Arrows in the Raw

[pdccr]

I was wondering if anyone knew what width of raw blanks would i need to make a 5/16 shaft?

I was reading around and saw that someone was using hoop pine for arrows, anyone had any success with pine for arrows? I will be making them to use on my new selfy which comes out to #41 pounds, so they dont need to be too heavy.

[CraigMBeckett]

Hi pdccr,

The last set of arrows I made prior to the boo ones we have corresponded over were made of hoop pine, a very good arrow wood although some what heavier than POC for equal sized shafts. By the way its not a true pine.

I would saw about 1/16 thicker than final giving me 1/32 to plane off all round, so on that basis approx 3/8.

Craig

[pdccr]

Ok thanks mate

[pdccr]

Would this mean that i would end up with 3/8 or i would saw it to that, 10mm sounds to small to saw so what size blanks in mm would i cut? Sorry if i didnt explain it very well.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Hoop Pine does make a nice arra shaft but is a bit light for my liking. Oregon is another good one to use.

Jeff

[pdccr]

Yeah i also heard that, the good thing about hoop pine is i have a good supply of it. I will only be using the arrows for target shooting and not hunting so if they are light that doesnt matter a whole heap.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Hoop should do fine than Toby.

Jeff

[Glenn]

Hoop pine makes a good shaft, hoop pine is not a pine species....Glenn....

[pdccr]

What species is it? I know it tends to have that darkish ting in it, i am currently building a table from normal pine and its coming up beautifully.

[Glenn]

Araucaria Cunninghamii, it's not a true pine, no pines grow naturally in the southern hemisphere. It's a very primitive tree. I have used it a lot over the years for house frames, a lot of pine furniture is made from Hoop. I have seen it used in bow laminations as well for lighter poundage bows. It's a nice straight tree, one of it's big uses is for ply. I was at a mill in Blackbutt once and they were spinning sections of hoop logs and they had a big knife set up and were spinning veneeres off the logs for ply, they were making the ply there as well, it was something to see....Glenn....

[pdccr]

Ok, thanks glenn

[pdccr]

Anyone know what size blanks i would cut?

[Stickbow Hunter]

As Craig said:

I would saw about 1/16 thicker than final giving me 1/32 to plane off all round,

So 10 - 11 mm should do it. Years ago I made 3/8" shafts from 12mm blanks.

Jeff

[CraigMBeckett]

Jeff beat me to it.

[pdccr]

ok thanks guys, another question, when im planing down the sides, would i use a little form where the blanks sit or would i just do it by hand?

[Stickbow Hunter]

This article from our featured threads forum might help you out.

Jeff

http://www.ozbow.net/glenn_hand_made_shafts_001.htm

[pdccr]

Yeah thats were i got my inspiration haha

[ichiban]

hmmmm gets you thinking dosent it, i have to say making my own arrows split timber shafts is on my list but since im starting a new job i wont get a chance for a while....
at any rate has any1 tryed making shafts from some of the more common aussie woods i mean...we have cedar, anw with blackwood for a footing hehe

[Glenn]

Ichi, I made a few shafts from red cedar years ago but even at 3/8" dia. they were still very low spine and very soft. Bunya Pine is a good timber. In Australia we have such a huge diversity of timber I think we have hardly even sctratched the surface even though we have used a lot. I have tried shafts out of some of the eucalypts but didn't like them much. The silver woods were good shafts, that was silver quandong, tons of that around the range here....Glenn....

[ichiban]

thats what im thinking, there are soooo many timbers out there i was even thinking about blackwood as a shaft as its light in mass but siff as (hence y i like it in core lams) and it would make 1 of the best looking arrows out there, depending on the specs that the shaft came out at

[Glenn]

Never thought of balckwood as a shaft. Makes a good bow lamination Ichi? I haven't used it myself yet. I saw it under clear glass last week and it looked really good...Glenn...

[ichiban]

yeah is very stiff per its mass i have used it in a few bows as both power lams, and full length cores. i however dont know if i would trust it as a back or belly, i havent tested it in either capacity but its price tag limits much experimentation on my buget, you know. it is a beautifull timber to work and look at, as i understand we export it all over the world but mostly for musical instruments

[Glenn]

Blackwood grows all around Maleny here but I don't think is as dense as the blackwood that grows in Tassie, I think it is the lack of the cold weather. It's a very impressive tree, tall and straight. I have some for decorative lamiantions that I will laminate with other timbers under the clear glass but they will be so thin, at .025 they wont be doing any work, I have some purple bloodwood from north Queensland I will splice it into.
I think that some of our lesser timbers might make a good shaft if the timber was cut and ground into thin lamiantions and then glued back together, it would be a lot of work but would be worth it to make a dozen special arrows, they would be as tough as nails.
That would be a good project for Steve Wallace, just have to work out a way to get him to do it and save me all the hassle .....Glenn......

[ichiban]

haha yeah, remember a while back i tryed that, tuff but ALOT of work. oh i got a new bow on the way ill show pics soon, hickory, spotty and boo cant do better than that

[Glenn]

Sounds like a good timber combination, I should get some hickory myself. I have made a few all wood composite bows out of spotted gum laminations with bamboo backing and they have been shooting very well. I have some red or grey ironbark I will cut up and try as well...Glenn...

[ichiban]

be sure to post you sucsesses and learn from your failures, then again theres nothing better than making something odd every now and then

[Glenn]

Ichi, very often you will learn a lot more from the failures, so I never try to look onto them as negatives....Glenn....

[pdccr]

I am going to rip up some hoop pine on monday and i will try and get some pics up. Depends if i get around to it.

[pdccr]

For when i plane the sides down, what kind of planer is the best to use?

I like the look of that little one hand planer but i havent seen them around. Maybe im not looking hard enough.

[CraigMBeckett]

pdccr,

The hand plane use in the how-to is a block plane, similar ones are available in most hardware stores.

Craig.