sourwood shafts

[BowEd]

I just finished up a half dozen of these Tennessee sourwood shafts I took home from the classic and all indications I've seen are that they are very close to dogwoods in density and spine weight.Excellent shafts.I need to bare shaft shoot them yet though.The only difference in them visually is that the nodes are in a different pattern on them.
I'll look forward to picking up a few more of them at the next classic.Should of brought home some of the old fellas cane.Those shafts looked good too.

[stringstretcher]

How about some pictures?

[PEARL DRUMS]

I got a half dozen straightened sourwood shafts from Artsy a few years back. I need to finish them off, and soon. Im told they are the best shoot shafts going?

[Pat B]

Sourwood is my favorite shafting and IMO the absolute best shoot shafts I have worked with, even better than hill cane. Sourwood is the only hardwood shoot I know of that you can cut and strip the bark on the spot and they will not check. I rarely plane the whole shoot but just bring down the butt end a bit so they are not over 3/8". The only spining I do, just like the cane I work, is to find the stiff side which goes against the bow.

[BowEd]

They get the A-1 OK from me.All six bare shaft shot on the money.As clean or darn near as shafts with feathers on them.For target shooting they might be a bit heavy [560-580 grain@ 55-60# spine] but I seem to target shoot what I'll hunt with anyway.Nice tapered from 9/32" to 23/64" diameter.They look like store bought although I've never seen an archery shop sell these.
Everybody might reduce these differently.I must go through more work than you Pat B or your a man of few words.After starting with a straightened tapered shaft approximately 3/8" thick at the big end I stroke it with a 6" block of wood with 36 grit paper on it.I have my antler sizing tool handy with three holes in it.5/16",11/32",&23/64".I start at the narrow end and get and keep my taper the whole way till I get the sizing tool to go at least 30" up the shaft at 23/64".Rotating the shaft as I stroke it taking equal amounts off all sides.The narrow end will let the taper tool go on a little ways at 5/16".A person can see the taper the whole way with the naked eye.From there I make sure it is straight and I go to my spiner and test it.This stuff and dogwood usually will be at at least 70# spine yet.Weighing in at 600 to 620 grains.Then it is just a matter of me putting it in the chuck of the 1/4" drill and reducing it keeping my taper down to the spine weight I want.Using 40 grit first then all the way down to 220 grit to finish.Bone white shafts I can't seem to want to stain because I want people to see that it is a shoot shaft.I'll be looking for more for sure at the next classic.Wheeooo that's enough one finger typing for me.