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River Cane Arrows

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islandwalkr:
I am working on some river care arrows. I would appreciate any help anyone can give. I think I should add inserts in the front and back but I am a little confused. Some people say to taper the ends and some people say to make a dowel insert. The hole the dowel goes in is not very large, it wouldn't offer much strength. I would like to use live oak and taper them from branches. I have Knox gelatin for hide glue. Can I use this for the hafting or do I need to find some pitch for a really secure hafting. I don't want to use superglue, that is SO not primitive.
I really love Primitive Archer mag. I have an interesting blog this group might like to read. Here is the address
http://eaglegoesdancing.blogspot.com/
It is about pre-contact Native Americans on the Outer Banks of NC and how to live primitive in a modern world.
I don't permit comments on the website but you can email me with any suggestions. Always willing to learn new things.
Judith Bailey

HoBow:
A lot of interesting stuff in your blog!

Hillbilly:
Most river cane shafts don't need inserts unless they have a big hole inside. You can whittle a small insert to fit if you need to. I often use pieces of bamboo skewers in the point ends if I want to taper them for field points. For the nocks, I just cut them and wrap in front of the nock with sinew. If you're talking about a foreshaft, I don't use them or care much for them, just a weak link and a pain in the butt to get balanced. If you're going to add a foreshaft, you will have to drill the front of the shaft out at a taper and match the taper on the foreshaft to fit it. The Knox will work fine for hafting, but it won't be waterproof. You can cover it with a thin layer of pitch to waterproof it. For actually setting the points in, I prefer a pitch/charcoal/beeswax mixture. You can fill the hafting notch with the pitch, heat the point, and it will seat firmly in the slot so you can spin-test it. If it wobbles, just heat it back up a little and adjust the point.

aero86:
nice blog!  hillbilly beat me to it.  wrap under the nock and you can put a little insert in the hole to help out.

Bill Skinner:
I wouldn't use a foreshaft unless you plan to use something very light, such as a gar scale, as a point.  The foreshaft will then add enough weight forward for the arrow to fly properly.  If you use a point the same size as a lot of points used in the deep Southeast, you will probably need a foreshaft.  Bill

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