# "Pygmalion" - the taming of a natural fork



## JoergS

OK, I have never presented a natural fork so far. The reason is that it is hard to find a natural that has a low and wide enough fork, which is what I prefer.

A friend of mine challenged me to make a "Phoenix" design from a natural, and I accepted.

This is the outcome:










Yes, it is a natural fork. It doesn't look like a natural at all, right?

Here is where I started from. Real big, but with the typical narrow fork that doesn't work well for me. But enough "meat" to carve it to my liking. I don't know which wood it is, bark and leafs look like beech, but the trees have nasty thorns.










Next, I removed the bark and properly microwaved it.










Then I cut of the fork arms and changed the angle on the handle. I drilled in 8mm holes and bend 8 mm threaded rods so the angle is just right.










Glued everything together with epoxy.










Took the rasp. 90 minutes later, the rough shape was done.










Then the sanding job.










Several layers of black spray paint, to de-naturalize it further.










Then sanding with very fine sandpaper to achieve the plastic-like sheen:










A very strong slingshot, perfect weight and fork dimensions.

Jörg


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## PandaMan

Nice work there Jörg. But doesn't adding metal rods kind of take something away from a natural? It'd be unnatural for a natural fork to have metal rods growing in it







.
I like the look of a phoenix in black though. Awesome job.

PandaMan


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## Brooklyn00003

Great ,, but its not a natural anymore.


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## JoergS

Well, the wood is still the same...

It is still a natural, but a heavily denaturalized one.

The 8mm rods are needed for stability. Just the glue would not work.

Of course I could have made the thing from a boardcut, but I just wanted to win the challenge.

Jörg


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## GreyOwl

Natural, based on natural ?

PS.

I am admiring the way you obtain the top "channel" (don't know the specific name)

What kind of tools do you use to do this : rasp, papersand, or others?

Thanks


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## JoergS

Ah, the attachment groove?

I use a thin, straight round file (diameter approx. 6mm)and file in the groove. It works, but is always a bit uneven.

Then I tear a thin stripe of coarse sandpaper (the one that really isn't paper, but textile), thin I enough so it fits in the groove. I clamp the frame into the vise and go around. This nicely rounds the groove.

Jörg


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## GreyOwl

I've learned a new word today !

Sometimes reverso is too busy, I can't open it.

I will try the way you do the "attachment groove".

Thanks so much for your help.


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## Darb

It's a Victor von Fronkensteen (mispronunciation deliberate) natural fork


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## Deimos

congrats! you made a but-ugly natural into a shiny sparkle hybrid


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## lucifer93

I bet you had fun making it Jorg


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## JoergS

Well, as you can see in the pictures, it did offer some resistance. The thorns got me in three places, one near the root of my thumb. Quite nasty.

Still it was fun, and the outcome is pleasing. Just knowing that this used to be a "butt ugly" natural before I tamed it is nice.

It is a Cyborg Natural!


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## ukslingshots

Nice work again Jorg, very well done


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## Holzwurm

This is a very clever design indeed







,......... seing the finished slingshot frame , I'd never have thought , that it was made from a natural tree fork .

The threaded steel rods are also well-suited for the purpose , as they provide a much better and stronger epoxy bond rather than "ordinary" plain rods could have achieved .

Not quite sure , but I guess that I know the kinda wood that you've used , but right now I can't think of a name as well , .........does that tree carry red berries(not suitable for human consumption)?

Anyway , great idea about making a slingshot this way , really an out-of-the-box design







!

greetz , Holzwurm


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## GreyOwl

If I don't win the Cougar

I would be very happy and very honored to receive this Cyborg Natural !!!

Great work, Jörg,

Congrats


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## USASlingshot

is that safe? ik you added the metal rods but it still dosent seem 100% safe to me?


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## The Gopher

i would trust anything with rods in it more than a board cut. next to metal the safest wood slingshot is a sturdy "true" natural. the above slingshot is 99% safe (nothing is 100%). i make self bows and have my fair share of high quality staves blow up on me for no apparent reason. all i'm saying is, wood can be unpredictable. if the above slingshot did "fail" the forks would just bend a bit.


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## Tom Krein

Very cool! Way to make it work your way!

Tom


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## Jaybird

Jorg
I have been harvesting forks and I have a few that may suite you.


