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Help with shaft making

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Bootthrower:
Hello! I'm new to this forum and I have never made an arrow shaft before! I do not know if this is the right place to ask, but my question is as follows: How does one make the basic square 'Raw' or 'blank' used to make an arrow shaft in a shooting board by hand?
I know one can buy pre-made wooden squares but I would like to try to make my own as I have an abundance of ash here!
I've seen many others using a table saw to cut boards into squares but, as you might have guessed, I don't have one of those..
Just to summarize: Can one make square 'rods' with hand tools? For example using an axe to split a piece of lumber into rough squares and then smoothing them with a spokeshave?
The squares will to be used in a shooting board to shave down to a round shaft...

This might be more of a carpentry question but help/advice from anyone is appreciated! Also, sorry for my messy writing!

TimBo:
Yes, you can do that.  I mostly cut mine with a bandsaw to minimize runoff, since when I have tried splitting, I screwed it up.  I would like to try hand splitting again though.  You might want to use a heavy knife blade and whack it with a wooden mallet.  Go slow and aim for a bigger chunk than you need.  Get a thumb plane if possible, get one side square, and go from there.  There is a good description in The Bowyer's Bible, Vol. 1, in the self arrows chapter.  Good luck!

Bootthrower:
Thank you, sooo much! This is exactly what I needed to know!
Hopefully with a bit of practice I'll be able to make at least a few good splits from each chunk of wood..
Maybe I should buy this 'Archers Bible', it seems like a helpful book!
Is a thumb plane like a smaller normal plane? I know very little of woodworking and tools so please excuse me if that was a dumb question!
Thanks again for the advice and I wish you good luck if you choose to go back to splitting yourself! and please tell me if you have any 'tricks' to help a beginner get better shaft quality!

Hawkdancer:
Boot thrower,
You can probably get "the Bowyer's bible" through your local library, may take a week or so if they don't have their own.  Check Amazon if you want to buy a keeper.  It is a valuable resource.  Beware, though, the bug bites are contagious! :BB :BB (SH).  Good luck with the arrow build and post pictures of the process!  Welcome aboard!  The other folks here have a lot of experience.
Hawkdancer

Buck67:
You might consider making your arrow shafts from Shoots.  Those are either straight branches or shoots that come up around the base of a tree.  It takes a little practice to figure out how to straighten them with heat but after the first dozen or so you should be on track.  Another option is using bamboo.  There are build-alongs on this site that show you how to make arrows.   There are also a number of videos on YouTube. 

The Bowyers Bible is well worth the money, all four volumes.  It will really shorten your learning curve.

The nice thing about using shoots for arrows is that they are already the right shape and they are free.  They make a fairly heavy arrow which can be good or bad depending on what you are looking for.  On the other hand they are nearly unbreakable.  Red Osier/Red Dogwood makes a good arrow.  I have made them from Willow but the Spine is usually pretty low.  There are decorative bushes like Arrowwood that have lots of straight branches.  You can make arrows from Dowel Rods but the grain is bad on 90% of the Dowels so you have to be very very careful in sorting them. 

Just head out in the woods with a 5/8" open end wrench, a gardening clipper and some Zip ties.  Use the wrench to keep from cutting branches that are too thin or too thick.  Cut straight branches or shoots that are about 32" long with no kinks.  After you have 6 or so, bundle them with the Zip ties so they will dry straight.  After they dry for a couple of months then they are ready to go.

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