Main Discussion Area > Arrows

Bamboo arrows fatiguing?

<< < (3/3)

Pat B:
When working with raw bamboo or cane arrows, whether it be raw hill cane, raw switch cane or raw tonkin "Martha Stewart" tomato stakes, the nodes lay on top and under the shaft as it sits on the bow. Of the other two sides you put the strongest spined side against the bow. This is how I was taught to build cane arrows from Art Butner, one of the best cane and shoot arrow builders I've ever known. Another thing that Art always held as gospel is to use well seasoned shafting, not just dry shoots and canes.
 Another thing I do is make my arrows longer, 29" to 30" for my 26" draw. In my experience this allows the arrow to get around the bow easier.
 There is a lot that goes into building arrows from raw cane or shoots, from their seasoning, straightening(not necessarily as straight as you'd think), spineing the shafts, knowing the bow these arrows will shoot from and considering all aspects of that bow; degree of center shot or not, handle and grip style, draw weight at intended draw length and the shooters style of shooting. Another thing I don't think some folks consider is the amount of natural taper in each cane or shoot shaft. It all goes into making good shooting arrows.
 IMO, arrows are way more complicated to build and more important than most folks give credit to. To most, the bow seems to be the critical part of the archery set up. In my mind it isn't, it is only a part of the equation. If the arrow is not set up for the bow, the shooter and the style of shooting it most likely will not shoot consistently.
 All that being said, if the shooter's style of shooting, draw length, grip, anchor and release are not consistent, the same with every shot, ones shooting will not be consistent. Also, complete concentration with all these aspects and knowing where the arrow WILL go(picking the "spot") and not just shooting at the target, your shooting will not be consistent. It's not just slinging arrows but so much more.

Mesophilic:
I haven't noticed wood or bamboo losing spine but I swear they break in.  A fresh set of shafts just seem to fly a little different for me until I've shot them a number of times.

Might just be in my head or a subconconcious act on my part.  I've tested it by shooting a few fresh shafts with a dozen older ones and the newer ones group different for a while, even if I don't look at the shafts when I nock them so I have no idea which I'm shooting.

Pat B:
Are you tempering the cane after you straighten them? I use our gas cook stove for straightening shafting. For the tempering I start at one end and rotating the shaft over the flame until I see a bit of color and move down the shaft a bit while rotating until I reach the far end. Be careful of steam coming from the far end. After tempering I lay them on a flat surface to cool completely. After they've cooled (I usually wait a day) you may have to do a bit of re-straightening with heat but after that the shafts should stay straight and stable.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page

Go to full version