Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: icu812 on January 11, 2015, 04:24:27 pm
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I thought I'd take advantage of this beautiful 34 degree Sunday here in Nebraska and try to contribute to the PA Community. Here's the start of a low-budget, primitive shoot arrows build-along using some modern and some primitive tools. Let's start with the harvest.
I have no idea what these shoots are, but anyone who does is welcome to chime in. They were discovered about 50 feet to the side of a gravel road in Southeast Nebraska on the bank of the Platte River.
Here they are in their natural habitat... and here's what to look for, and what not to look for. You want to choose the straightest possible natural growing shafts to make the straightening process as painless as possible. If you were to harvest one of the shafts as bowed as the one in the second photo, you'd be hard pressed to ever keep that thing straight, if you could ever get it straight in the first place!
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Here's the harvest. I like to choose shafts that have about a 3/8 diameter on the point end, and about 5/16 diameter at the nock end. I cut them about 40 inches long to allow for size adjustments and splitting while drying. A really easy way to size your shafts before harvesting is to carry a 3/8 and 5/16 wrench with you, and use them to check the diameter of the shaft at the point and nock end. I'm OK with just eyeballing, and can usually get pretty darn close.
I can already tell by flexing them in their green state that they'll be just about right for my 55 pound selfbow. In the beginning I was meticulous about spine and weight, and matched all my arrow sets, but nowadays I don't like to get too technical with my primitive arrows.
I just can't imagine the Native Americans whipping out their spine tester or grains scale. A lot of fellas like to spine and weight match their arrows.. I just gave most of that up fairly recently when I realized that I can put a large variety of spined and weighted arrows into a pretty tight group. If it'll hit a rabbit at 20 yards, SWEET! I never cared much for applying all the sciences to get 12 arrows into a quarter sized hole.
By the way, I am by no means an expert...and this is all just personal preference! I just really enjoy archery, and I enjoy making my own gear. I chose to go with some modern tools for ease of effort and lack of free time. I have learned everything I know by following the PA forums the past few years. Any of you are welcome to chime in at any time with corrections, tips for the community, or constructive criticism!
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Let's get started with bark removal. Harvesting in the late-fall and winter months is great because the sap content is lower in the wood. This helps minimize warping and splitting while drying. So far the only tool we've used to harvest is a $7 folding tree saw I picked up in a clearance isle at a home improvement store.
Now we'll switch to our super-special $9 Harbor Freight survival knife for bark removal. I like using a longer blade for scraping bark because it makes it almost impossible to slip and gouge the shaft. I've ruined plenty of arrow-worthy shafts using a short pocket knife. I guess I just get a little too vigorous... slip, cause huge gouges, and ruin the shaft.
Just hold your knife at a 90 degree angle to the shaft and scrape away! The bark peels right off with very little effort. I like to do bark removal right at the harvest site because as you can see, it makes a huge mess!
Here are the photos of bark removal, some of the shafts de-barked, and finally all of them debarked and ready for the initial straightening. Energy drinks optional.
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All of 'em stripped naked.
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I am with ya brother.
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Here are some shots of the point and nock ends of the shoots. Again, you're shooting for approx 3/8 at the point and 5/16 at the nock. I'd say we got pretty close! We'll have some room to fine-tune the sizes when we do the final cut-to-length.
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I've never had much luck straightening shoot shafts by hand. It seems like I just chase the bends for days. I create 2 bends for every one that gets straightened. I found the idea for this arrow straightening tool during a random search, so I don't know the source. It's a sapling approx. 2 inches in diameter with a 1/2 inch hole drilled at about a 60 degree angle through it.
I don't know how to explain it that well via typing, but you want to drill low enough on the sapling that it doesn't break through the top of the hole. Then you trim the material away from the top of the hole creating a channel with a small lip on the top of it. This keeps the shaft in place while manipulating.
Then, I use a knife to clean up the two edges that the shaft will contact when pressure is applied. This makes for nice smooth contact surfaces that won't dent, kink, or break the shaft. This little tool is a life-saver! It works really well.
