straightening shafts?

[GregB]

I checked mine out last night by basically spinning the point in the palm of my hand and watching for wobbling. I've gone through my arrows several times in the period of a week or so and check them for straightness. Seems like after several straightening sessions, they finally give it up and decide to straighten up.

[Pat B]

...tempering!!!

[D. Tiller]

How do you know when it's fully tempered?

[JackCrafty]

It's fully tempered when it's dark enough to claim braggin' rights: "Hey look everybody....I got tempered shafts!  Aint they purdy?".

[Pat B]

David, you are still trying to over engineer this. I guess when it becomes stable. If you look at the video of the Asian guy straightening his shafts in the oven, you will see that his cane shafts aren't pale colored. Just like with tempering boo for bow bellies you want a carmelization to occur so a nice shade of light brown would tell you for sure but I don't think you need to go that far. I'm no expert at cane arrows. I'm still learning also but from watching and listening to others, this is what I have gleaned. Basically you are forcing moisture out and solidifying the resins inside.       Pat

[cowboy]

Well this thread really took off . I'm probably replying too slow Greg, but the cooking oil thing I learned from Mickey Lotz's site. I generally heat one section over the candle until the oil has turned black, then wipe it off and straighten. Haven't notice any discoloration of the cane from doing it that way. I think the oil - once it turns black and you leave it that way for a few seconds helps to hold in and concentrate the heat - the cane is as rubber for a minute afterwards.
 OK, I'm going to soak up all this other good info for awhile - I've only done a few dozen cane shafts and am by no means an authority on the subject ..

[mullet]

  Cowboy, I've straightened them over a candle without oil with no problem. I thought the soot from the candle had enough oil in it? go figure

[D. Tiller]

When I'm working on shoots I work over my heat gun. Am I using to much heat at once? Should I put it on the low setting instead of the high one? I do oil up the shafts well before hand and then get them hot enough that the almost bend like wet spaghetti noodles.  After I get the big bends out I lay them down on the top of a flat work bench the section to be straightened hanging off and hold the shaft down on the bench while I put her straight. Is this a good method?

 

[Pat B]

David, As long as you don't heat the outside of the shoot and the inside is still relatively cool you should be OK. You want good thorough heat penetration for good bends. The heat gun in fine for heat straightening. Just keep the shaft moving.
   Any method that works without altering or kinking the shaft will be fine.   I like oil on my hardwood shoots for straightening. I think it helps to concentrate the heat, hold the heat longer and keeps from scorching the shaft while straightening it. I scorch them later for decoration but not while straightening.
     Pat

[david w.]

I straighten all my shafts over a candle with no oil and i never have a problem.

[GregB]

I think I've broke three shafts out of about two dozen I've been working on. All three broke at the nodes...I'm straightening the nodes before I work them down any. I'm wondering if using some oil only on the nodes might limber them up a little more to get some movement going. Seems like the ones of mine that broke maybe got to dry because I was using a torch turned down really low and even so the node got pretty hot. These last sessions of straightening I've been using a one burner propane Coleman stove.

I guess I'm trying to determine why they broke...did I just apply too much stress trying to straighten them to quickly, or maybe actually got them to dry/brittle causing them to break? If too dry/brittle, oil might help some.

Cowboy, have you broke any at the nodes while using oil?

[Hillbilly]

I often use a heat gun on high with no oil for cane and shoots both,. Just keep the shaft constantly turning. Greg, every time I pop a node, it's usually because of overheating it, bending it too fast, or a combination of the two-but usually just overheating. I've broken a lot more heating with a torch than a heatgun or campstove, the torch even on low seems to be too hot. 

[GregB]

I may give the heatgun a try and compare it to the campstove. This last one I broke was already fletched ...just trying to tweak the node somemore. Ouch!

[napper]

Stringstretcher   you might try using a 3 pound coffee can turned over on a stove top or a camp stove burner.  Just put holes in the side that match and at differand levels and maybe a few in the top this should let some of the heat out but should also keep a lot of heat in so you can do what you want  st righen or temper them  just slide the shaft through the hole at the right level to get the heat that you want. This should let you heat about 6" of the shaft at a time and using different hight will give you different temps.  Tom

[D. Tiller]

Nice idea Tom! I will have to try that out.