tonkin cane help please

[kerryb]

what size tonkin cane do i need to order to make arrows, and where do u recomend to order from? thanks Kerry

[zeNBowyer]

If  you want them  already straightened sanded  and spined you can  get  them at  Rudderbows,  a few  guys  here  on  the  forum  also  sell them,
if  you  are  looking  for bamboo 'in the  rough'  you  can  buy  quantity at  [CENSORED], the  usual  size  for  most  people there  is  3/8"  dia and 4' length

[nugget]

Contact Dave Knight he and his wife Cora make excellent Tonkin arrows. They also sell raw tonkin. HIs name on here is knightd. shoot him a pm I am sure he will hook you up.
TJ

[Pappy]

I agree,I think David/Cora would be your best bet.
   Pappy

[Tom Leemans]

I ordered mine from Bamboo and Rattan Works. We always got our rattan for kids bows from them. He recommended I get the 10mm (7/16 on the big end) in 6 ft lengths and I'd be able to get more good shafts from the middle somewhere and have fewer "tomato stakes" left over. Claimed that he learned that from someone who makes cane arrows exclusively. So far, he's right. I started out straightening the whole 6 ft shaft, then got much better at finding the "good 4 foot sections" before I straightened. I have plenty of paint and glue stirring sticks from the cut-offs anyway! We'll see when I'm done with all of them. I'm in the process of building a spine tester right now, even though a variety of cane arrows will shoot good out of about any bow. Then plan is to make the arrows, with the exception of fletching them, then sort them according to what shoots best from what bow, then fletch them.

[Swamp Bow]

I was hoping that Mullet would chime in, since he turned me on to this source...  I just bought a bundle of 500 3/8" X 2 1/2' tonkin shafts for $40 from Bamboo Supply in Lakeland FL(there's one in CA also).  I've been very happy with mine.  Since this is my first foray into bamboo shafts I've mangled a bunch of them, but with 500 to go through I'm not real worried when I do something stupid.  Be aware, you will get shafts that span the spectrum as far as spline is concerned which is just fine by me.  Tough to go wrong with the price, but I don't know what shipping would be since I went to the warehouse to buy mine.

Swamp

[zeNBowyer]

That's a great idea Tom, I think the nexty batch I buy I will go that route, the remnants make good paint stirrers amongt other tasks:)

[mullet]

 Bjorn, The next time you would be better off buying the 4' shafts. It is easier to get an arrow out of it with more wood to work with. 8 to 10mm is what I usually get.

[Tom Leemans]

BTW when the spine tester is done (making the one with the weighted bolt and dial indicator) I'll just mark a visual reference line on the big weighted bolt and rotate the arrow shaft around til I find the stiff side! My wife took me to the stitching place she gets her stuff at last week, and I got some nice silk thread to wrap them with!

[Swamp Bow]

Bjorn, The next time you would be better off buying the 4' shafts. It is easier to get an arrow out of it with more wood to work with. 8 to 10mm is what I usually get.

Thanks Eddie, I'll do that.  This was a cheap as possible let's see if I even like working with boo run.  BTW I remembered wrong, I bought the 3' bundle.

[kerryb]

Thanks to all, I am wanting to try my hand at makeing some arrows, Timo said these things are pretty tough, and seem pretty cheep , i have a 12 year old son  and his friends that shoot every day they go through alot of  arrows. 

[GregB]

BigA and I bought a bundle of 500 of the 3' from Eddie's source in Florida. I've been satisfied with them, although a pretty wide range of weights and spines within the bundle.

[mullet]

  They are 48"long by 8 to 10mm thick. If you tell them you want them for arrows they will try to find you the best bundle. I get to pick through them when I go there.

[Dave 55]

I bought a dozen shafts from David and couldnt be more happy with them,Im thinkn it made making cane arrows a whole lot easier,come spined too.

[kerryb]

Thanks everyone