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## The Gopher

I also have a fork that could make a true natural pheonix, i'll post a pic tomorrow.


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## NaturalFork

I just saw this. That is great!


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## JoergS

USASlingshot said:


> is that safe? ik you added the metal rods but it still dosent seem 100% safe to me?


The threaded rods would ALONE be solid enough for heavy bands. Now with the wood around it, it can't break.

Of course it survived my usual stress test (attach rope instead of bands, clamp it in the vise, pull hard with both hands).


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## huey224

i dont think it is a pure bred natural, beacuse you have cut and changed the natural shape, but i must admit it is really good.


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## nwspeycaster

Jorg

I've been wanting to make the phoenix for some time but have been unable to open any of you dimensional patterns. Could you please help me out with a attached pattern?

Thanks


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## 919h

Great job, really nice !

But natural name is usurped ! For me, it's a "technical natural" !

Xav


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## Xidoo

Excellent slingshot as is usual coming from you Joeg. I just wonder what do you do to get such a good sanding job.Could you share your technique on sanding wood?? Saludos,


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## The Gopher

Can you see the potential in it? Wouldn't be perfect, but it would be "pheonix-like"


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## lucifer93

The Gopher said:


> Can you see the potential in it? Wouldn't be perfect, but it would be "pheonix-like"


Now that would look nice


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## Xidoo

The Gopher said:


> Can you see the potential in it? Wouldn't be perfect, but it would be "pheonix-like"


A got a natural very much like a Pheonix, you guys would get to see it.


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## JoergS

I could use that fork without steel rods. Lots of rasp, file and sandpaper work ahead.


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## smitty

Joerg, I think you used a lot of imagination to turn a fork that was not what you wanted into a great slingshot with the perfect shape for you ! I love it !


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## The Gopher

here's another view of that fork, i think it would work.


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## Bill Hays

I wonder if it'd be possible to steam for a long time and then bend the forks, in a vice with a cheater pipe... I know it's done when making some walking sticks and such.

Anyway, I don't see any problem with calling it a natural... as there's hardly any example of a pure "natural" _ever_ posted... merely degrees of finish.


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## Paddledude

My guess is its a Hawthorn, aka Thornapple (Crataegus).

A good choice of wood, since in Gaelic folklore, hawthorn (in Scottish Gaelic, Sgitheach and in Irish, sceach) 'marks the entrance to the otherworld' and is strongly associated with the fairies. Serbian and Croatian folklore notes hawthorn (Serbian глог / glog, Croatian glog) is particularly deadly to vampires, and stakes used for their slaying must be made from the wood of the thorn tree.

Blackthon is another possibility but I think if it were one, no sawing, glueing or rods would have been necessary. The traditional Irish Shillelagh is made from this.

I tried the Phoenix design and it really shoots really well!

Congrats Joerg!


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## JoergS

After shooting it a bit, I really like it. Knowing that it once was a useless fork and now is a great slingshot is something special.


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## Holzwurm

The Gopher said:


> here's another view of that fork, i think it would work.


I would have concerns about stability , as quite a lot of damage to the natural woodgrain would occur ,......... so many fibres inside of the wood would be separated , crosswise laminated plywood or multiplex should hold up better , I guess .

greetz , Holzwurm


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## JoergS

It will have to survive the Jörg Sprave double armed fork stress test. If it does, it is 110% safe.

Jörg


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## The Gopher

Joerg, i sent you some forks today, let me know when they arrive. they will benfit from sitting around a another month or so since they were just cut about two months ago, although i have already made one form the same batch and didn't have a splitting problem. have fun with them!


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## JoergS

Gopher, they have arrived! I have immediately started to work on them. The wood is completely dry already.

Will publish photos later on!

Jörg


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## The Gopher

glad they made it!

I can't remember what all i threw in there, were there two "pheonix-like" forks and a couple other forks?

can't wait to see what you come up with!


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## Marco

Very nice slingshot yor are very good craftsman


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## mrpaint

Nice Joerg, I bet that can take a forkhit and survive, maybe not from one of those mini cannon balls you shoot jorge, but anything that most people shoot here would be a non-issue. I suppose though that the huge gap between forks would eliminate the chance for fork hits almost entirely. Either way, nice work.


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