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Home Depot Garden Stake Bamboo Arrow Build-A-Long (Pic Heavy)

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DC:
It looked straight enough, not that that helps now :( Are you using Garden stakes or fresh bamboo? Garden stakes should be dry enough. I work on about 10 arrows at a time. Straighten a bit and let it cool while you work on the next. You shouldn't need to wet them at all.

loon:
They are garden stakes, but some look kind of green.
10 at a time? I have so much trouble with 1 at a time  :P
Maybe this batch is bad... dunno.
Will try low heat for longer periods of time, it shouldn't even burn my hand at all.
edit: lower heat that still burns hand but not enough to be red hot (just barely, on the spiraly stove) seems adequate. with moistening before heating, could use a lot less but i guess i wouldn't recommend it???

DC:
I usually heat them enough that I need gloves but maybe I'm a wuss. Some stakes are died green but I don't think that's what you're talking about. You would be better off doing ten(or five). If you do one and give it enough cooling time you're going to be standing around doing nothing for most of the time. This encourages rushing and bending and rebending the wood too much. Do ten, then you can rush all you want and they will still have proper cooling time. I'm thinking back as I write this and I do remember steam coming off some of the stakes I've done. Maybe they aren't as dry as I think. Anyway even the ones that steamed straightened out OK. This is one of those things that is difficult to get going on but all of a sudden things fall into place and it starts going way easier. It took me about 15-20 arrows to twig. I've finished about 50 arrows and maybe have that many straightened shafts waiting. I would call my arrows adequate.

loon:
Most of the shafts I've gotten seem way too thin for my 60# hornbow. Even though I only have an about 28" draw with this bow,  a very thick and stiff shaft with no head or fletchings went tail right (arrow on right side, thumb draw) when shot at full draw. But then it wasn't that straight, and the nock wasn't carved that straight, not in line with the arrow...

That last arrow, I heated with lower heat and no moisture. It had to be hot enough to burn my hand to bend. But the stove wasn't red hot.. and the shaft looked a little green. Still, it was much stiffer than most of these shafts. Some are ridiculously bendy. Good for lighter bows..

DC:
The garden stakes I get(brand name Evergarden) come in 3',4' and 6'. If you get longer ones you can use the fatter end. The 6' are about 1/2". I use about 40# spine and do better if I start with 4' ones.

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