement.

 

[philly]

Woah thats a mighty fine figure you've got in the Yew fork, good pick out of many in the woods, and excellent job finishing it up as you did. I'm sure it works like a charm with that latex. I am happy that I apparently helped you choose the route of a natural, not sure I deserve the plug along side members such as Nico and Jmp but that's okay. I'm glad some of my work may have sparked you to stick with naturals nonetheless, because you are very good at crafting them and choosing the right finish. And you certainly chose a fine frame to base the size off of, the EPS is top of the line.

Took my second natural and refinished it. Added finger groves (first attempt) and will add finish tomorrow.
Philly

Man you are on a roll!

Though not finished up yet, this one may turn out even better. Your naturals were excellent from the start, but you are getting better and better with each passing one. That one has a nice grain and will really look great when you bring it out. I await an update with great anticipation.....

Okay, now you've got me wondering with your quick work on that fork, what kind of tools are you using for these fine bits of kit? Whatever they are, don't drop them any time soon.

Take Care - John

Thanks for the compliments John, cut the forks with a folding saw, shaping with a Mora knife and rasp, couple grades sandpaper. Have a small rat tail file for the band grooves. Thats it for the naturals. I have a pretty extensive range of power tools including a wood lathe, a small metal lathe, band saw, drill press, table saw, grinder, belt and disc sander etc, etc, etc. SO, gona start a board cut soon, need to find the right piece of wood. No rush, for now I am having too much fun with the naturals.
Philly

 

[Frodo]

Good work! I'm always searching for a yew fork. Naturals are the best!

 

[Martin]

That's a nice slingshot, nice craftsmanship and a beautiful finish.
No doubt the other natural will be equally impressive when its finished.
Martin

 

[jmplsnt]

Excellent work Philly and it's good to see I'm not the only one replicating a board cut with a home-built natural. I also like the yew as my understanding is that it's very hard to find a suitable fork for a slingshot in this wood. And it definately has the ancestry of the incredible English longbow (also made of yew). "Let the grey geese fly!" or in this piece's case "Let the lead balls fly!"

You also picked an excellent elastic for it. I've had some of Flatband's latex elastics back in the day and they are really fine performers.

Great slingshot Philly and its being made of yew really adds to the mystique!

 

[NoSugarRob]

very nice

 

[Devoman]

Yew do good work!...lol

 

[philly]

Thanks Gents, the Yew was a planting that my Dad put in over 25 years ago, I pulled it to make room for a small garden last year. I only got one fork from it but the rest will not go to waste. I make custom Pens on my wood lathe for gifts to friends and family and the Yew comes out in wonderful soft colors. The second is actually a refinish and modification to an Apple fork that I did not like the finish on. Scraped, sanded and added the groves. I need more practice at the carving, I can see that the flow lines on the groves needs to be improved, a little too straight. I also think that a denser wood would look better, I am not so sure I like the appearance of the growth ring pattern in the groves, a little too busy for my taste. Well, I am learning and having fun. I added a picture of some pens I made out of theYew and some Black and Gold stabilized Box Alder. Thanks for all the encouragement. More to come.
Philly

 

[philly]

Strapped up with Tex Shooters Express bands. Shoots great, feels good in the hand.
Philly

 

[mxred91]

Philly that yew fork is a beauty, Well done. Yew bushes I think are overlooked as a good source of wood. I made a bow out of a yew bush that was cut down and set at the curb last year. Low draw weight due to the narrow diameter, and very twisty, but it shoots good. Always wear a mask when working with yew, it is very toxic.
Chuck S.

 

[harpersgrace]

Great looking forks, well done.