Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: Tetsuoh on April 22, 2014, 09:50:08 pm
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So here's the deal, I already know of a vast array of shaft materials, but that is not what this is about.
What I want to know is what your favorite and least favorite materials are for arrow shafts, and why they are your favorites and least favorites.
Hoping for a nice pool of info, so please reply even if you've only been doing arrow work for a short while.
I will be keeping a poll here on the first topic with the list of each and the number of people who "voted" for each.
Count So Far:
Favorites -
10 Bamboo
7 River Cane
4 Hill Cane
4 Osier
4 Viburnum
4 Wild Rose
3 Ash
3 Hazel
3 Ocean Spray
2 Douglas Fir
2 Popler
2 Sitka Spruce
Alder
Aluminum
Birch
Canes (General)
Carbon
Cascara
Cherry
Choke Cherry
Dogwood
Fir
Hickory
Indian Plum
Ninebark
POC (Port Orford Cedar)
Privet
Scotch Broom
Sourwood
Spruce
Syringa (Lilac)
Least Favorites -
3 Carbon
3 Dowels/Milled Woods
2 Aluminum
Ash
Brazilian Pepper
Cedar
Douglas Fir
POC (Port Orford Cedar)
Unnaturals
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Easily the most hated shafting material, according to me, is anything cedar. Those shafts break if you look at them crosswise. Far to delicate.
Favorite? Depends on what the heck I wanna do with 'em. If I am shooting archery league, gimme a matched set of 24 sitka spruce shafts. Light, so they are very fast, twice as strong as cedar, easy to keep straight. Now if I am going to go hunting or stump shooting, gimme ash shafts. They are heavier, so that they carry more penetration grain for grain, and are almost indestructible. Their downfall....they are a pain in the sitting muscles to keep straight. Ash will warp when humidity changes, drives me batcrap crazy. Ok, crazier. But you can use a set over and over and they will take a beating before surrendering.
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River cane favorite, because it's very available to me
least favorite carbon because it's carbon..................
DBar
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I'm commenting so I can watch this thread. ;) So far I have mainly used bamboo and it's practically indestructible. Now I'm trying to decide on what I want to use for hunting and target. I'm considering sitka spruce for 3d and hickory for hunting for the mass. Cool topic!
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now now jdubya, cedar makes a nice arrow, you just have to leave them long and carry a tapper tool, fletch tight, a few points and a crack lighter. leave them long, that's the key. If you're lucky they may shoot better as you break them down. one tapper at a time...one tapper at a time. ;)
Cane seems to be in great surplus and strong as all get out. all different kinds too. Dries quick, easy to straighten, and tough as all get out. probly some better than others, but if it is plentiful...
BUT, to do it right you should probly scrape the skin off it or nothing will stick to it and even fletching wraps will move.
Shoot shafts of osier are nice, heavy, cut big and scrape to size or cut at 3/8" and hope for the best. take a bit to dry. I'd say most shoot shafts w/ bark left on take more time to dry than cane. ? am I wrong?
Hazel is ok, light though, but pretty tough.
Most of my shoot shaft shooting has become mainly blunt point stumping and old targets. My deer hunting arrows are osier primitive arrows. Mainly for weight and that's what I was into at the time.
One thing I never hear about arrows that may save some checking in shoot shafts is to glue the ends of the shoots like you do a stave...to keep it from checking.
Those are the ones I've tried. My next batch may be ocean spray. I've collected quite a supply from two different sources.
Least favorite would probably be dowels. Might as well buy shafting if I'm using dowels. They have their place too though.
They all take time, dpgratz
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I love hill cane for hunting arrows. Thick walled and a nice heavy shaft. For target arrows I like the tomato stake bamboo. I think it is tonkin. They are a little lighter than the hill cane.
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My favorite is rivercane it grows right around here. Next after that would be the native Viburnum that grows around here. Worst favorite is definitely any of the milled timbers, cedar, birch, spruce, ect'. I don't like milled shafts cause they cut across the grain and encourage splitting.
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Rosa rugosa is another fine wild rose that makes heavy hunting arrows - my favorite besides bamboo/tonkin!
