Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: CherokeeKC on March 19, 2013, 09:02:07 am
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I have made a few cane arrows and also a few from bamboo. I have never sanded the whole shaft. I have whittled/sanded the nodes down even. What is the advantage of sanding the entire shaft? I would think this would weaken the shaft to a degree?
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CherokeeKC. I have made them both ways, and it really depends on the look you want. If you want a dull, camoflaged arrow, do nothing. If you like the more advanced clean look, I scrape the rind off of mine. You will loose about 2 lbs of spine and some weight when doing this. When I make my cane/bamboo arrows, I start out with a calculated spine weight for the specific bow weight/draw length/piont weight that I want to make and go from there. I have never lost enough weight or spine to make that calculated arrow not work.
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Intresting, I never tried scraping canes. Would that speed up drying?
-Squirrel
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I could not tell you because I only scrape mine after they are dry.
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I leave my cane arrows raw but I have heard from others say that you straighten the cane first then it is safe to sand the nodes and shaft without problems. If you sand the nodes first the cane will break when you straighten them.
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Hm...
I just stuck 12 canes into the oven at 250 degrees, when I pull them out I will straighten them, then sand nodes.
-Squirrel
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It only takes one hour in the oven, fyi....
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I like to scrape the rind off and lightly sand the shaft and nodes. I think they look nicer and my feathers stick better when I scrape them.
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Ok thanks for the replies guys. I might try one and see how I like it
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Be very careful on sanding the nodes down. It will make that part of the shaft very weak.
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Ah. Here is some hard data.
Bamboo dries faster when you scrape its outer skin off(at least in the oven), cause I put 13 pieces in. One scrap- I scraped it and sanded the outer skin off, then carved nodes down with knife.
The rest i left intact. The piece with scraped skin was "done" in 45 mins VS 1 hour for the rest.
However, when I tried to straighten it, 3 of the canes broke- 2 normal(I had cut off branches with knife, damaged nodes...probably why) and the sanded one.
so I think it is a better idea to just leave them as is until you straighten them.
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I always sand the nodes before straightening but I have never tried to get them smooth. The purpose is to remove the (I call it pith) and lightly blend the node into the shaft. Then my heating and straightening process begins. Depending on the shaft (type of bamboo or cane) determines whether I straighten the nodes or internodes first. You have to make a judgement call on which will require the least amount of work and the best outcome.
I have straightened high hundreds of reed shafts of different materials and they are all unique but generally close per species.
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watch this video of a master ya maker (Japanese Arrow Maker ).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyejbipavWw&playnext=1&list=PL9907327A8447A869&feature=results_video (there are three vids in total - watch them all... )
He heats half the shaft and pulls it through his tool to straighten it. I think he's already filed the nodes down a bit before he does this. He then does the other half and then touches up any spots that are not straight. I've changed to this method and it takes half the time to straighten a shaft. I used to use a heat gun and do the internodes, then the nodes... it took forever to do a shaft.
NOW I file down the nodes, straighten the shaft and then scrape the rind off and then sand to make them smooth. NOTE: Do NOT inhale bamboo dust!!! It contains silicon and you can get silicosis from inhaling it over time!!!
You can scrape the rind off with a razor blade knife but I use a scraper blade from Home Depot that I mount between two light wood handles so I can go to town on the scraping.
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Wow bhenders that video is great, I didn't know you could make bamboo look so pretty, but why a razor and not sandpaper?
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Scraping is faster than sanding. There are actually two layers the outer skin and an under bark (very thin). Sanding takes forever to get through the outer skin. Besides, sanding creates bamboo dust which is NOT good to breathe.
If you watch the three vids, the guy actually uses water to keep down the dust when he 'sands' the shafts with horsetail reeds. Horsetail is another plant with silicon in it and the Japanese use it for sanding. I've actually saved the scrapings from the arrows and used them to 'sand' the shafts smooth. Just put some in the palm of your hand and sand away - btw, I've started wetting the arrow shafts to keep the bamboo dust from getting airborne.
You can buy a scraper that uses razor blades but I just buy a packet of scraper blades from HomeDepot ( 5 for $4 or so) and mount them between two 1" x 8" pieces of cedar shingle (stuff laying around) and hot melt them all together. It makes a lightweight scrapper with a long horizontal handle that is easy to use. It's important that you rotate the bamboo as you scrape and that the nodes have been filed down close to smooth. I find the horizontally held scraper to easier on my wrist and arm.
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Bamboo used for arrows had leaves on opposite sides of the clum. That side of the clum is going to be the weakest and you don't want that against the bow.
SO, I always cut my nocks so that the closest leaf node on the shaft faces up when the arrow is on the string ( thus putting the stiffest side against the bow ).
Edit: I think I discovered this myself when I started making bamboo arrows BUT it's been known by master arrow makers for centuries and is in Koppendrayer's book about Making Japanese Arrows.
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I straighten, then smooth the nodes without sanding them all the way down to the shaft size. They'll fly just fine with fat nodes. I do this by taking two thin plastic discs (ice cream pail lids with the rims cut off) and apply self adhesive sanding discs to them. These are bolted together at the center with about 1/4" worth of spacer between them. The sanding discs face each other. This is chucked up in the drill press. If you don't have one, you could use a hand drill lightly clamped in a vise. I chuck the straightened shaft in a cordless drill and fire up the drill press. I spin the shaft while forcing it between the now spinning sanding discs. Only takes a few seconds per node. Once the rough edges are smoothed over, you will end up with the nodes being raw and the rest of the shaft with rind on it. While I still have the shaft in the hand drill, I wrap a piece of fine sand paper around it and give it a spin while sanding up and down the shaft, just enough to give a finish coat something to stick to. I wipe a couple coats of poly on them after I've plugged the ends and done the nocks and they're ready to fletch! Some day I need to set up the camera and video this process.
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Interesting, I'm going to have to try that to see if it's faster than scraping (it should be much easier on my wrists... ). Thanks
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Nope . It's purley for cosmetics . I sand the entire shaft lightly with a piece of sandstone , than wash the shaft with hot lye/woodash water . Now if you sand it like a mad man , you'll reduce the thickness of the outer surface to the inner hollow part . Which will reduce weight and make impacts more likley to break it
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Maybe switchcane is a little different from what some of y'all use,but here is how I do mine. After my cane is dry,I straighten it between the nodes first,then straighten the nodes. Sand the nodes,do final (fine)straightening,cut in the nock,then sand lightly with 60,then 150,and finally 220. I want to stress this is a very light sanding and only takes a few strokes with each grit. After this it is ready for any finish you like. Once you get a system you like,excellent cane arrows can be built very quickly. It's hard to beat switch cane. JMHO God Bless
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I do like PeteC but only sand the nodes. The rest of the shaft I leave as is except for the area where I am tying on fletching. I usually spray finish them with bullseye or urethane. Cane is good stuff. In my opinion, cane arrows outlast everything else I have tried, including aluminum.
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On straightening cane: IF you have a gas grill that has cutouts on the side for a rotisserie attachment, you can fire up the grill and put the cane through the openings (with the top closed) and heat most of the shaft at once. (you may want to put some foil over the metal so any grease there doesn't mark the shaft). Keep the grill at about 300 and heat until the shaft is almost too hot to touch - a min or two. Then take the shaft out and pull a straightener along the shaft. Rotate the shaft and pull a few times more. Apply just a little side pressure as you pull. It's almost like you're trying to "stretch" the shaft. This can straighten a shaft much faster than doing the nodes and then the inter-nodes. Then all you need to do is some minor correctional work for a final straight shaft. Note: I file down the nodes first so that they are almost flat with the shaft.