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Split oak for medieval english arrows

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WillS:
The compound mixture has changed quite dramatically actually, in fact the newest iteration has no pine resin or pine gum turpentine whatsoever, just beeswax, hard fat (kidney fat from lambs is the best) and the copper.  This gives a result virtually identical to the original arrows - I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I can lay my replicas alongside the originals and make absolutely sure that they match up, and the compound I was making at the time of the article just wasn't quite close enough.

The process is the same, as is the method of application but the ingredients weren't quite there. 

Regarding ash, it was almost certainly used a plate-penetration arrow.  Heavy, dense and difficult to break it makes the ideal arrowshaft when armed with a head designed for maximum impact damage.  However, aspen is far better suited for longer range arrows and particularly well suited for arrows that will be stored in chests on a ship as it's highly rot-resistant.  Ash is very hygrophobic so is pretty useless when it gets wet or is kept in damp conditions. This is one of the reasons the Mary Rose assemblage should potentially be seen as quite a different set of equipment to the more well-known period of the military bow such as the 100 years war.  The danger we can get into today is assuming that once the bow and arrow had been figured out, it stayed that way until gunpowder but it was evolving and changing in response to all sorts of reasons - we only have equipment that was used and stored in a naval capacity and it would be somewhat naive to assume that bows and arrows were the same when used on land in pitched battles!

Bootthrower:
Looks like I need to get my hand on some fat next then! I guess it depends a bit on the materials themselves since they're natural, but roughly what ratio of fat to wax is in the glue? 50/50, or does it usually lean more to one or the other?

I hadn't thought about this being a naval find, so the materials used on land or in other periods might have been different, but it does indeed make perfect sense now that you mention it.
When you say ash doesn't handle water well, what exactly happens to it? Is it just more susceptible to rot, or does it make the arrow break or crack?

I don't know if you split your shafts yourself, but do you have any tips on how to get the most out of a log, or to get a better success rate for a beginner?
I've split 2 smaller arrow length logs thus far, but I don't  know if there's a better way to do it before I go at the larger logs or if I get that aspen. I think the larger logs look straighter, but they also have a few knots, so maybe there won't be many straight shafts in them. Anyhow, the way I split the other day was by splitting the maybe 7" diameter logs radially into eighths, then removing the excess of the eighths with an axe until I had a very rough square of about 12mm. I feel like I should have left a bit more meat on them so I could plane them down to square instead, so they were more even in thickness throughout their length. I guess my question is at what size blank do you move on to a plane and do you make it square with a plane or some other tool? Also, on a larger log, do you get more shafts by splitting tangentially instead of radially?

Sorry if the last wood splitting questions aren't in your area of expertise or if my writing is a bit messy!

WillS:
It's the same as with bows - when ash gets damp it gets soggy and loses stiffness. 

The ratio isn't set really, as natural ingredients always change.  I started with 50/50 but I find I'm always tweaking it to suit the tallow.

The way you split your shaft timber is how I've always done it, but I leave the square blanks around 15mm before planing, or 12mm for a 3/8" shaft.

Bootthrower:
Great! Thanks a lot for all the helpful tips. I really appreciate it.

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