Questions for anyone using Poplar arrows

[wvarcher]

     I bought some 3/8" Poplar dowels at Lowes and noticed some are white and some are a light green color.i  The green ones all seem to be weaker in spine than the white ones.   Is this always the case?  Are they safe to use. 

[Pat B]

The green color is the heartwood of the poplar. I would think it would be stiffer but I don't know that for sure.

[half eye]

WV
    I shoot about any kind a wood that can be turned to shafts, including poplar. Ken 75 turned me on to that wood and it makes great arrows IMO  I have never had any trouble with any "disscolored" shafts ( I think it might be mineral staining in the tree) Understand that I shoot 3/8" shafts and have never spined an arrow in my life.....I shoot short, fat, flying telephone poles.
rich

[wvarcher]

     Pat, I guess it could be heartwood.  I haven't used my Ace spine tester to check the spine only going by what i can feel.  LOL,Rich.  I may have to sand down my 3/8" dowels to reduce the spine to 50lbs for my 50lb selfbow.  Otherwise,i would cut them to length and try them as is.

[aznboi3644]

I've weighed out my 3/8" poplar shafts to weigh between 600-700 grains bare shaft and full length....I like to just fletch the full shaft and shoot them and cut each arrow down half inch at a time until it flys straight and true...but I use them as my stumpin shafts and they are pretty durable for a light wood.

[stringstretcher]

Does anyone have problems with the poplar shafts staying straight?

[artcher1]

Green or brown colored shafts typically are lighter in spine. Cream colored shafts makes the higher spined shafts I've noticed.

No problems with poplar staying straight Charles. One of the best and toughest arrows you can make....Art

[LEGIONNAIRE]

I use those same dowels from lowels, the home depo dowels are absolutely HORRIBLE lol. Anyway never had a problem, what I do is have a spine tester and get the ones between 60-65 then cut em like an inch longer and weigh all of them, then I get them as close as possible and even taper some from both ends. They all group very well and fly true. I have shot from 60 yards with a 65 lb bow. i actually use them for multi weight from 55-65 and they seek to shoot exellent so Im really pleased Im sure you know but try to avoid the ones that geel weird wheen you bend them in hand and the ones with grain runoff.

[Pat B]

Cesar, I like the way you described this... "avoid the ones that feel weird when you bend them..."!  So much of my "primitive" ways depend on feel. I feel the surface of the wood while tillering a bow or working raw shafts, I feel the thickness changes, I feel cracks, checks and ripouts. It's like reading Braille. My eyes are definitely on the down hill slope but my sense of feel(touch) seems to be improving. Maybe touch is more of an accumulative sense.
  I haven't tried poplar arrows. I bought a 36" plank from Lowe's years ago and still have it. Should be well seasoned. 

[wvarcher]

I appreciate everybody weighing in.  The shafts i choose seem to have straight grain running from one end to the other on two sides.  The opposite sides may have a run off somewhere along the shaft.  Usually, near the ends.  I am terrible at reading the grain.  When i look at the end of  each shaft i see the grain could either be flat or 1/4 sawn depending on how you look at it.  Not sure what i can get away with as far as run offs go.  gonna be a little nervous when i first shoot 'em.

[artcher1]

Your best arrows are made from well seasoned wood Pat. So it's 'bout time you dug that board out  and got to work .  Poplar, IMO, is one of the best all around arrow materials you can use. Tougher than you might think. My arrow of choice for those tough/iron man contest with the iron pigs ........Art

[George Tsoukalas]

I like poplar and I can hand plane shafts from it reasonably well. It's a hardwood so it takes longer to make a shaft than from pine but they are more durable. Jawge

[LEGIONNAIRE]

definately Pat its about feel. sometimes they just dont feel right, its like if you try to bend them to one side but the shaft wants to go to another. There are some that have straight grain but you can still feel this so just check them. A little runoff at the end doesnt seem to hurt the shafts, specially if its not to severe. To make sure put lots of stress on them, like Pat said, so much is feel. Once you bend the shaft you kinda feel if it will break, or if you hear a crack dont use it.

[crooketarrow]

    I've built popular shoot arrows a couple times. The shoot arrows stay fairly straight and are ok never made dowel arrows of popular.

[wvarcher]

now that i think about it, you have to rely on just about all your senses to make bows and arrows!