Few cane arrows finished

[stringstretcher]

Here are some Jap Arrow bamboo arrows that I just finished up. Self nocks, hand ground turkey feathers, wrapped in silk.





And the patch they came from

[Bill]

Nice, all natural they look good, what a great patch of Bamboo to have access too.....Bill

[GrahameA]

Great. They look really nice.

Any chance of some close-ups of the nocks and the points.

[longbow steve]

Very nice Stringstretcher, good find on the arrow bamboo . Steve

[Brumbies Country]

They look great Stringstretcher. I'd be interested to know what sort of weight range they came in at.

Simon

[Stickbow Hunter]

They look very well made - congrats.

Jeff

[otis.drum]

those fletchings look great. i love the natural barred colour feathers...

is the cane a type of bamboo, or is it different? it looks to grow straighter than the arrow bamboo. is it?

[piggy]

Mate they look great

[Jeffro]

Great. They look really nice.

Any chance of some close-ups of the nocks and the points.

yes please

im interested to know about the spine also the type of bamboo it is.




Id like to make some of those they look strong.They would have to be stronger than poc wouldnt they?One thing that really is annoying with nice woods is when the tips break off.
What about the weight compared to POC etc

Can the nodes in the bamboo be sanded down smooth?

by the way they look good

Jeff

[Gringa Bows]

looking good Stringstretcher......................Rod

[greybeard]

Very nice work, what style of bow will be graced in shooting these arrows?

Daryl.

[stringstretcher]

Thanks everyone. I will try and answer some of your questions. I am trying to get a good clear picture of the nock, but my little camera does not like close up's.

The Jap Arrow bamboo that you see is a running style bamboo....it will spread like wildfire. Used a lot in landscaping for shielding walls and fences, as is what this huge patch started as. The neighbors did not want each other looking in their back doors so to speak. Yes it does grow a lot straighter than cane and other style bamboo. The best advice I can give on getting good arrow bamboo, is be very selective on the shoots that you cut. Make sure you get second year growth, which you can tell when the sheats fall off. And look for the right sizes and straightness when you cut. The first ones I cut, you could make fishing poles out of them....lol.

I spine all my cane by a method that a master arrow maker taught me. First you can not spine cane like a wood arrow. The natural taper adds to a higher FOC and you have to take that into consideration. All factors of the bow, arrow length, point weight have to be calculated into the spine. If you would like, pm me and I will try to explain.

The cane above in the pictures are for a center shot bow, pulling 44lbs @ 28 inches . The arrows were cut to 29" BOP. These also have just a brass screw on point for target, so the end results for spine of these particular ones had to be 60 lbs measured under AMO standards.

I try to keep my arrows close in weight, but with cane, you would have to sort thousands of shafts to get exact weight. These arrows all came out within 10-15 grains of weigh for the dozen, and they weigh between 545-560 grains.

The nock and point end of the shaft are drilled and have a hardwood dowell of 1 1/2 inches glued in for the taper of the point, and for a filler to aid in the self nock. Now if you are cutting your nocks in the cane at a node, you do not have to use a filler.

All bamboo/cane that I have shot or tested is by far, stronger than wood. That is how cane/bamboo arrows got the name "natures carbon". They will bounce off things and survive.

On some cane/bamboo you can sand the nodes. Tonkin is the strongest, but also the smallest diameter of canes. They are almost solid and the nodes can be reduced a lot. Other cane, as this type have thinner walls and will bend/kink very easy if too much reduction is done. And you have to be carefull in scorching the nodes, they will become very brittle.

As another example of spine, the gentleman that taught me, who is the master of all cane arrows, made me one of his and sent it to me. The arrow is 30" to BOP with a 125 grain trade point on it. It also has a footed hardwood dowell of 3" at the front of the arrow. I shot a 45 lb self bow with no shelf and draw 27". I have no arrow that will fly as good as this one arrow. NONE. The arrow spines out at 70lbs. Go figure.........LOL.

