Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: Knocker on June 18, 2008, 10:42:21 pm
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I cut some shoots today, and am curious if this is the right stuff. I think I may have cut too large of a diameter now that I am able to compare them to the Port Orford cedar shafts I have here at home. Do they shrink up much when they dry and are peeled? Can anybody that has done these suggest a diameter to shoot (pardon the double pun) for on a 50 lb bow?
Keith
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could be....but I remember Red Osier having more prominent veins in the Leaves...and reddish tint to the tops of the Leaves also...DanaM would be the one I would ask.....he lives in Osier Heaven
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Looks kinda like alder to me. But I could be wrong!
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I would say it is a dogwood(Cornus sp.) but I couldn't say if it is red osier. Almost any of the dogwoods will make good arrows. We have silky dogwood(Cornus amomum) here. It also has a red or purple stem like red osier. The shoots you cut should be bigger than your POC shafts. They will shrink as they dry and when you remove the bark and cambium. If they are still too big, a cheap thumb plane($15 at hardware store) will reduce them in no time. ;) Pat
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Look at the pith on one of the shoots. Red osier has a white pith, while silky dogwood has a tan-to-salmon colored pith. I know you probably can't tell at this time of the year, but red osier has whitish berries while silky dogwood has dark blue berries. They both like to grow in moist areas like the edges of swamps & streams. I've made LOTS of arrows with silky dogwood, and it does make good arrows, although I find that they require more frequent straightening than, say, Southern arrowood viburnum (my personal favorite). Grooving the shafts before heat straightening them may help, and I've been told that burnishing the heck out of them after straightening helps as well. I'm even more picky about picking shoots for shafts with this species, harvesting only the straightest shoots with very limited branches. I usually cut shafts that are about 1/2" or so at the thick end tapering to about 3/8" or so at the top end (I plane them down to a uniform diameter after they've seasoned, and I'd rather have too large a shaft than one that's too small to use). Hope this helps.
Will
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It looks like red osier but I can't tell from your picture, its should be blooming about now, at least ours is here.
Here's a website for you to look at.
http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/herbarium/shrubs/corsto01.htm
If you can post some better pictures f the plant and or blooms it would help.
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Here are a couple of good links with distinguishing features of some NA dogwoods
http://www.wvdnr.gov/wildlife/native_shrubs-dogwoods.shtm
http://www.northernontarioflora.ca/genusdescription.cfm?genusid=1000072
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Thanks everybody. It sure looks to me like the stuff on the site Dana posted. I'll get some better photos of the bush next time I go over the pass. It is along the river on White Pass in Washington if anyone is familiar with the area. There was a lot of it there. I got enough for my first attempts at arrow making. Hopefully I'll get to making them this summer/fall.
Keith
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Keith, If you have enough, try some experimenting. Remove the bark from a few(or just 1) and all but an inch of bark on each end from a few more. Keep them as long as possible until they are dry and ready to become shafts. I usually bundle shoots until dry but some will un-bundle and hand straighten every few days until dry...and straight. You never know, you might have shafts in a few weeks. Pat
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I always strip the bark immediately off red osier and have never had a problem with checking.
I like to put about 6-8 in a bundle and secure em with rubberbands every 4" or so.