Cedar arrows..your opinion

[PEARL DRUMS]

I think its the transition from wood to steel Eddie. Its an abrupt difference in strength, great place to break. 

[Traxx]

The Quality of POC that is sold today,aint what it used ta be.Wapiti still makes the same quality that Rogue river used to.

[BillBow]

It seems like a few people have commented on them breaking behind the point, as mine have done. I'm wondering if it has to do with using hot melt glue sticks and getting the wood too hot?

No it's not the hotglue,I dont use any glue I use screw on piles, I think it is just the weakpoint of the shaft and if there is any side wind as the arrow hits the target the abrupt stopping of the arrow bends it sideways.

[Pappy]

I have some of the screw on points also Bill,no tapering just run a sizing tool on the point end and screw it on,it does make them much less likely to break at the point,the problem is they are hard to fine and pretty pricey,I had a bunch give to me to try out and the tools to go with them.Still have several just not in the weight range I use. 
 Pappy

[Forresterwoods]

I think cedar arrows are one of the main reasons folks are wanting to go with carbons. Old growth is not a sustainable resource. Same with spruce. I found ash too heavy for the spine and tends to warp constantly. That's why I have chosen to branch out (no pun intended) and try different wood types.

[seabass]

Tonkin is tough as nails.i have some magnolia(yellow poplar)barrel tapered shafts from Don Stokes.i really like them.they are also tough.i like the smell of cedar.the problem is,with my poor shooting I get to smell it all to often.

[toomanyknots]

Poplar is my favorite. If you can find good grain in the dowel rods at lowes, and you can steam straighten em, you will get some excellence shafts for super cheap. It is pretty darn durable too, I abuse the crap out of my arrows. The way I treat my arrows, I doubt cedar would hold up.

[Atlatlista]

I generally shoot Port Orford Cedar, but I'm primarily a target archer, and even then they break all the freaking time.  It's been driving me crazy.  I broke three arrows at the National Traditional Target Archery Championships this year, and they were all hits on the target.  It was just the bales that are built super-tight for skinny carbon arrows.  The force of the arrow going in and coming out was too much for them.  All the breaks are behind the head.  It's brutal.  I really want to find something that has the same consistency for target accuracy but that doesn't break if you look at it funny.

[Pat B]

I got some poplar shafts from Charlie Jefferson last year and really like them. I made a tapering tool and tapered the rear 9" from 11/32" to 5/16" at the nock. Both parrallel and tapered poplar shafts fly well and they are quite durable. This is from someone that prefers sourwood shoots or hill cane; two of the toughest shaftings I know of.
 I started with cedar. Bought most of it from 3Rivers. I would order the spine I wanted and make arrows. I guess ignorance is bliss because they always flew well for me. Back when I started making arrows there wasn't much to choose from and cedar was the most common. Today you can buy shafting from lots of different woods and you can even make your own with a small investment in tools and some well seasoned wood.

[toomanyknots]

Today you can buy shafting from lots of different woods and you can even make your own with a small investment in tools and some well seasoned wood.

Soon as I get me some spare cash, I am gonna get me one of those veritas dowel cutter tools. It is only like 50 bucks for the whole 3/8" set up, which should give you up to 80 or 90 spine depending on how long you want you arrrows I'm guessin? Menards and lowes both goth plenty of straight grain poplar and pine for the pickin, I'm thinking this will be oodles cheaper than ordering already cut and spined shafts.

[Deo]

Cedar is good, they helped me learn the craft. I would only go back to them if I had to, because I had no shoot shafts left. Last few years I have making shoot shaft arrows from, wild rose, hazelnut, syringa, ocean spray, birch, red osier and just about anything else I can get my hands on. Shoot arrows are much more durable and I can make them just as straight " fairly often". I have had my syringa arrows blow through half inch plywood on several occasions and not brake, they only weigh in the 500 grain range I believe. I don't think cedar could handle that, I would start off with a dozen cedar shafts and in two weeks I would probably be down to less then half. My six shoot shafts I made in 2006 are still with me. I have not broke one yet "knock on wood", I just have shot the knocks off one or two.   

[bubbles]

I find the hobby pine boards spine around 55-70 on the tighter grained stuff. On the not as tight stuff I had trouble getting 55 spine after running through the doweller and sanding it smooth. That's 3/8ths.  I really like how straight the shafts are and how you can pick your grain, but I find the pine breaks off at the point just like cedar. I've started footing my pine shafts for this reason.  Have yet to try with the poplar. That's home depot pine hobby boards.

[Dharma]

I still have sourwood arrows I made back in 2009. I can't say that for Port Orford Cedar.

[Carson (CMB)]

I have made several dozen POC from old premium ACME stock and they do break easy.  I have seen others shoot modern day POC and it breaks very easily.  That said, Wapiti is making high quality POC.  Sitka spruce is tougher and is a little heavier.  Douglas fir is just as tough as sitka spruce, but is heavier.  Sitka spruce gets a reputation for being tougher than fir only because it is technically stronger per mass, but in practice, fir is just as tough as sitka, it just makes a heavier arrow. 

Surewood Shafts is a small company based here in Oregon.  I have had the privilege of seeing their business grow tremendously over the last six years as my dad is one of the three partners.  Like Beadman said, you get hand-selected shafts of very closely matched spine and mass.  Their hunter grade is better than other suppliers premium grade in my opinion.  Their premium grade shafts are now recognized as the highest quality wood shafts on the market.  I truly admire their unwillingness to compromise. 

 

[Bryce]

+1 for Carson.
I used Sitka spruce off and on for a while. Always wanted to try Doug fir but wasn't sure where to get em. Met Carson at a shoot and I brought all my junk cedar arrows I had bought from 3rivers. All different spine and what not. shot the course horribly, all the shots went over the back of the target and broke, and sometimes even if they did hit they would break. By the end I had 2 junk arras left. Carson handed me a half dozen arrows from Doug fir. And I hit the course again....could not miss even if I tried! The weight was perfect! The arrows flew true and after that I've been buying surewood premium shafts ever since. I have a few dozen spruce shafts on the shelf. But I also have Doug fir on the shelf and I'll grab the fir 9 times out of 10.

If I had tapered and footed fir shafts....I would cry with joy.