Main Discussion Area > Arrows
Wooden Dowels?
Hillbilly:
I've used ramin and poplar dowels with fairly good success. Just check the grain carefully to make sure that it isn't violated badly, or the shaft could break in mid-shot. Like Kegan, I prefer to make my own-I plane tham down from 3/8"x3/8" splits-but dowels are an option when you need arrows and don't have much time or material. After all, commercial arrowshafts are just fancy dowels. I remember reading somewhere that Ishi made a lot of arrows from birch dowels.
Kegan:
--- Quote from: Hillbilly on December 09, 2007, 08:52:52 am ---I've used ramin and poplar dowels with fairly good success. Just check the grain carefully to make sure that it isn't violated badly, or the shaft could break in mid-shot. Like Kegan, I prefer to make my own-I plane tham down from 3/8"x3/8" splits-but dowels are an option when you need arrows and don't have much time or material. After all, commercial arrowshafts are just fancy dowels. I remember reading somewhere that Ishi made a lot of arrows from birch dowels.
--- End quote ---
Someone told me Ishi was almost as enamored with dowels as he was with matches when Pope showed them to him.
Do try to find out what kind of wood the dowels are. Most people who have success with dowels have good wood dowels- I don't have much success because I can't get anyhting other than pine, or very poor quality mystery dowels.
NorthernArcher:
I have only tried this once, with moderate success. I sorted through the entire bin of dowels at Home Depot and came home with ten. Six of those ten were well-enough matched in spine and weight to make a set. A year and a half later I still have four of those six, and they are absolutely AMAZING arrows! Four out of ten is not exactly encouraging, but probably the best one could expect from commercial dowels because of their poor quality. You're far better off to make your own dowels.
huntertrapper:
hard wood dowels are good i have made few with it with good success. All you do is attach your fletchings cut out nock and attach head. And maybe sand down depending on width of arows.
scattershot:
You can buy American Woodcrafters birch dowels for around $25.00/100. At that price, you can afford to cull a few, and have a BUNC left over for arrows. The 5/16 generally run 40-50# spine, and the 3/8 are much higher, 80# up.
Good luck!
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