Main Discussion Area > Arrows
best shaft material
Dante_F:
thanks i think ive seen some poplar at home depot i think ill give it a go
TSA:
common building lumber is referred to as SPF ( spruce, Pine , Fir- and the fir can be Hemlock at times too).
the problem with that is that the S is very seldom Sitka Spruce, and there would be no way of knowing what spruce it is.
sitka is streets ahead of the other spruces in structural integrity- hence its specific use in airplane frames and masts and spars on boats.
having said that- there are many woods that make excellent shafts- they dont all have to be as good as Sitka to work, and deliver the point to the target.
another issue with commercial lumber- is that it is kiln dried.
kiln drying wood, does huge and irreparable damage to the wood on a cellular level, now having said that, even kiln drying will not render wood useless- its just a negative point against it. many woods are tough enough to overcome that.
i am obviously a tad biased towards sitka- but generally the best arrow wood, is the one you have in your hand at the time ;D.
specialty wood shops will sell all kinds of sitka etc- especially boat lumber suppliers.
but if you need, we could sell you a chunk or two to help you out.
how are you planning to make the actual shafts- there was a great build along on here recently, by swampman, where the shafts were made by hand planing.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,64685.0.html
and Philipp has done a bunch with his veritas doweller- lots of options.
TSA:
i have also heard great things about poplar- i know its a specific poplar- just not sure which specie- but i know its not the one we have on the west coast.
DC:
If you snoop around your local airport you just might find someone who is building/restoring an old plane. He may have some Sitka scraps
Pat B:
The poplar I'm referring to is Liriodendron tulipifera, yellow poplar, tulip poplar, not a true poplar. Aspen also makes good shafts.
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