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Giving boo a try. some questions

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recurve shooter:
im just starting to mess with boo/cane as well. i finished a decent batch of six. four tonken shafts and two river cane shafts. everyone els has answered the other questions so i guess i'll try to answer the questions about cutting cane, drying, types, and so on. (someone please tell me to shut up, and correct me if i tell the guy something wrong)

the home depot cane is tonken if im not mistaken, which has much thicker walls and is stronger and can be made smaller diameter than hill or river cane, but any of the three work well. as for harvesting it, people tell me to cut it about a half inch at the fat end, but i find that i need a little smaller, so i guess you would have to expiriment. cut them nice and long so you can pick the best pice of it to use for your shaft. there are first year shoots that you dont want. these will be weaker and just dont work well. the first year growth will still have the little brown sheaths or whatever you want to call them around the nodes. go dig around in the cane patch and you'll see what i mean. ive had people tell me to dry them anywhere from a month to six months, but most ppl say around two months should do. if you dry them inside, they will still be green, and all you have to do is set them out in the sun for a day to turn them nicley brown. then, well, you know the rest of the process.

im pretty sure thats all right, but if someone dissagrees, you should probably go with their advice over mine, cuz im an amature lol.  ;D

aero86:
hey recurve shooter, and anyone else that has used river or hill cane..  is it much different than working bamboo?  or am i not missing out?  i cant find any in my area yet to harvest.  is it just smoother than bamboo, or just not as tough?

Pat B:
Hill cane, river cane and switch cane are the only native bamboos to North America. Arundinaria is the genus name and the species names are appalachiana, gigantia and tecta, respectively.. There are similar boos in Japan with the same genus. Hill cane only grows in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. All of the native canes will make good arrows. I prefer hill cane and switch cane because they are smaller in size, thicker walls and less pronounced nodes. Hill cane is my favorite because it grows along my driveway.  ;D
 There are other exotic bamboos growing in the US, some are appropriate for arrows and some are not.
  When cutting cane a 3/8" open end wrench works well as a portable gauge to measure the base size. Also with any cane or hardwood shoot shafts you want at least 2 year growth. The first year cane grows to it's ultimate height. The second year it matures and after the third season it dies. Ideally you want to harvest cane after it's second growing season but before it dies. If you cut first years growth you will notice longitudinal  wrinkles in the rind. These canes will make arrows but they will be very light and flimsy. If you cut only culms(canes) that the papery sheath is deteriorating or has already deteriorated you should be good to go with cane shafts. If the papery sheath is holding fast the cane is still too immature. Also the color of immature cane is bright green and as it matures it turns a more OD green or yellowy green.  A little study and experimentation is warranted when cutting natural materials for shafting...and for bows also.

aero86:
well, pat, if you have some cane growing along your driveway, why dont you shoot me some to try out!  heheh

Pat B:
When I harvest it I might just do that. ;)  I haven't been able to harvest because of back problems since just after Christmas.  >:(

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