Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: Morgan on March 07, 2017, 11:21:53 pm
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Do any of y'all use an arrow wrench for straightening cane shafts? Someone posted a video of a Korean fletcher using a wrench that looked like a slot cut at 45° And used it like pliers. I think I like this idea better than just a hole drilled in a piece of wood or antler, but not having first hand experience I don't know which would be better.
What is y'alls opinion?
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I use a wrench but only on difficult bends. You have to be careful you don't do more damage on a hot shaft by denting it with the wrench.
Once heated cane, especially, plasticizes well so you can hand straighten most bends by hand. The secret is to not overwork the heated shaft. Straighten a bend and set it aside to cool before moving to the next bend.
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Thanks pat. I'll be gathering up a gob of cane next week to dry out, just trying to have my game plan for when it's dry :).
How do you account for the varying size of the cane when using glue on field points? Do you just get a variety of points and use closest to what you have?
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I made a wrench out of a maple branch about 1.25" in diameter. the hole through it is .75" at approximately 45 degrees. I think it is important to round off the entry and exit angles to prevent denting. I got the idea from the korean arrow maker--I think he just uses a pad on his fingers to protect from the heat. It is a super simple tool, but very useful for me. I can apply more precise pressure where I need it and protect the parts I don't want to bend again.
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Also, someone said that applying pressure for a few seconds until the cane cools, then letting go helped..
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If you straighten them while green and lash them to a straight sturdy pipe to dry, it will be less work later with the heat treatments.
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Check out Danznbar's arrow straightening jig he posted a while back. It works very well on bamboo and cane shafts.
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I made two or three wrenches until I finally got one that felt right and didn't kink the shaft. I noticed the last time I watched the Japanese arrow makers video that he slides the wench up and down the arrow as he's rotating bending it. It looks to me like it a method of getting the worse bends out in one smooth motion(from 4:00 to 5:00 minutes in the video). I haven't tried it yet as I haven't needed any new arrows.
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I have made two wrenches so far not sure If I like them or not. Heck I might be doing it all wrong lol. I did notice not to put too much pressure as you are working along you can snap some cane quick if your not paying attention to what you are doing. Learned that the hard way!
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If you can get a piece of wood that has a bend a little just before the slot you don't have to open your hand as far and it makes it a lot easier to use. One of the Japanese or Korean videos uses one like this.
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Check out Danznbar's arrow straightening jig he posted a while back. It works very well on bamboo and cane shafts.
Do you know the name of the post? Tried in search and this thread was all that shower
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http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=57183.0
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http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=57183.0
I like it! Just a mini recurve caul.
Thank you sir.
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Do any of y'all use an arrow wrench for straightening cane shafts? Someone posted a video of a Korean fletcher using a wrench that looked like a slot cut at 45° And used it like pliers. I think I like this idea better than just a hole drilled in a piece of wood or antler, but not having first hand experience I don't know which would be better.
What is y'alls opinion?
Is this the video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK5INvoNTdk
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Do any of y'all use an arrow wrench for straightening cane shafts? Someone posted a video of a Korean fletcher using a wrench that looked like a slot cut at 45° And used it like pliers. I think I like this idea better than just a hole drilled in a piece of wood or antler, but not having first hand experience I don't know which would be better.
What is y'alls opinion?
Is this the video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK5INvoNTdk
Yes
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Morgan,
With that jig you can site down and rotate the shaft to see where the corrections need to be at the same time your adding heat with a heat gun. The metal angle is to keep the wood from burning and losing shape. I start out with about 9 shafts... start with the end away from you and work straightening towards you. don't go back because you will lose areas that you have straighten because of the hot shaft. Once you have gotten to the end closest to you, lay it down to cool and start another repeating the same process. once through all 9 shafts or the shafts are cool flip the shafts and start over straightening from the other end. I usually can get a shaft straight using this jig in two sessions plus one final tweaking. Took me a while to the hang of it, but I've made hundreds of cane and boo arrows and it seams to be the easiest and quickest way for me....
DBar
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Morgan,
With that jig you can site down and rotate the shaft to see where the corrections need to be at the same time your adding heat with a heat gun. The metal angle is to keep the wood from burning and losing shape. I start out with about 9 shafts... start with the end away from you and work straightening towards you. don't go back because you will lose areas that you have straighten because of the hot shaft. Once you have gotten to the end closest to you, lay it down to cool and start another repeating the same process. once through all 9 shafts or the shafts are cool flip the shafts and start over straightening from the other end. I usually can get a shaft straight using this jig in two sessions plus one final tweaking. Took me a while to the hang of it, but I've made hundreds of cane and boo arrows and it seams to be the easiest and quickest way for me....
DBar
Thanks DBar! I'm going to give it a try.