Author Topic: best shaft material  (Read 6455 times)

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Offline Floridaarcher

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Re: best shaft material
« Reply #15 on: June 24, 2019, 08:26:46 pm »
Natural shoots and cane make amazing and durable arrow shafts. They are also easier in my opinion for a beginner than planning your own from a peice of square wood.
Find what kind of natural materials grow in your area and live them a try.
Arrow wood viburnum, red oseir dogwood and native canes and reeds can be found all over the country.

Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: best shaft material
« Reply #16 on: June 25, 2019, 06:20:59 am »
All of the above. I've never used sitka spruce. These days I've settled on white pine forward stock. The advantage is that it hand planes easily. Jawge
Set Happens!
If you ain't breakin' you ain't makin!

Offline Woodely

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Re: best shaft material
« Reply #17 on: June 28, 2019, 02:20:27 pm »
Doug fir has given me nothing but headaches,  I found that it splits easy skimming off the edge of the traget frames like the 2x4's and skimming off rocks and hitting metal.  I wont use DF again using hemlock or maybe yellow cedar.  Spruce seems to be the in wood now,  it was not that popular 6 years ago it was all about Port orford.
"Doing bad work is an exercise in futility, but honestly making mistakes is trying your best."

Offline Rjg

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Re: best shaft material
« Reply #18 on: June 28, 2019, 06:40:33 pm »
I’m partial to hickory but ya gotta like heavy and really need a heat gun for straightening.

Offline bassman

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Re: best shaft material
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2019, 01:36:25 am »
If you are making them from scratch Spice Bush,and wild Choke Cherry,Willow, Bamboo will make a good arrow.

Offline Mafort

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Re: best shaft material
« Reply #20 on: July 06, 2019, 08:10:29 am »
I use poplar a lot for shafts and it works really well. I’d get as many straight grained and straight prices you can. I have an arrowshaft board and plane by John shrunk And the square stock usually has better grain then the ones that are already dowels. Douglas fir is a good shaft material. It’s heavy but i noticed some consistency issues when I cut it and plane it down and spine them. Sitika spruce is tough stuff as far as I’ve heard but I’ve never used it. I’ve used white pine a lot considering I’ve hit this sinew backed bow making patch. The light weight works well and with a foreshaft of dog wood or Osage it’s a good wood to use with sinew backed bows.