Dogwood and meadowsweet from Marc!

[artcher1]

Marc recently set me a few dogwood and meadowsweet shoots to play with and here's the end results of a couple I finished out this morning. I had long forgotten why I didn't particular like dogwood but was quickly reminded once I got started. Stuff is stubborn and very difficult to straighten once seasoned. Meadowsweet, on the other hand, is very easy to straighten. Spine is kind of light for it's mass so finished weight will be higher than that of the dogwood.

These seem to be well seasoned shoots but I'm going to put 'em back for a couple of weeks and see how well they hold their initial straightening...........Art

[Trapper Rob]

Look pretty straight what do you use to grease them with.

[artcher1]

No grease was used Rob, only a propane torch. 

In another discussion Marc was telling me that his shafts, although well seasoned, didn't want to stay straight. I thought this strange so Marc sent me a few to play around with. I had forgotten about how hard the dogwood was in this regard and is the main reason I don't use the stuff anymore. It makes for a heavy, hard hitting arrow, once you do get 'em straight, but it takes patience in getting 'em that way.

I checked this morning after yesterday's initial straightening and the dogwood had crooked somewhat. Meadowsweet, no change. But you really don't want to read a lot into the initial straightening process because of MC. Next session will tell me more.  Besides, a little crooking is a good clue as to the orientation of the shaft to the bow.

Here's a dogwood hunting arrow of mine. Dynamically spined 45/50# and 28" long, it's weight is 631 gr. About the limit in weight I want to shoot in 40/45# bows............Art

[Arrowind]

coooooooooooooooooooooool!

[Pat B]

I only made a few red osier dogwood arrows but I had no problem keeping them straight. I still have one I made 6 or 8 years ago that is still dead straight.
 I've not tried meadowsweet but I have heard it makes good arrows. It is a native Spirea, both in Canada and the US.
 If anyone can make a good arrow from these shoots you can, Art. 

[artcher1]

I think good selection to begin with goes a long way with making great shoot arrows Pat. But alas, I general have to work with what's given to me, so I do the best I can.    

[Badly Bent]

Art, do you have any secrets to keeping your shoot arrows straight? I heat and correct mine several times before ever fletching and shooting but seem to have a good percentage of them develop curves again later down the road.
Looking at your pics though I must admit your yours look much straighter than my best efforts.

[artcher1]

Art, do you have any secrets to keeping your shoot arrows straight? I heat and correct mine several times before ever fletching and shooting but seem to have a good percentage of them develop curves again later down the road.
Looking at your pics though I must admit your yours look much straighter than my best efforts.

No secrets really. I try to take a common sense approach when straightening. First, any shafts keep in the shop is going to have a high MC. Actually that helps with the first heat straightening job, especially with those stubborn bends. Then I bring them in the house where the RH is lower and let them sit for a week or so. If they stay straight I'll then finish them out. But if any shows any sign of crooking I'll re-straighten and repeat the process.  I think this is one step most people miss. They get in a hurry and finish their arrows up not realizing that some will re-crook later on. Simply put, DON't make up an arrow until you're sure they'll stay straight. A good finish, and just as important, proper storage when not in use...........Art

[bow101]

Nice shafts

[artcher1]

 Thanks guys............Art

[Badly Bent]

Thanks for the info Art.  Plan to work on my arrow making skills a little this winter and appreciate the tips.

[artcher1]

One thing I like to do, and it really makes straightening a little easier, is to leave the bark on for the first two months. This holds in a certain amount of moisture which creates a steaming effect inside the shoot. Then scrape the bark off and reheat/straighten again. Reducing the diameter of the shaft at this point requires less effort also. Well seasoned shoots can be a bear to work with sometimes.

From this point on it's a waiting game. Takes about a year or so before you get a good responsive arrow from shoots. But you can, in that time, get 'em out and do some more straightening. Once they stay straight, you're good to go...........Art

[artcher1]

Here's that second dogwood Marc. This was the easy one ...........Art

[bowtarist]

Nice work, do you temper them too?

dp

[artcher1]

I suppose they do get tempered to a certain extent from the propane torch I use to straighten them Bowtarist. I try to get the shafts as hot as possible without scorching them. But it still happens. That's why I use a burn pattern sometimes to dress 'em up .........Art