Hopefully the pictures can give you a better idea of what I'm trying to explain. So far, our expenses are $7 folding saw, $9 survival knife, a couple bucks in fuel for the drive to the site, some free shoots, and a free sapling arrow straightener. The saw and knife will last for hundreds of shafts... possibly indefinitely, so I'd say we're on track for a low-budget build!
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I'm doing this build-along in real time... so I'm off to build a fire and get on with the initial straightening. I'll have an update later this evening with some action shots of the handy-dandy sapling tool.
Forewarning: Being real-time... we're going to have a little break after bundling while we wait for them to dry up a little! I'll be waiting until two Sundays from now for the final portion of the build. It's extremely dry here this time of year. I don't know what the humidity is, but we've got scales on our scales! It puts the lotion on the skin.... or else it gets the hose again.
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I'm watching along.
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If you open up the notch on your arrow straightener it works just as well and you don't have to feed the arrow in from the end. Too bad you don't know what kind of shoots they are.
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This will be interesting. I've been thinking about doing a sourwood shoot arrow build along. Maybe later.
One note I'd like to add here...if you strip the bark off some green shoots they will check as they dry. I know for sure blackhaw viburnum will. Sourwood shoots, however won't check. I've cut a shoot, scraped the bark, laid it under my wood stove for 3 days and made an arrow. I don't recommend doing this for your everyday arrows. Arrow wood, just like bow wood, needs time to season.
I also wish you knew what plant this is. Not all straight shoots make good arrows.
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I'm researching my butt off with no solid evidence thus far. The closest two species I've found are blackhaw viburnum and arrowwood viburnum. I'm still skeptical though. I'll continue researching until I find it. Hoping someone recognizes it and chimes in.
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Do you have any of the shoot tops. Viburnum have easy to ID buds and most have opposite buds. I don't think it blackhaw like grows around here. Any leaves on the ground around the plants?
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I don't remember any leaves on the ground Pat. I'm going to go back out there again in the next day or two and get some better pictures of the finer details.
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Ok, onto the initial straightening. This was done a little more hastily than I normally would have. I had about an hour and a half to build a fire and straighten 14 shoots until it was time to clean up for date night with the wifey.
The first photo is ..well.. the fire, shoots, and straightener. Pretty straight forward.
The second photo is one of the shoots that was straight two hours ago. There was noticeable warping of some, minimal warping of others, and none at all on some. Once I figure out what kind of wood this is, it'll probably explain why they warped in such a short time. This didn't turn out to be an issue, because as soon as they warmed up in the fire they returned to their original shape. Anyone with some science behind this is welcome to explain.
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It's best to heat the shoots over coals, but I was running short on time this evening. Just be careful not to scorch them if you're using open flames. I didn't use any sort of oil on the shaft.. just heated them while dry. Oil is supposed to help the heat penetrate deeper, more evenly, and reduce the chances of scorching.
I like to heat the area I'm trying to correct to a golden brown color, others prefer to heat until too hot to touch, but without browning. Whatever you like! Keep the shaft moving while it's in the flames. Keeping it in one spot a moment too long will scorch it.
Be careful. They can get hot enough to bite ya if you're not wearing gloves.
I heat them til they're golden brown, and then place them in the straightener. You can use the same hand, or your free hand to squeeze the shaft toward the straightener. I like to apply the pressure at about 3-4 inches from the straightener. When I try to bend while holding lower on the shaft, say 12 inches down, it usually takes one bend out and creates another in the process.
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Here's a shaft after initial straightening. I'm not going for laser straight, just straight enough to dry nicely in the bundle. They'll probably warp slightly over the next few weeks anyway.
Be careful when you're using a tool to produce concentrated compression. When you add a little mechanical advantage, it's easier than you'd think to crush the wood fibers. I started with 14 shafts.. and only 9 survived. I got a little too frisky with the super sapling tool. My victims collapsed toward the nock end where the shaft was thinner and I lost too much length. Here's a photo of the crushed fibers.
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Here are the survivors of the initial straightening. As you can see I lost some length on a few after crushing them. There's still enough room to account for checking and final cut-to-lenght. That's another reason I like to harvest them extra long. These little fellas really gained some strength from the heat. I have no doubt they'll be fine for a 55 pounder, maybe even a touch on the stiff side. Time to bundle them up.