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I like multa-floral rose shoots too. Totally abundant, can find them straight, but they are light too. Tough though. I'm done now. ;D dp
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Favorite: cant decide between bamboo and witch hazel (got alot of saplings around here)
Least favorite: POC... until one breaks at the tip and you add a good footing. I have only used osage and they fly great, hit hard, and last a while. beats buying new arrows for sure!
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Ash.
Because a while ago a friend gave me a giant chunk of it. Now I have enough ash for several dozen more arrows on top of the ones I already have made.
Also it seems to be near impossible to destroy them. I shot one directly into a tree at about five yards, and didn't hurt it a bit. I shot another one into the concrete wall of my basement. It was a blunt tapered wooden end, and all it did was bend the taper over. I cut an inch off the end and it was good as new.
There is nothing I hate more than breaking arrows that I've spent time making. I once took a batch of six cedar arrows into the woods with me for a couple hours. I came back with an empty quiver. This never happens to me with ash arrows.
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By far my favorite is FREE :) ;) :laugh:,
so far my favorite would be hand planed old growth fir.
I have used hazel nut shoots, I like how the wood works you can cut them big and plane them down, I don't like how easy they break.
have made only a few to test out of these , cascara shoots seems like it's worth trying more of,
have used dog wood definitely going to make more.
I have used scotch broom worth trying again.
I have some new Ocean Spray drying this stuff is tough as nails (ironwood), I have made some arrows from 1yr and 2 yr shoots. the 1yr are a bit week, but still shooting them after 2yrs.
I have got to use some 1/4 garden stake cane makes good arrows but I have to buy them so those are out for me :(. Ed
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Dougals Fir is a pain becasue of the grainy nature. Hard to get a good finish, only bonus about them is when they break they usually do so with a nice clean line about 20-30 degrees, real easy peasy to glue up afterwards.
Poplar seems ok same with Alder. I have lots of ocean spray just have to go out and cut it.
Have not used some of the popular choices yet like Boo, River cane or Cedar.
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^ 101 Did you mean Douglas Fir is your least favorite, or? Because your kinda confusing me :P
Need a bit more specifics guys - getting a lot of have worked with but what not necessarily what you liked best.
I can definitely understand not being able to choose - but let us know that when ya post, lmao.
Getting a lot of liked but rather few unliked materials. But when ya love what you do, I can see that.
AND updating my first post with totals, here's hoping I actually know how to count.
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My favorite at the moment is rivercane. Straightens easily, flys straight, and seems to be almost indesructibe. Just doesnt grow around me. Second is hazel nut. Not as durable as a lot of other material but is easy for me to find straight shoots. ;) Least favorite is phragmites reed. Too light and to fragile. Havnt tried a lot of the materials on your list but have also tried vibernum, poplar, and cedar which all make a descent shaft. So for me it is whatever is more available at the time time i need to make shafts.
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I forgot ash and maple shoots, are close favorites.
Also cattail head stems make incredibly bad arrows unless they are for very light kids bows.
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Favorite is river cane and least favorite is brazilian pepper. lol
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I haven't made any arrows yet, but I have some poplar ready to be split into shaft blanks etc... That doesn't really qualify as a "favourite", hehe. I wish I'd tried some strange NZ native woods for arrows so we could add those to the list :P
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Well, I'll stir this up a little. I have two favorites, 35/55 carbons and Tonkin Bamboo. Least favorite, anything I can't keep straight.
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^ 101 Did you mean Douglas Fir is your least favorite, or? Because your kinda confusing me :P
Yes D-Fir is my least favorite. Poplar would be the top.
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Hunting: Port Orford cedar and cane/bamboo
practice: Carbons
stumping: aluminum
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I'll join in because I want to keep up with this thread too.
Rivercane or hill cane are definitely up there but I also like privet and viburnum. The Chinese privet is an invasive species so cutting it down is very satisfying. Also, the wood is white and looks a lot like holly or osier (traditional Native American materials). I've just recently gathered some viburnum and I think I might like it better than cane. Time will tell...
I've used birch dowels for years but I don't like the work involved in getting a nice glossy finish on them. It's still one of my favorites, though.
Phragmites is very common here and I've made a bunch of arrows from it but it's a pain to process. They fly kinda funny too. I use it only for reproductions.
