Author Topic: arrow/shaft source?  (Read 4619 times)

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Offline Bob Barnes

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arrow/shaft source?
« on: May 19, 2019, 09:34:52 am »
I have a friend that shoots a 35# selfbow and I want to make or buy some arrows for it.  I want something spined for the 35# draw weight, but really want wood/bamboo that weighs 10gpp or less when finished at 28".  What/where do I need to look?
thanks,
Bob
Seems like common sense isn't very common any more...

Offline Pat B

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2019, 11:37:31 am »
Wayne at TSA, 3Rivers and other sponsors of PA.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Bob Barnes

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2019, 12:11:51 pm »
thanks...and I get that... but everyone use to post the weight and spine range on wood shafts...all I see is spine any more.  I guess I will email all of them to see what's available. 
thanks again.
Bob
Seems like common sense isn't very common any more...

Offline DC

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2019, 12:52:10 pm »
I find it hard to get bamboo that light but I use 45-55# spine. The Tiger bamboo are very nice shafts but the ones I got run in the 450-500 grain range. If you try garden stakes every so often you'll get a stiff one that is in the 320-350 range. It still doesn't leave any room for the tip weight. Spruce and Hemlock work.

Offline Strelets

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2019, 12:44:56 am »
Tulipwood (Liriodendron tulipifera, known as "American Poplar" here in the UK) will average around about 300 grains for a 5"/16 x 28" shaft. You can expect up to 15% variation in weight for shafts of the same dimensions. Tulipwood is much stronger than Port Orford cedar, spruce or pine but is not so strong as ash. When I used POC I used to break about one arrow a week, with tulipwood I break one every couple of months or so, and with ash I break about one a year.

I use 3"/8 tulipwood arrow shafts for bows of up to 70 lb, but 5"/16 should be OK for 35 lb. I buy the shafts direct from a dowelling manufacturer, requesting "arrow grade".

Offline Knoll

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2019, 05:04:09 am »
Like Strelets posted, tulip poplar at 5/16 will likely work. But you're gonna need to buy manufactured dowels or make your own from boards. I use the 1/2" boards avail at big orange box store, and hand plane 'em down.
POC should be doable too.
Also, Wayne at TSA would be good resource to speak with.
... alone in distant woods or fields, in unpretending sproutlands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day .... .  I suppose that this value, in my case, is equivalent to what others get by churchgoing & prayer.  Hank Thoreau, 1857

Offline Pat B

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #6 on: May 20, 2019, 06:01:05 am »
Tulip poplar makes great shafts. Very strong but lighter than POC in my experience. I have and have used 11/32" poplar shafting.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Hawkdancer

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2019, 09:43:13 am »
Red osier dogwood May work also- don’t have weight specs on the tip of my tongue,
but it is light and tough.  I will be bringing some to MoJam, well cured and bark on.
Hawkdancer
Life is far too serious to be taken that way!
Jerry

Offline Bob Barnes

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #8 on: May 20, 2019, 04:35:25 pm »
thanks guys!  I will look around for those poplar dowels or just make my own since I have a month.
Seems like common sense isn't very common any more...

Offline TSA

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2019, 12:09:46 pm »
thanks all, for the referrals :D
hi Bob, i can help you with the correlation between spine and mass, more so with our own shafts- but the formula kinda stays the same for all the woods- just the size of the numbers vary.
i am more than happy to help you with any question or technical data i can help you with, and i certainly dont expect you to purchase shafts from us.
If you are planning to build them by hand with a "shooting board", there are lots of folk on here that do that heaps.
if you are going to build a jig- either a router based or table saw based jig- i can help some with that- i have built a few of them, but more so if you are planning on using the veritas jig- thats how we started many years ago- and i notched up a lot of hours on that jig :D
thats just if you need some assistance. i am sure you are more than capable

Offline Woodely

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2019, 02:10:04 pm »
I find it hard to get bamboo that light but I use 45-55# spine. The Tiger bamboo are very nice shafts but the ones I got run in the 450-500 grain range. If you try garden stakes every so often you'll get a stiff one that is in the 320-350 range. It still doesn't leave any room for the tip weight. Spruce and Hemlock work.
You have any luck with Hemlock..?   " I use 45-55# spine."   .........….so what ya use for your bows that are under 40# 
"Doing bad work is an exercise in futility, but honestly making mistakes is trying your best."

Offline DC

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2019, 04:56:28 pm »
I found Hemlock to be a bit weak but that's compared to Bamboo. I've only made a couple of bows under 40# and I just rummaged around in my reject arrow bin until I found a couple or three lighter arrows that worked.

Offline jeffp51

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #12 on: May 25, 2019, 11:23:01 pm »
if you make the arrow a little longer, you should be able to get the dynamic spine down to where you want it.

Offline Bob Barnes

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #13 on: June 03, 2019, 01:31:48 pm »
Thanks everyone for the help... a couple of friends, Gifford and Feathers -n- Wood, helped me out and I should end up with some arrows that will work just fine.   :OK
Seems like common sense isn't very common any more...

Offline Hawkdancer

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Re: arrow/shaft source?
« Reply #14 on: June 06, 2019, 07:40:15 pm »
Wayne, sent you a pm.
Hawkdancer
Life is far too serious to be taken that way!
Jerry