Straightening new shoot shafts

[BowEd]

I know it's been shown before but as time goes on those threads drift away and a new bunch of bowyers want to make shoot shafts.These are just cut dogwoods.I'm very paticular about what I cut so as to reduce the work in making them.
I'm always looking for shoots that'll make at least 45 to 50 pound spine.Cutting these in the spring here.
I for sure though don't want to harvest under spined shafts.
I like to bundle them in groups of 7.Six around one.
I take a 7/16" wrench with me onto the lower part of the shaft with at least 3' of a good tapered shaft above it to use with no abrupt kinks or damaged areas above it.I cut these to 39".My final length will be 30" arrows so I have some wiggle room.
Sand all the nodes even with the rest of the shaft.Straighten and wrap with a 10' length of nylon bale twine.Adjust them to be all in a straight line after wrapping them with the overall look to being fairly straight shoots.
Every week now for the next 4 weeks once or even twice a week I'll unwrap them and straighten them.I usually see after 2 to 3 weeks of this after unwrapping the tendency of the shafts to stay straightened a lot better as they dry.By the end of the fourth week they are ready to stay wrapped for the final drying time of at least 3 months.Better 6 months to a year.
I'll let them dry down wrapped very tightly with rubber bands or zip ties for final drying.Any straighening after they dry should be done with dry heat.I use a mantel lantern.
Hopefully later this fall or even next spring I'll make these into arrow shafts and remove the bark and heat straighten any minor areas.
I harvested these with the intention of them coming right at about the right spine already with the bark on.The shaft itself and the bark will shrink some.I expect to finalize a lot of these with a camoflauged look to them leaving some cambium on them.The bark itself has 0 value for spine so removing it does'nt weaken the shaft.It does reduce the mass weight though.It usually starts cracking as you shoot them.The paradoxing of the shaft does that.

[BowEd]

Went to a Dollar general store and bought 80 zip ties for $4.00.It's been a couple of days now.I unwrapped shafts.Restraightened the best I could and zip tied them together again.I'll let them dry a few days again.
Their starting to look pretty straight already even after a week of drying.


I use this home made tool to help me take any stubborn kinks or bends out while they are bendable yet.

[Buckskinner]

Very helpful, thanks.  I'm going to copy that straightening tool!

[BowEd]

Just drill about a 3/8" hole at an angle.Then open it up off to the side.Tool is about 1.25" in diameter.

[Fox]

Thanks for this thread bow Ed! I’m working on getting enough shafts together so I don’t have to buy arrows this fall

[Pat B]

Great info, ED. Thanks for posting it.   

[BowEd]

Thanks for this thread bow Ed! I’m working on getting enough shafts together so I don’t have to buy arrows this fall

I'm with ya on that way of thinking.

Great info, ED. Thanks for posting it.   

You bet.

[BowEd]

Here's an example of the type of bushes I harvest my dogwood shoots from.Not the best picture.I guess you could call these red twig dogwood but I believe there are other types of dogwoods growing around here.The gray and the flowering dogwood also.It grows wild in the ditches around here.
From one like this I might get 1 shoot that suits what I want.

Then it's on to look at other clumps of dogwoods somewhere else to accumulate enough of them.
I went and put together another group of seven to straighten and dry.

I had a new spare picture of the deer around here this spring on the camera too.There actually is around a dozen there but only a half dozen visible in the picture.There is some remnants of red clover where they are now.They love that early stuff.Some fawns will be dropped soon.Within a month.It's a quiet time of year for these deer.

[BowEd]

These two 7 shaft bundles are now very straight after around 2 weeks of straightening.I will leave them to dry down now for around 6 months or so.I like to leave a little tab of the zip tie available to grab yet to tighten with the pliers as the weeks go on here.They will shrink in diameter and I want the ties to stay very tight on them as they cure.You can see a little how the bark is beginning to shrivel and shrink already.


It will not take much heat correction at all after they are cured to get end to end perfectly straight shoot shafts now.Untill then.....

[BowEd]

An example of how straight these shafts will be before minor heat corrections.These have been curing for almost a year.


The bark will be removed.I use my pocket knife or a sanding block.Minor heat corections done.Then spined.Usually over spined at this stage.Then reduced to the spine I require.

[Pat B]

Ed, while gathering stuff to take to the Classic I found a bundle of red osier shoots you had sent me. They were marked 2018 so they should be just about ready to make some fine arrows.    I'll work on them this summer and post pics of the progress as I go along.

[BowEd]

That must have been through a trade for hill cane I imagine.I'll bet as they are for you they will be spined at 70 to 80 pounds.You'll need to reduce them some.
I'm sure they are cured by now.They should make slightly heavier shafts than your hill cane.About like your sourwood.
Have fun at the classic there.

[wooddamon1]

Great information, I have some stuff growing around here I'm gonna try.

[backtowood B2W]

Thats really great info! thanks for putting together...
I wasn´t so sucesful with mine - live in climate with big humidity changes. so most look horrible after some time.
Did some grooving and heat treating on hazel shafts they are still straight. Have to try with dogwood too.
I also debark the shoots, except the ends, after 3 weeks or so, find it easier and shortens drying time.
Nice work on your arrows ed!

[JW_Halverson]

THIS is the stuff that makes this forum so important. Great education!