I've been doing some carpentry work and I have a lot of S-P-F wood that I've been cutting into arrow blanks. I made lots of them years ago and I like it much better than POC. I'll be shooting S-P-F arrows this summer.
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River cane, hill cane and Tonkin are my favorites now. My most favorite are river cane that Danzn Bar has straightened and fletched >:D
I like red osier also, but I have more time in them than any of the canes or Tonkin.
Least favorite... Shafts I have to pay lots of $$ for
Tracy
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For shoot shafting I like sourwood, hill cane and red osier in that order. I've used lots of others but these three are my favorites. For doweled shafts I really like the poplars I got from Stringstretcher(Charlie) and ash makes a good, heavy, strong shaft but it has to be straightened on a regular basis.
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Of the shoot shaft materials that I've harvested and tried arrowwood viburnum has become my favorite. It is tough and durable and the weight range falls right in line with what I like for a hunting arrow and has a nice look to it as well. I tried honeysuckle ( easy to find real straight shafts but breaks to easily), gray dogwood ( I couldn't keep em' straight), wild rose ( I couldn't get em' straight).
Also have gotten some nice flying and tough hunting arrows from tomato stake bamboo.
Of dowel shaft material I guess it would be douglas fir. Love poc for its ability to stay straight but it breaks to easily.
So I guess my favorite is arrowwood viburnum
Least favorite is anything unnatural (carbon, alumn., etc)
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Free is my favorite!
Manufactured are my least favorite!
love bamboo but hate paying for it
Northern Arrowwood is excellent
Cherry is my normal choice as it is easy to come by and works as good as anything else I even like it as dowels
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My favorite is hickory for hunting and sitka spruce. My least favorite is ash. I cannot understand what you people are saying that ash is so good. I am teaching archery to some Boy Scouts and I bought some ash shafts. Two shots with 30 pound bows and two broken shafts. I think ash is much more brittle than cedar. I can't understand why I am having so much bad luck with ash. These are the boys arrows. So I used the ash shafts for 45# to 50# spine and the first shot with it broke too. I am so disappointed that I would gladly trade away the shafts that I have.
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Doug fir for my 50# flat bow and spruce for my 30# recurve. Mostly b because i can get both for free from the jobsite. I have a shelf in my garage that's full of 3' long 2x4,6,&8 material that's drying.probably 100 arrows worth. Those are actually the only woods I've tried so far, but I'm currently playing around with some bamboo that I cut about a week ago. I'm not liking it much, though, because I'm having trouble with straightening, and I don't like waiting for things to dry. Not to mention the merciless splinters. You ever get a bamboo splinter in the crook of your finger? Don't, if you can help it.
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I like POC and cane arrows. I like Port Orford Cedar because I am set in my ways and they smell like arrows are supposed to smell - takes me back to my childhood. Shooting hay bale targets, I hardly ever break a cedar arrow. I like river cane for it's durability and hard hitting accuracy - I thinks it's nature's perfect arrow material. For stumping or hunting, cane arrows are my choice.
For the manmade materials, I still favor aluminum arrows. I know that is taboo on here, but there are still some sharp points screwed on some 2219s in a quiver at my house.
Least favorite is carbon arrows, since that is what the space bow guys all shoot.
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I haven't tried everything but from what I've used I'd say:
Shoots (I've never had one break)
Ocean Spray -because it's plentiful in the North West, tough as nails, stays straight.
Indian plumb -plentiful, tough, stays straight, real easy to clean and straighten
Wild rose -plentiful, tough, stays straight (painful to harvest and clean)
Shrub in my front yard -plentiful, tough, stays straight, real easy to clean and straighten, light weight
(Sorry, I don't know what it is, just makes a wicked arrow)
Garden stake bamboo -although bamboo, I've noticed these vary in type. All tough, stay straight,easy to straighten
Split timber
Doug fir -stays straight, pretty tough, plentiful (only one I've tried)
Don't like any shoot that is in its first year. Too flimsy.
Aluminum doesn't shoot well from my self bows
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I prefer
hazel
red osier
syringa
ninebark
wild rose
choke cherry
ocean spray
I also have carrizo and i think switch cane from Louisiana and yaupon holly which i have not used yet.
