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Medieval arrow shaft production method?

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burtonridr:
I'm trying to figure out how they made arrows, as far as splitting, drying, shaving, nock inserts, etc. They must of had a system and fairly good hand tools to mass produce all the war arrows. I cant imagine they cut out square stock from logs, they must have been split, but how? How would you do it efficiently? I've read about making shakes and they always tend to bevel from one side to the other, would this be true with splitting a 1/2" thick 30" long "shake" to start with? Does the type of splitting blade or metal thickness help create a more parallel and consistent split? Is it better to split the shafts or shakes when wet, or season the wood first?

Sorry, lots of questions I know... I cant seem to find anything searching online, maybe I'm not using the right search terms? Any help in the right direction or answers would be greatly appreciated.

Pat B:
You may also want to post this on War Bows. Those guys know a lot about all things Medieval archery.

willie:
BR

look up the proper use of a froe. a bending force on the workpiece controls the split. shakes are purposely tapered, but of course that is not what arrowmaking calls for.

what kind of wood are you using? I have been drying some cottonwood for that same medieval purpose, but would be interested in knowing whether the traditional methods preferred green or not
I know it is not what you are asking, but I am considering splitting the quarters logs I have drying again, but using the saw at some point so that I don't have too much to reduce by hand

ksnow:
Also when splitting, if you split pieces exactly in half, they tend to run out much less. Froes are awesome tools, once you learn the tricks. I haven't done a ton of research into it, but I do recall that the arrows were made production style.

Also, not sure of the arrows were made from split wood, or shoots. Ash, and other species, love to sprout when they are cut. Give those sprouts a couple ears and they are perfect for arrow shafts. If proper;y tended, you could have acres upon acres of "arrow gardens".

Kyle

burtonridr:
Thanks for the replies

Pat, thanks for the tip  :OK

Willie, I'm not sure what I want to use yet. But I have a lot of douglas fir, mountain alder, and cotton wood. Douglas fir we all know is good stuff, mountain alder might be good if its properties are closer related to European alder than red alder(but I cant find data so I might test it out), cottonwood appears to have poor qualities for arrows (soft, tends to warp, doesnt split easily, easily crushed, durability looks similar to pine and I havent been impressed with pine).... if you make any let me know how they turn out, I would be interested. Cottonwood shoots might hold up better though.

splitting green vs dried I'm interested in as well, which would produce the straightest arrows the fastest?

Ksnow, the shoots theory is interesting... I might have to try that with alder and cottonwood to see how they turn out.

Sounds like I will have to look into a froe and figure out how to use it, deep down I always knew I needed one of those tools  ;D

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