[Brumbies Country]

Thanks for that comprehensive reply. I found your description really interesting. Re spining, rather than a PM it's be good if you could post again when you have time detailing that because I reckon I'd not be the only one who'd like to know.

Simon

[stringstretcher]

Well this can get a little complicated.....or for me at first it was. Now remember, all my spine calculations are using AMO STANDARDS. That is a 2lb weight with 26 inch span. Now when you are using this, this 26" measurement is for a 28" arrow. So here we go.

On cane or bamboo, the first thing you do is ADD 10lbs of spine value to a given bow poundage because of the natural taper which incorporates a higher FOC. So to start with, any poundage you are shooting, exact poundage, you would take that and add 10 lbs. IE: 60 lbs draw weight + 10= 70 lbs spine so far.

Now for every inch more than the 28" spine value, you have to add 5 lbs of spine value. IE: This same 60 lb bow +10=70 and shooting a 30" arrow would be another 10lbs spine, so now you are up to 80.

You do the same thing for point weight. For every 15 grains in 15 grain intervals over 125 you have to add another 5 lbs of spine weight. So lets say we are shooting a 160 grain snuffer, now we add another 10 lbs of spine. So now you have someone shooting a 60 lb bow, using a 30" arrow with a 160 grain point so you would use a 90 lb spine cane shaft for that set up.

And just another note, if you are shooting a really true center shot bow, you can add another 10lbs of spine. This I promise you will make an arrow ithat will fly like a dart.

Now nock orientation if very critical on cane, and I will discuss that later.

For those of you that shoot under a 28" arrow, you would subtract the above calculations per inch under 28 just as you added for every inch over 28.

Phew........that really got me thinking. But trust me....it works and works fantastic.

[Brumbies Country]

Thanks ss

Thanks again for the detailed reply. I am one who uses standard diameter sitka spruce shafts and it's all fairly straightfoward. I was interested how you address in particular the change in diameter, but there's a fair bit of other interesting complexity in here.

Cheers

Simon

[clinton miller]

good info.

i just finished making up an arrow out of some local bamboo. it turned out WAY to weak for my 54# recurve, even with a 90gr point. i think to get anything stiff enough from the boo i have access to here the arrows will be more than 1/2" in diameter. i cut some more today that are thicker. i'll have a play with them. i can feel a spine tester coming on! way to much work using trial and error!

in regards to trimming- which end is best to cut in order to stiffen it? i mean, which end do you get the best stiffening effect from?

can you please enlighten us with the nock orientation.

[otis.drum]

clinton. same goes with the small bamboo around putts. way to weak

[stringstretcher]

It could be the type of cane you are cutting, or maybe it is a reed instead of cane? When cutting, make sure you cut shoots that are second year growt. If you look at the cane and see a leaf sheath all the way around the shoot, it is first year growth. Second year growth will have the sheafts falling off and real dry to the touch. Cane grows from the outside in after the first year making the walls thicker.

As for the spine, I take the shaft and move it back and forth in the spine tester to get the spine I need, marking the nock end on the spine tester and cutting it there. Cut your cane long, 4 ft, and move it back and forth to get the needed spine out of the shaft.

As for the nocks. You want the stiff side of the cane to the side plate of the bow. if you will notice, there are usually a littel indentation, leaf scare on all cane, and they are almost always 180 degrees from each other around the shaft. You want those scars perpendicular with the string,,,,straight up and down. This puts the solid side of the cane, and the stiffest side you have chosen to the side plate. The indentations on the cane, are the weakest spots. Give a couple a try and you will see a huge difference.

[clinton miller]

otis- i'm pretty sure that the boo at putts palms is the same as what i have here. it's a shame it doesn't seem to be suitable for arrows.

not sure of the species of bamboo it is. it is tall, up to 10m high. it is yellow in colour.

thanks for the nock orientation tip. i need a spine tester.

[longbow steve]

I wonder what the New Guinean's use? Surely someone has brought that over to the Top end?
Hey StringStretcher, are you overseas or in Australia? Steve

[stringstretcher]

Steve I am in the USA. Charlie