My least favorite are
Milled arrow shoots
aluminum
carbon
dowles
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I think my favorite is big box store bamboo shoots.
Then chokecherry
Red Osier
Ramin
Any other milled shaft
I should note that I dislike making arrows and I am cheap - bamboo is my favorite because they are so tough and they are inexpensive. My list should read bamboo and then everything else as a distant second. Shoots are nice but I have a lot of culls that waste my time. To really get a decent set of shoot arrows that match spine and weight I ended up cutting them big and planing them to a barrel taper, so they ended up being time consuming and not much like a shoot shaft.
Patrick
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Updated the lists!!
Looks like Bamboo is FAR out ahead, which actually surprised me.
Carbons and Milled/Dowels in the lead for least favorites, figured on that one.
Keep the inputs coming guys - the more who post the more we get to see what people enjoy working with!
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Rough leaf dogwood is my favorite. I can cut a few sticks in my creek bottom, a few in the bar ditch,,,,, I can find it close to home. Curtis
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OK, I'll start out with what I like, then comment on this whole poll.
My current favorite is yellow pine--partly because it is easy for me to get here in western Kentucky, and partly because it is tough.
Overall, ease of access is a high priority with me.
I like Douglas fir for the reasons above.
I like Port Orford cedar very much, but will never buy any because of the price.
I like red, black and Sitka spruce when I can get those.
Now for my view of this poll. It is fun to know what people like, but our preferences are based on subjective experience.
For instance, just about any arrow material will withstand a straight-on direct hit with any solid object. The point taper may be compressed, but the shaft/stele won't break unless the impact is at some angle other than directly in line.
Few if any of us go out with a dozen new arrows and experiment carefully to see what angle of impact will break them. We also don't record the angle when we break an arrow, then try a different wood at the same angle to see if it also breaks.
According to the dispassionate results of testing by the Forest Products Laboratory, POC comes out better than Sitka spruce in both modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity. They have no axe to grind, if you will pardon the imagery.
As I said at the beginning of my comments, this is a fun poll. One thing it will show is that there are a lot of arrow woods that make people happy!
Jim Davis (who, as the maker, seller of Reparrows, doesn't care what shaft people repair with them.) ;)
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Good points Jim,
I am a little partial to Douglas-fir, as I often help my dad, Bob, and Steve harvest fir for their production of Surewood shafts. They have a strong commitment to quality. Even their second grade hunters are straighter grained than most other wood shafts on the market. Here is a photo from last weeks harvest. All of the wood you see strewn about are fir bolts that didnt meet their grade due to wavy grain. The small pile at the top of the hill next to the truck is the good straight stuff.
(http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k633/Acer_circinatum/20140508_135357_zpsfdfb6418.jpg) (http://s1119.photobucket.com/user/Acer_circinatum/media/20140508_135357_zpsfdfb6418.jpg.html)
(http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k633/Acer_circinatum/IMG_4471_zps91a07c41.jpg) (http://s1119.photobucket.com/user/Acer_circinatum/media/IMG_4471_zps91a07c41.jpg.html)
I like quality fir for its weight , durability, straightness, and beauty.
I like ocean spray for shoot shafts, but when I look at all of the time I put into getting a matched dozen, then the price of surewoods doesnt look so bad.
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(Again mainly posting to kep a note of this thread)
I've not really tried a vast range of shafts, not really been shooting that long or often enough but so far scots pine is my favourite and POC my least favourite.
Very interested to give bamboo a go based on quite a few reports on how indestructible they seem to be.
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Good points Jim,
I am a little partial to Douglas-fir, as I often help my dad, Bob, and Steve harvest fir for their production of Surewood shafts. They have a strong commitment to quality. Even their second grade hunters are straighter grained than most other wood shafts on the market. Here is a photo from last weeks harvest. All of the wood you see strewn about are fir bolts that didnt meet their grade due to wavy grain. The small pile at the top of the hill next to the truck is the good straight stuff.
I like quality fir for its weight , durability, straightness, and beauty.
I like ocean spray for shoot shafts, but when I look at all of the time I put into getting a matched dozen, then the price of surewoods doesnt look so bad.
+1