Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: Tsalagi on January 10, 2010, 09:33:41 pm
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I tried my first arrows I ever made from shoots today. I got three arrows finished from sourwood shoots I got in a trade from PatB. Man, these arrows are great! They're a lot more rugged than Port Orford Cedar! And very accurate! I basically made them barreled and tapered using a thumb plane and sandpaper and they hit like a brick through a plate glass window! I am very impressed!! Worth every second of labor.
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Besides cane they are my favorite material to use.
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OK now! you know we need pics. ;)
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yes, pics are good. you guys must have lots of time into this stuff!
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Sourwood shoots make great arrows. They're my favorites out of the hardwood shoots.
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I second the motion-pictures!
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Well, unfortunately, I can't post pics. I don't have a digital camera.
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Did you use the one that I had worked on. It needed a little more straightening but it was almost good to go.
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Tsalagi
I'de be interesting in any other specs on your arrows, their weight, speed, how they work in general,
how do they compare to bamboo?
Thanx:)
zeNBowyer-++
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First, I'll need to make some bamboo arrows to compare them to. I'll tell you this. They're a heckuva lot better than Port Orford Cedar. More work, but worth every second. I couldn't tell you about the weight as I don't have a grain scale. They fly fast and straight. As fast or faster than POC. And more rugged than POC. Those three group tight together. Like, at 10 feet, all three grouping together within an inch or less. Often, two almost touching and the third 1/2 inch from the other two. While the POC I had were ok, but not like that. Stepping back to about 25 feet, I could see that these arrows fly straight and fast and hitting right on target. They hit HARD. The POC would go "thwap, thwap" into the portable bale we use. While these shoot arrows go "POK! POK!" That's because I barreled and tapered these.
See, I kinda cheated on these. I used glue on 145 grain field points because these are for targets. So, the point ends were about 1/2" to 3/8" wide on the raw shaft after stripping bark and a quick sanding. I tapered the ends starting at 5 inches behind the point end; just enough to get the taper tool over the end and far enough to shave the taper on. I used a thumb plane and sandpaper to accomplish that. So, the shaft is barreled. It's naturally tapered at the nock and I took advantage of that. But what I did not do was create a parallel shaft. I made a barreled shaft, tapered at the end to accept an 11/32" field point. I used 5-1/2" banana fletching, offset.
I would not hesitate for a second to use sourwood shoots to make hunting arrows. I have a weird theory that most Native American bows ranged between 40 and 60 pounds on average and that the traditional shoots used for arrows---sourwood, red osier, etc.---are the perfect spine for these bows at the growing cycle where they're thick enough to make proper arrows.
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Pat, no, the one you worked on I kept as a "graphic training aid". I use it as a reference point of what a shaft should look like. I'll use it later, after I get the hang of this more.
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how thick do you cut shoots of any species?
and, if you make me 3 dozen shoot arrows, ill send you my digital camera ;)
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That is pretty typical of my sourwood arrows. I sometimes have to reduce the diameter of the butt end so I also use a thumb plane to reduce them. My finished arrows with stone points usually go about 600gr mol.
Below is my shoot arrow and cane arrow making tools...
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y199/PatBNC/primitive%20archer/arrowmakingtools001.jpg)
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y199/PatBNC/primitive%20archer/arrowmakingtools002.jpg)
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aero, I usually cut shoots that are from 3/8" to 1/2" at the butt. Once they dry and the bark is removed that diameter gets smaller and then you can reduce it more with a thumb plane if needed. A more important aspect to consider when cutting shoots is you want at least 2nd year growth. First year growth will work but they are flimsy and hard to keep straight.
First year growth has leaves along the shoot. The second year small branches grow from buds below the leaf scar from last year. These are the shoots you want to harvest. Also, with sourwood you can strip the bark as soon as you cut them. Many other shoot material will check(drying cracks) if you strip the bark too soon. Do a few samples of whatever you cut to see if you can remove the bark right away. They will dry quicker if you can.
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ive been gathering privet, and i do think im cutting it too thin. im going for 5/8 shafts. what would a good taper for a 5/8 shaft be? if i wanted the point end to be that big? 11/16's at the nock?
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I use the natural taper of the shoot and reduce the butt end if necessary. Your best bet would be to collect different sizes and experiment to find what works best for you. Hillbilly and I both use sourwood but we work them differently. Steve(Hillbilly) likes to make his shafts look like machined dowels(all with hand tools) and I like mine to be as crude as possible but still effective. Art Butner, who got me started with sourwood and taught me lots about making arrows makes sourwood(or any other material) arrows that will rival any arrow from any material by any arrowsmith. Art's arrows are truly arrow Art! So, take all that you can read about making hardwood shoot or cane arrows and experiment to see what works best for you. There is no right or wrong way if they make arrows.
Privet is excellent arrow material. It is hard and heavy!
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its all i can recognize. im still trying to find a book about local species of plants and trying to find time to go out and identify plants! haha. but ive heard its good, and its all around here so i will probably stick with it. ill have to see if sourwood even grows around here.
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Audubon Field Guide to Trees. Where do you live?
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i live in northeast texas. greenville, tx. about 45 minutes ne of dallas. i looked it up, it looks like sourwood grows mostly east of me. in the App. mountains..
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There are lots of arrow making shrubs in your area. Some native and some exotic like the privet. Try any tree shoots or multi-stemmed shrubs. Wild rose for instance.
In a few of the very first PA Magazines that came out there was a series of articles, "Arrow Making 101" or something like that by Ken Wee there is a list of natural arrow making trees and shrubs. Excellent series of articles on making primitive arrows if you can get them.
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Like Pat said, I like to cut my shoots bigger and plane them down to size-they seem to stay straight better than using smaller ones. I've often had to take sourwood down to 5/16" to get a fifty-poundish spine. These sourwoods were 5/16" diameter, 29" long, spined at 50# and weighed close to 600 grains finished weight:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/hillbillync/swarras670.jpg)
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ok, cool, thanks guys! one of these days ill find some time to finish my bow and straighten the shafts ive left to dry!