Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: DC on November 04, 2015, 01:49:40 pm
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I made some shafts and got them nicely matched in spine and nice and straight. I stained and put a Varathane finish on them. It was a bit cold in the shop so I brought them in and stood them in front of the stove to dry. This morning they all have a beautiful curve >:( >:( Will this come out if I just leave them or do I have to straighten them?
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You will have to straighten them. What kind of shafts are they?
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Western Hemlock. It's the first time I've used it so everything is new :)
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Were the shafts well seasoned? They shouldn't have bent otherwise just standing in front of the wood stove.
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The same thing crossed my mind but the 1/2 x 1/2 blanks sat in a hot box at 100 degrees for 2 weeks and never bent a bit. And they've been sitting for month since then.
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I wonder if the varnish might have had something to do with it? Polyurethanes cure by absorption of moisture, and even dry wood has some, which would release on a hot side into the poly more than the cool side. Dunno, just a guess.
Seems like 1/2 square hemlock would dry very fast -- least the stuff I have does.
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I weighed it every day while it was in the hotbox. It took about 4-5 days to stabilize.
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Split that stuff out and set it aside for a year or two and I bet it will make much better arrows. Seasoned vs. dry!
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That's the plan. I was just anxious to try some. I was really pleased with how stable it seems to be. Even with fast drying there was no sign of warping.
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Dont know why you place your stuff near the wood stove. I would never do that; much to dry and hot. All my Gear is down stairs inside the house no problems with warping. I have wall racks that hold about 35 arrows and the bows are hanging on a simple rack. Its just my way keeps everything organized.
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set those curved arrows aside they can be used for shooting around things . lol
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If you have a heat gun you can straighten them. I use a combination heat gun and a screwdriver shank rubbed on the high side of the bend. I heat straighten, let sit a day and correct any that try to go back with the screwdriver shank.
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It wasn't a wood stove, it's gas, not that hot, and I was in a hurry. Yah, that's a good excuse :)
it wasn't a big deal to straighten them, I just didn't want to straighten them and then have them straighten themselves. I used a screwdriver, no heat.
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something i learned, always lay your arrows flat, never lean them on anything. ever play billards or pool? lean a stick against a wall enough times and you end up with a bent stick. pool sticks are hard wood, solid and straight as a arrow when you buy them. lean them and you have nothing more than a very expensive 2 piece bow that dont work very well as such. ;)or put them in a hard case of some sorts {rawhide quiver maybe?} anyhow to the lean against a object flush with them. Tony