# Ancient Yew Natural



## keef (May 27, 2011)

Hi folks

On Thursday, I was out walking in the woods where I work, and thought that I'd investigate one of the very old yew trees that used to be part of the castle grounds long (600 yrs or so)..anyway, It's an Old..Old tree...

I then spotted a suitable fork in one of the dead, lower branches which have been starved of light for many decades..

There was rot on the outside, but after a bit of work with the rasp, I was down to the interesting bit!!

I simply love how this kind of wood yields suprises!

The wood is SO hard, that it is like carving old bone... Dont worry about the splits that i left in...I think you could run over this with a 20 ton truck and not dent it!!!

The belly..










The back..



















Looking forward to the postman bringing me more theraband in the morning!!

Keith


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## mckee (Oct 28, 2010)

the grain on that is spectacular i love yew i got a few yew trees around me just waiting to get a foldable saw i know where about 20 naturals are in the woods about 4 are yew.


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## NoSugarRob (Jun 3, 2010)

very attractive catty


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## shawnr5 (Feb 16, 2011)

Beautiful wood. The grain is incredible.


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## Dan the Slingshot Man (Nov 21, 2010)

That's beautiful, great work!


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## JoergS (Dec 17, 2009)

One more proof: If you want great grain, dead wood is the key. It must be the decomposition process that brings out the color.

Great slingshot! Well done.

Jörg


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## keef (May 27, 2011)

I agree Joerg.. There are various fungal species that attack a weaker growth ring in the decaying wood, and they leave dark lines in the timber.

Seeing as this tiny branch was at least 28 years old, this does little to weaken the structure of the wood.... With species like Yew , or Osage or Black locust, this is fine as they are fairly rot resistant, but watch out with more fragile species, as the wood tends to become more brittle sometimes

Thanks for all your kind remarks ...

All the best

Keith


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## Faust (Apr 5, 2011)

Absolutely gorgeous piece of wood there. The grain of the wood definitely gives it a lot of character.


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

Wow! -- Tex


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## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

now that is georgous!


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Really nice one Keef! You guys are right on with the decaying wood. You have to get it just right,too much rot-weak-not enough rot,not enough character. You start seeeing those black lines ( Spalting) then grab it!!!!!!!!! Wonderful wood Yew is!!! Flatband


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## Deltaboy1984 (Jun 14, 2011)

Wow that is some great looking wood.


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

very nice natural ergo


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## Snipez1978 (Jun 7, 2011)

That looks amazing lovely job I need to get me some yew forks there's a few around my area

Arb Rob


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## tubeman (Mar 7, 2011)

You are very lucky to own that slingshot


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Belly. Back. I think someone is into archery as well









However, that is one AMAZING piece of wood!

You did an excellent job of bringing out its inner beauty!


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

That's a fantastic piece of wood and you did it justice my friend. Excellent!!


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## slingshooterman (Mar 21, 2011)

amazing grain


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## keef (May 27, 2011)

Thanks to all for the replies...I appreciate your views a great deal.

This slingshot is special to me , as I'm just finding my feet with slingshots now after a long ,long break. This is my third after getting back into it.. I bought a 'Poachers Friend ' from Gamekeeper John, and made a couple of pigeon kills and took a rabbit in my first week.. How ones misspent youth comes back eh!!!

I have not made more than a dozen or so in the past, as i used to rely on the old 'Black Widow' by Barnett... I loved it at the time, but when I made my own, I noticed they fitted my hand better..

I'm going to keep on making them....I'm hooked!

Cheers folks and thanks again for looking

Keith


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## Xidoo (Aug 14, 2010)

Keef,
You are so lucky to have this catty with you. Since this came from an ancient tree. I have notice that the more a fork has the chance to dry by itself the better the grain. I have also nocitce that even after you have finished a slingshot the grain gets more contrasty, so nicer to the sight. Great work on that fork, saludos.


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## Ted (May 27, 2011)

What a great slingshot. Tremendous character from such an old tree.


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