# Natural fork, drunken.



## WillyWacker (Mar 27, 2011)

Hi folks,

I ordered a ss from one member of this site and wait for it.
Shipping is to Germany, takes pretty long, I´m still waiting.
Didn´t want to wait any longer, I made my first own natural fork yesterday.
I do attach some pics.

My problem now is:
Pretty good looking, feeling fine.
Only the performance is not satisfying.

Boys, don´t laugh.
I´m talking about my slingshot, not my wife.

It´s shooting, left, it´s shooting right, up, down,.... not where I want.
No power and no strength behind.

So, what´s wrong?
The shape of the fork is quite nice, fits fine to the left hand.
The bands are theraband gold, double, the pouch is from an old shoe.

As the wood is very fresh, it starts cracking with drying already.
Doesn´t bother me really.

What bothers me, is the performance and accuracy missing.
Is there anything I can change or should I just wait for the ordered fork to arrive?

Surely would appreciate some professional advice.

Have a nice weekend everybody,
Willy


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## WillyWacker (Mar 27, 2011)

Sorry:
I said: drunken.
I think, the fork must be drunken the way it shoots.
I´m not, so it must be the fork 

Willy


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## SLiuGraphite (Dec 23, 2010)

Well the most important part to shooting is keeping the same anchor point.
Can't stress it enough! I have a natural that look similar to yours with fairly weak bands and it shoots straight as an arrow.
Actually i'm pretty sure my aim is better with this slingshot than a bow








Anyway, try to keep the same anchor point. For example, my anchor point is the corner of my mouth. 
You could also bring down the fork a little or bring where you tied the rubber up. 
If that doesn't help i don't know what would! Best of luck!


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Pls check the pouch and band attachments, usually it has done opposite what you did. Also band cutting use a good rotary cutter and cutting mat or use this method http://slingshotforum.com/topic/1948-cutting-bands-on-the-cheap/page__view__findpost__p__17139__hl__%2Bsecret+%2Brevealed__fromsearch__1


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## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

even straight cut (not tapered) theragold should give you plenty of power unless you have cut the bands too long for your draw. as Eshot said the band ends should be to the outside not in as you have them. As faras accuracy, a frame is only as accurate as the shooter, be consistant in your stance, draw, and release...beyond that its all practice.


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## BaneofSmallGame (Sep 22, 2010)

Also, watch those cracks on the forks!!!

They are huge and all over the frame, be very wary of that one breaking on you, heavy bands and a severely cracked piece of wood are not a good combo. There is a high chance of getting injured if you keep using that one!









Also, it looks like your attachment at the pouches is coming undone as well. Keep reading up and learning on the forum you'll get there, but you have a little more to learn before you can make a shoot slingshots with complete security....The most positive thing you can take away from this excursion is you went out there and tried it! You'll never know for sure until you try it and you have done that. So good going taking the first step.









Cheers - John


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## smitty (Dec 17, 2009)

Well Willy, I took a good look at your slingshot and everything on the slingshot itself looks pretty good. Your pouch looks heavy and stiff though and this could contribute to accuracy problems. My next concern is the application of the doubled band set. This is not needed for target shooting and the increased effort to hold at full draw may be throwing you off target if you are just learning to shoot. Last, your band length looks a bit long as well.
If the pouch seems OK to you then go ahead and use it, but I recommend you learn to shoot with one gold band per side and divide your draw length by 3.75 or 4.0 to find the right band length for you. For example, a person with a 28" draw length, divided by four, would have 7" of rubber from fork tie to pouch tie.


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

I don't see anything at all wrong with the fork. If the cracks you are talking about are only on the surface and ends, and are not too deep, they shouldn't effect performance. If they get deep or start to form in the center of the fork, they might be more serious.

I also suspect that the stiff pouch is effecting the consistency of your release, which is the largest contributor to wild shots or "flyers"

So, my suggestion is to find a thinner pair of shoes to disassemble for a new pouch, and tie a single band with the ends on the outside of the pouch. Bands have a very steep power curve as they approach their ideal draw length. A single band stretched the correct amount will easily deliver more speed than doubles that are not stretched enough. For Theraband, the ideal percentage of elongation can be well over 400% depending on how they are cut.

Trying to draw beyond your natural anchor point to get a little more umph from bands that need to be shortened is also a prime culprit in wild shots, frame hits and poor releases.

Great first effort! enjoy it, and don't ever let go of it. You may make dozens, or hundreds of much finer slingshots, but you will never make another "FIRST". So keep it at all costs.


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## bbshooter (Jun 3, 2010)

How are you holding your slingshot. Hammer style, gangsta, ???.

My suggestion would be...go to the Shooting Tips Forum and read all of the different posts. The link is

http://slingshotforu...ing-tips-forum/

All kinds of different questions and answers. Read and watch the video's. Many excellent shooters have shared their years of experience.


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## WillyWacker (Mar 27, 2011)

Thx to all of you.
Very helpful information.
I think, problems from accuracy might come from the stiff pouch. I´ll change that.
The bands don´t pull strong. Maybe too long. I´ll change that, too. And fix the ends outside.
It was difficult to cut the bands, now I know how to do that better. Thx E-Shot.

I´m not new to shooting slingshot, actually I´ve been shooting pretty much with standard metal forks and tubular bands.

I don´t shoot "gangsta" style.

Ok, I´ll work on that all and will let you know the results.

Have a nice sunday!
Willy


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## WillyWacker (Mar 27, 2011)

I´ve been working on those things you mentioned.
Fine job for a sunny sunday morning.
Cracks are fixed, band is much shorter and single, pouch is soft leather, ends of bands are outside.

Performance is much better now, much better accuracy.
The leather of the new pouch is too weak, starts breaking after some 20 or 30 shots already.
I will have to look for something else.

So, that´s a really improved fork.
Still I wish, it had more power for I like to shoot rather long distances.

Thanks again for all the advice!

Willy


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## dragonmaster (Dec 24, 2009)

It's good to hear all these thing's worked. If you want more power go back to the double layer band's with the band length you are using now and maybe try your old pouch.

That's a good looking fork. Your going to want to hold on to that one.


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

Finding good pouch leather is always an issue, but keep trying. As for the power issue, I'd try shortening the bands a little more and see if it helps. if it does not, or if you are already getting to that "more force doesn't really stretch much more" point at your best anchor point. you can either try some wider bands, or go back to the doubles, but remember that you still want to get close to the max elongation point for the best velocity.


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## mckee (Oct 28, 2010)

looks good


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