# best natural wood/tree?



## SmutjeStörtebeker

Dear Slingshot-Community,

iam realy new to the "slingshot-thing". Tomorrow morning i will go in a huge forest in Bavaria to search for my first Fork. Now my Problem: There are many different tree-species in this forest and i was wondering if you could tell me which one is the best to build a slingshot.

conifer-trees in "my" forest:

- pine
- fir 
- spruce

broadleaved trees in "my" forest:

- oak
- linden 
- beech
- chestnut


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## Dayhiker

Of the ones you named, probably oak.


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## bleachbone

i dont know much about natural fork strength, but i do know not to choose pine, it is a veryweak wood.


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## PJB21

oak or beech would be your best bets, both are strong woods and have a nice grain. also make sure you dont select anything too thin, remember as you work it you will be taking wood off making it even thinner =)


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## SmutjeStörtebeker

@ PSB21,bleachbine,Dayhiker: thank you very much for your answers. Now I can go pacified to sleep.









Good Night everyone.


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## fatboy

PJB21 said:


> oak or beech would be your best bets, both are strong woods and have a nice grain. also make sure you dont select anything too thin, remember as you work it you will be taking wood off making it even thinner =)


 I agree; oak & beech.


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## BaneofSmallGame

I say Oak and Beech will do just fine..... I have no experience with the others

I have tons of beech trees dominating my local woods, so I have harvested quite a few good forks, and if you look here in the customs section you will see one of them. They work great for me, nice and hard, good clear grain, and relatively easy to work. Yet, oak would be your strongest bet out of all of them.

Good luck, naturals are where its at!









Cheers - John


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## harpersgrace

Oak is fast becoming my favorite, beech and chestnut would aslo be fine...Linden I believe is another name for basswood which would be fine for light bands only...make sure to cut your forks longer than what you need...


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## torsten

Servus!

Beech and oak, both are great woods for slingshots!
I like beech a bit more









Gruß


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## SmutjeStörtebeker

Iam back from the forest. Being in the nature after 3 Days of office was GREAT. 

I found 3 forks:

- 1 big beech for my first real slingshot 
- 1 big birch for testing ideas which I have for the beech 
- 1 small birch for a small (yellow flatbands) slingshot which i want to build for my little cousin (Age: 6)


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## Brewman

Any solid hardwood will do fine. Worry more about getting the shape you want and it fitting your hand. If it is a little bigger you can whittle it down to size. What are you using for bands as those are the heart of your slingshot?


SmutjeStörtebeker said:


> Dear Slingshot-Community,
> 
> iam realy new to the "slingshot-thing". Tomorrow morning i will go in a huge forest in Bavaria to search for my first Fork. Now my Problem: There are many different tree-species in this forest and i was wondering if you could tell me which one is the best to build a slingshot.
> 
> conifer-trees in "my" forest:
> 
> - pine
> - fir
> - spruce
> 
> broadleaved trees in "my" forest:
> 
> - oak
> - linden
> - beech
> - chestnut


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## Holzwurm

You've got some nice forks there







, ........sorry , I could not provide any advice , as I've only used softwoods like willow and hazelnut(or similar) so far , ......and you've asked for the best !

greetz , Holzwurm


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## SmutjeStörtebeker

Hi everyone,

Well i spent the last hours carving... the big beech-fork shrinked a lot.









Now I have to wait for the sandpaper which i order yesterday on amazon.









@Holzwurm: do you know if there are "slingshot-meetings" here in Germany? I have the feeling that there are a lot of slingshot fanatics in this country.









@Brewman: well I just carped it to the size which fits in my hand. ^^ Hmmmm I think i will try to double Theraband-Gold.

Here is an update:


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## dhansen

I would suggest cutting the forks longer than you need (next time) incase the tips split while drying.
I would also suggest leaving the bark on until after the wood has dried at least a few weeks.
Only after the wood has dried would I remove the bark and carve it. The only fork I had crack on me was one that I 
carved and debarked while it was still green which caused it to dry too fast and crack.


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## SmutjeStörtebeker

dhansen said:


> I would suggest cutting the forks longer than you need (next time) incase the tips split while drying.
> I would also suggest leaving the bark on until after the wood has dried at least a few weeks.
> Only after the wood has dried would I remove the bark and carve it. The only fork I had crack on me was one that I
> carved and debarked while it was still green which caused it to dry too fast and crack.


Hi dhansen,

thx for the advice 

i was lucky... the wood did not split... (maybe because i put wood glue on the tips)

cheers-simon


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## harpersgrace

it's funny sometimes no mater what you do they will still crack. I just started working on a oak fork that was from a deadfall that had been down for over a year, was drying in my car for over three months, then brought in the house for over a month, the bark was so loose by then that I was able to peal it off with my fingers, once I got it pealed the fork was perfect not on crack or split, I put it down for a couple of days to deal with the weather around here and when I went back there were splits and cracks all over it not just at the cuts. Sometimes they just fool you.


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## NoSugarRob

harpersgrace said:


> it's funny sometimes no mater what you do they will still crack. I just started working on a oak fork that was from a deadfall that had been down for over a year, was drying in my car for over three months, then brought in the house for over a month, the bark was so loose by then that I was able to peal it off with my fingers, once I got it pealed the fork was perfect not on crack or split, I put it down for a couple of days to deal with the weather around here and when I went back there were splits and cracks all over it not just at the cuts. Sometimes they just fool you.


reading this makes me think i must poach COLLECT ! ..... i said collect your honor, a couple more "back up" forks.


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## harpersgrace

You can never have too many...I'm going to probably keep working on it since its a HUGE fork and even with the cracks I could probably drive a truck over it, but I would never feel right about letting someone else have it....


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## Dayhiker

harpersgrace said:


> You can never have too many...I'm going to probably keep working on it since its a HUGE fork and even with the cracks I could probably drive a truck over it, but I would never feel right about letting someone else have it....


_Harp: I think I've got way too many. . ._
_*I can't stop. . . *_









_*. . .Help me!*_


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## The Gopher

The best species to use is whatever is available.

The best time to cut a fork is whenever you can.


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## Tex-Shooter

My favorite natural fork wood is Mesquite! You almost always have to cut it green though because if it lies on the ground for a couple of weeks, the bugs love it. It is not prone to splitting, if reasonable care is taken in curing. I have even made a couple with green forks (peeled) and not had them split. – Tex-Shooter


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## Xidoo

I am not familiar with the kind of hard wood trees that grow in your area. I only know and use the ones that I have available, mezquite, huizache and oak. Saludos.


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