Grrrrr.....freaking river cane

[Wvfarrier]

trying to straighten these shafts is gonna make me crazy

[nclonghunter]

I have suggested this before...use a yard stick and draw a straight line on a board or a piece od cardboard. Lay a straight part of the river cane along the line and whatever does not lay along the line heat and bend it to lay along the line. I use a small propane bottle flame to heat the cane where needed. Once you get a fairly straight side then roll the shaft a little and again bend until straight. You will get it straight on all sides. The line gives you a reference for you to go by. It works for me! Good luck!

You can also snap a straight line with a chalked string. As a primitive method I have thought about using a string with charcoal from a fire to snap a straight line.

[Pat B]

Start out by straightening the nodes on one cane then set it aside to cool. Then straighten the next cane's nodes, and the next then lay them flat to cool. When you have straightened the nodes and they have cooled straighten the internode area. Sometimes you can only work a couple of areas on each cane then let it cool or the cane will go back to it's original crooked shape. You can't really rush the process.
 Once I get my cane relatively straight I reheat each node and compress it by rolling it between the work table top and a flat hardwood block. I'll remove the thin corky ring around the node and re-straighten by hand and set aside to cool completely.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Just wait until you spend hours and hours to straighten them only to find out one or two will actually spine anywhere near what you want. That's even better!

[TSA]

Chris, can they not be spined before straightening- or does the heating have an effect?

[Danzn Bar]

I'm not answering for Chris he may have his own thoughts.  But I don't think the heating effects the spine.  My experience with river cane, is I hand straighten as they are drying and I do one round of heat straightening then sort them by spine weight.  And continue straightening, weight doesn't make much difference to me with hunting arrows +/- 50 grains works for me usually at less than 20 yards.  My matching set of hunting arrows is within 5# spine and as much a 75-100 grains in weight.  And yes to make a dozen matching cane arrows you straighten a "BUNCH" of cane. .
DBar

[Danzn Bar]

BTW ....................... Chris is my cane straightening jig working for you.  Maybe Wvfarrier needs to try something like that?
DBar

[PEARL DRUMS]

I agree with Bill. I don't think the heat changes anything in that regard. I just think you will get a MUCH more accurate reading with a fairly straight shaft. Bill, those two I made that rainy day at Elm Hall spined the same all the way around their diameters. That was strange.