Natural arrow finishes?

[WhistlingBadger]

Hi, all.  What do you all use to seal/waterproof your arrows?  I need something natural and not too noxious smelling, since I have two asthmatic girls in the house, and it's just too stinkin' cold to open a window.  Plus I try to avoid arrow ingredients that might give me cancer.

It also needs to be something readily available--I like using the tallow/pine pitch/beeswax compound, but two of those ingredients are a bit hard to find this time of year.

I am asking because I just finished a brand new set of arrows, bare-shaft tuned to my bow, lovingly stained and fletched with wild turkey feathers a friend gave me.  I finished them with linseed oil, only to find that linseed oil dissolves fletching tape. 

[jeffp51]

beeswax and olive oil 3:1 mixture

[WhistlingBadger]

beeswax and olive oil 3:1 mixture

Do you rub that one warm?  Does that dry hard?  I tried some beeswax-based boot wax, but it made my arrows all gummy.  I guess a 3:1 mix would be fairly hard.

[jeffp51]

It will have a pasty consistency. i rub it on with my hand, and body heat and friction will melt the wax.  I rub until it feels well rubbed in (like a lotion) and then wipe of the excess. You might have to do repeated coats or renew periodically.  Sometimes it works well, and with some woods it doesn't seem to be as great.  But it is very natural and won't give you cancer.

[Pat B]

I use pine pitch varnish for primitive arrows and for sinew wraps on bows and arrows. Dissolve hard, brittle pine pitch is alcohol, strain it and seal it in an air tight container. It will last a year or more. When used, once the alcohol has evaporated it leaves a clear(amber), smooth, hard finish.  I've never noticed a smell from the cured pitch varnish but I don't know how it will affect sensitive folks.
 Use only hard, brittle pitch. If you use softer, sticky pitch you'll get a soft, sticky finish.
 You could also add oil or grease to make a true varnish. It would make it more flexible but I've never needed to do it. 

[Hawkdancer]

Equal parts, pine tar, boiled linseed oil, and natural turpentine.  You need to heat the pine tar gently to be able to blend in the linseed oil and turpentine.  Once mixed it does smell piney until it dries.  It should last at least a year, depending on how much abuse it gets.  Pat B and Jeff have good recipes, too.  You can use Jeff's as a wooden spoon finish as well.
Hawkdancer

[bassman]

bee's wax, turpentine, linseed oil. apply ,and heat so it soaks into the wood . burnish the finish.

[WhistlingBadger]

Good ideas.  Thanks for the information, gents!  I'm taking the family xc skiing up on the hill today...maybe, in between efforts to not kill myself, I'll keep my eyes open for a few lumps of pitch.  Pat, how much rosin to how much alcohol?

T

[Pat B]

I rarely measure these things. What I do is put the pitch in a small air tight jar and cover with the alcohol. After a day or so if all the pitch hasn't dissolved I'll add a little more alcohol. I've used rubbing alcohol, denatured alcohol and moonshine. I also use a small artist paint brush to apply it and just let the varnish dry on the brush when done. The next time you use it the brush will soften after a minute or so in the pitch varnish.

[WhistlingBadger]

OK, that makes sense.  I might give that a shot if I can find any pitch.  I'm fresh out of moonshine, too, but maybe I can dig up some everclear or isopropyl from my home-made stain cupboard...

[Pat B]

Just be sure the pitch is hard and brittle or the finish will stay tacky until the turps burn off. You can cook softer pitch to remove the turps but do this outside. Pitch is very volatile and will burst into flames if overheated. I metal can works well for cooking pitch.

[WhistlingBadger]

Went for a good hike up the canyon with the Badgerling this afternoon and came back with four boots full of snow, a renewed sense of wonder, a few good memories, and about a cup of good, dry conifer resin--mostly douglas fir, with bits of juniper and lodgepole pine thrown in.  It is currently dissolving in alcohol.   It smells wonderful.    The girls and I don't mind nice, mellow, natural smells.  Just trying to avoid the smell of polyurethane and such.

Might melt some beeswax in some sort of oil (I have olive, grapeseed, neetsfoot, boiled linseed) to add in...plenty of time to decide on that later.  Pat, thanks for the good trick, dissolving it in alcohol:  It's pretty hard to tell pitch from bark this time of year, and straining out an alcohol extract will be a lot easier than straining out warm oil.  Anyway, it seems to be dissolving pretty fast.  Guessing it will be ready tomorrow morning.

[willie]

2.  Don't decide to boil the alcohol out of your home-made arrow varnish on the kitchen stove when it's -20F outside and the family is trying to get ready for church.

-20 can make for a cold night in the dog house......
(feather burning and horn grinding works just as well too)

 you can use a double boiler for a more controlled reduction. safer too, once the alcohol is gone, any natural turps will begin too leave (the bubbles and smell are different), so that the varnish will not be too sticky or take too long to dry
an occasional  drip from the stir stick into water can be examined for texture judging the distillation and be careful stirring the pitch once the alcohol is gone, the spruce pitch I used boiled over easy when agitated

[WhistlingBadger]

I was using a double boiler.  Heating alcohol and fir resin over direct heat would go beyond merely stupid and straight to suicidal!   

Hopefully I got most of the turps out too--some of the sap I collected was a little too fresh.  It's hard to tell once it's all frozen solid.  I've got some new shafts coming in Tuesday.  In the meantime, can anybody recommend a fletching adhesive that will stick to greasy, linseed-oiled wood?

[Hawkdancer]

Oh, well, remember, the fuse on a tear gas grenade is 2 seconds! Trust me, I know!  I am going to try the alcohol soak - out in the garage!
Hawkdancer