Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: Little John on March 12, 2017, 02:26:01 pm

Title: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: Little John on March 12, 2017, 02:26:01 pm
Has anyone tied the bamboo shafting available from china, Looks real good, straight, uniform and on par in expense with poc or other domestic shafting and with free shipping. I can see a quiver full of fine bamboo arrows with out the endless hours of straightening only to get a bunch of unmatched spined arrows. As soon as I get a little extra cash I am going to try a 50 pack.      Kenneth
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: loon on March 12, 2017, 04:22:27 pm
I have some that have pretty different weight by over 100 grains or something.  A 50 pack may be a good idea so you can sort them by weight.

Yeah, I kinda wish I hadn't bought all those gnarly canes...
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: Pat B on March 12, 2017, 04:26:33 pm
Kenneth, I think those shafts are Tonkin Bamboo. I haven't tried them but lots of folks have and apparently they make good arrows. I don't know what their physical weight is like but they seem they would be a little light.
 Hope all is well with you and Kathy are doing well. We're doing OK here.
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: mullet on March 12, 2017, 05:39:32 pm
They work good, Little John but are kinda brittle compared to raw, hand straightened Tonkin shafts. Those have been sanded down and straightened with a lot of heat and rolled between steel slabs.
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: Danzn Bar on March 12, 2017, 05:46:21 pm
They work good, Little John but are kinda brittle compared to raw, hand straightened Tonkin shafts. Those have been sanded down and straightened with a lot of heat and rolled between steel slabs.

Agree with Eddie...heated a little green, caramelizes the sugars and makes them very brittle at the nodes.......not nearly as durable as dried hand straightened cane.
DBar
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: Little John on March 12, 2017, 08:40:41 pm
Sorry to hear that they might not be as good as they seem, might still try a few any way. Thanks for the responses.     Kenneth
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: DC on March 12, 2017, 09:20:20 pm
I made some arrows from bamboo from China. I don't know if it's the same stuff but on the website it mentions the spine. It says spined a 28". If that's the same site take the spine with a grain of salt. You can see in the picture that they are spined  45-50#. All of them were in the 50-65# range. Top Predator noticed the same thing. Other than that they are beautiful shafts. Very straight and finished nicely. If you order maybe order a little on the light side, maybe 10#

PS because they are too heavy for my bows I haven't shot them much so I can't speak to the brittleness concern. I was waiting to bulk up ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: osage outlaw on March 12, 2017, 09:26:27 pm
I made 2 dozen of them last summer.  I haven't shot them very much but they seem to be OK.  It was very nice to not have to straighten them.  I agree with Mullet and Danznbar about them being a little more brittle but I haven't broke any yet. 
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: Little John on March 13, 2017, 08:32:48 pm
Thanks for the replies everyone, DC at least it seems like stiff bamboo still shoots good and seems to be pretty spine tolerant. and probably brittle bamboo is still tougher than most wood shafting. Nice to know that they are real straight and nice looking, wonder how they are for weight uniformity. I don't mind having a few culls. I notice there are a lot of venders, wonder if some offer the premium stuff?
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: Urufu_Shinjiro on March 14, 2017, 11:09:11 am
Get the stuff from the company with tiger in the name, that's the premium stuff. Most of the others don't even sell them spined but some do. I've heard nothing but good things about the tiger company.
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: DC on March 14, 2017, 12:26:25 pm
That's the one! Tiger Shaft on Amazon. You'll notice in the write-up that it says "spined at 28".
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: loon on March 14, 2017, 06:16:17 pm
There's also oulay, which is where I got mine from. Not sure of which is better/how different they are.
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: mullet on March 14, 2017, 06:50:29 pm
Most everybody selling them on ebay is buying them from Tiger out of China. Some are selling them cheaper because they buy more from Tiger. When he first started selling them we had to delete his link because he wasn't a paid sponsor. But I checked it out and it showed how they were straightened.
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: loon on March 14, 2017, 08:10:41 pm
Most everybody selling them on ebay is buying them from Tiger out of China. Some are selling them cheaper because they buy more from Tiger. When he first started selling them we had to delete his link because he wasn't a paid sponsor. But I checked it out and it showed how they were straightened.
I think oulay produces their own, in China, though..

Tiger might be better.
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: jimmi the sammi on March 14, 2017, 09:33:13 pm
Have purchased many 100's of shafts from Tiger in weights from 40# through 90#.  They are quality shafts.  Many of the local guys are now shooting them and really like the product.  Feathers stay glued on.  I have tapered both ends for nocks and points with no problems.  If you can put together a bulk order it is less expensive to deal with him direct.  A few of the shafts have split length wise but not very many.  They are tough overall.  Hope that helps.
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: willie on March 15, 2017, 10:26:05 am
I got some from a supplier in  lakeland florida a few years back that a member recommended.

Can anyone comment how they compare?
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: Urufu_Shinjiro on March 15, 2017, 10:30:24 am
I got some from a supplier in  lakeland florida a few years back that a member recommended.

Can anyone comment how they compare?

Doesn't the supplier in lakeland just sell raw boo? Or are you talking about someone else that sells finished shafts?
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: willie on March 15, 2017, 10:41:34 am
I suppose it was raw, and I really have no idea if it was the species advertised, but then again "bamboo from china" in the OP is not too specific. I suppose the product discussed by the OP is sold as " finished "
arrowstock? Is is heat treated or something more than dried?
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: Urufu_Shinjiro on March 15, 2017, 01:21:11 pm
Yeah, the stuff we're talking about is straightened, sanded, caramelized, clear finished, and spine matched. It's ready to make a knock, glue on feathers and a point and bob's your uncle.
Title: Re: Bamboo shafting (straightened and spined)
Post by: turtle on April 03, 2017, 04:00:44 pm
I bought 2 doz off the big auction site last year. Have only made up six of them so far but have shot them a lot with out any problems ( exept loosing one).   Dont remember exact weight on them but I think the lightest came out around 490gn and heaviest a litttle over 520gn. Thats with a 125gn field point.