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Since this is a low budget build, I refused to drive across town to purchase a new can of sealer. I found this old can of MinWax satin poly in a box I had in my closet (we moved recently). I use paint, polyurethane, or wood glue to seal the ends to minimize splitting while drying. I pour an inch or two into a water bottle that I cut in half and dip the whole bundle in at once. I'll be doing some finish sanding before fletching so I don't really care if they get slopped up with a little poly.
Then, split them up 50/50 with big ends up/little ends up to make for a more uniform bundle, and spiral wrap 'em up with whatever you've got lying around. Paracord, shoe laces, plant fibers.. the choice is yours! I had a roll of Jute twine so I went with that. We won't add this to the cost of the build since any rope-like object will work.
For some reason these photos make them look really charred! I promise I didn't scorch them. In person they're golden to dark brown.
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Now the hardest part of the whole process..............waiting.
I've got another bundle drying on top of these. They're miscellaneous shoots I harvested last week (plum, rose, and another mystery shoot). I'm going to let them season a little longer though, so for now lets pretend they're not in the picture.
I think I'll let these mystery shoots sit in my closet for a couple weeks and finish this build-along two Sundays from now. I'll check them once a day to see how they're doing though. It's really dry this time of year so they might be dry-ish in a week.
So far we've spent $7 on a folding saw (optional), $9 on a knife (could replace saw), $0.30 on a lighter, a little fuel, free straightener, free fire wood, and at one time or another probably $5 on that can of MinWax. I'm not sure how to tally up the total for the tools though, because I've had them for a while and they'll last a long, long time. If you have a knife or a hatchet laying around, I think you could count this all as $5 plus fuel so far since you'd have to buy some sealer. I'll let you guys be the judge.
To be continued...
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The wood looks like Basswood. It grows in clumps around old stumps. I wonder if there is a stump below all that grass.
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There could definitely be some stumps under there. It's in an area along the bank that has mostly dead trees and there are large dead standing basswood trees. The locals drive out there and cut them down for firewood. There are stumps everywhere.. fresh.. old.. and probably buried under the grass.
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Basswood makes a good arrow. A little heavy but sturdy.
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I think you got the idea for your arrow straightening tool from allergic Hobbit on YouTube he is on here known as jack crafty he makes a cool exactly like that on a video for straightening arrows that is the only other place I've ever seen that type of tool good job by the way :-)
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Nice buildalong.
I would be a little worried that removing bark and dry heating before seasoning could induce checks
Personally I prefere to manually bend with bark on while green (no fire) and make the last heat bending/ straightening only when dry
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I agree with Glis. I only know of one hardwood shoot that you can remove the bark while it is green and will not check and that is sourwood. Every other I've tried has checked. I have heard that you can leave about 1" of bark on each end and they won't check but I've never tried that. I like my arrow shafting well seasoned anyway. ;)
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I'll be watching this one! Good info so far for sure! Patrick
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so ingorant noob question: ive seen that stick tool for straightening a lot. is there any specific specs on how to make one and also how exactly does it work? you just heat it and torque it with that tool?
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Jay, an arrow wrench works well but I only use one for extreme bends. There is no specific design that I know of, just be sure the areas that contact the shaft are beveled well as not to dent the wood when you use it.
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Sorry fellas. I know this build has been hanging around unfinished for a little bit. Having a slow recovery from an oral surgery and been runnin' low on mojo the past few weeks. Gonna try to finish up this weekend if I get some time. I haven't forgotten!
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Glis and Pat, surprisingly no checking during immediate bark removal and dry heat. A small portion did develope minor checks while seasoning the past few weeks but theyre less than 2" long and shallow. The shafts also stayed straight and gained noticeable spine. I still dont kno the species, but im determined to find out and I hope this all works out cuz I'm sold on 'em so far.
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Nice build a long so far. Take your time and they should look good.
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Oooooh, I hope my Girlfriend never discovers this site! she would be nagging me to get you to cut some basswood for her, for carving! I told her that there were cotton woods, around me in Montana, and she is bugging me constantly to be sure to get some bark, and send it to her! So shhhhhh! Nice build along.
Wayne