Wild rose shafts

[osage outlaw]

What diameter are you guys using for wild rose shafts?  I have cut a few and they always come in really light in spine weight.  I guess I need to look for some super thick pieces.

[madcrow]

I usually cut them 3/8", but sometimes a little smaller.  On my lighter spined shafts, I bought a set of drill bits that are two feet long.  All you really need is the 1/8" bit and some of the large bamboo skewers from wallyworld.  I wrap the ends of the shaft with scotch tape to keep them from splitting.  Then drill out the soft pithy core of the shaft.  Three skewers should be plenty long enough to completely fill the shaft.  Cut the taper off the skewers, lube them up with some wood glue and drive the first in with a rubber mallet.  Then drive the second in.  Flip the shaft around and drive the other in.  In most cases, three is all you will need.  They will butt up against each other inside and any gaps will be filled with glue.  It will help if you line the skewers up and judge how much will be sticking out of the shaft and have the same amount on each end.

[crooketarrow]

 MAD I'm lost to see why you drill the pit out. Why go through all that trouble. I f you start out with shoots between 3/8 and 1/2 you have a shaft that good for a 50 to 60 pund bow. 5/16 TH TO 3/8'S 40 TO 50 PUND RANGE.

[Pat B]

Like with all shoot shafting you have to be sure you are using at least 2nd year growth. If the shoot has only leaves or leaf scars it is first year growth. If it has small branches or more it is at least 2nd year growth and more appropriate for arrows.

[Dazv]

I find it helps if you collect them from places where they have been growing in the shade. Like under a large bush

[madcrow]

Crooketarrow, I usually cut them around the 3/8" mark, but I have cut shoots that were 15 feet long.  I can easily cut three shafts from that with just the last one being 5/16" after it is dry.  The heavier shafts get worked down while the smaller diameter shafts get drilled and filled.  Either way, work is involved and in the end I have more shafts than I would if i discarded the small stuff.  Another plus is that the glue and the bamboo adds a little physical weight to the skinny shaft.

[stickbender]

     The only wild rose, that I have ever seen, in Florida, and especially here in Montana, look as gnarly as black berry bushes!   I have never seen any with any straight stems of any length at all.  Young, or old.  I will stick to bamboo, they are enough work as it is.

                                                              Wayne

[madcrow]

I have heard of a few people trying to use blackberry briars for arrows, but I will stick to using them to make basket quivers.

[osage outlaw]

The wild rose shoots around here are maybe 7'-8' long at most.  I'll have to keep my eye out for some big ones while looking for sheds this spring.

[Pat B]

Madcrow, do you have any info on prepping blackberry canes for baskets. I have lots of it aeround here and some canes are 1" in diameter at the base.

[madcrow]

Pat, I am going out tomorrow on a mad hunt looking for some.  OK, I am actually going about 30 yards from the shop.  I will take some pics of the processing  and post them.

[Pat B]

Thanks. That will be great. Start a new thread so Clint doesn't get p1$$ed at us. 

[Chicknlady]

I tried to stick with second year shoots this fall, but found it's actually very difficult, at least in my local patch of thorns...  second-year shoots are way too large in diameter for arrows, they drop down and get bendy with all the weigh of new side-branches, and the side-branches leave big knots where the wood splits and makes straightening really hard. 

I harvested my first batch of rose shafts last winter without realizing the first/second year thing, and still got some nice arrows.  This fall I harvested again, all this year's shoots.  I cut them 1/2" thick, because once they shrink and the bark is off, they lose alot of diameter.  It seems like you need to cut them fresh alot thicker than you'd think, so I actually take a set of cheap calipers with me to be sure.  Half the shoots I was bringing home were way too skinny once I started sorting!

My best arrow is 3/8" at the nock and 5/16" at the tip, 27" long. 

[Pat B]

Chicknlady, you want the 3/8" end to be forward and the 5/16" to be the nock.

[Chicknlady]

Pat, I know, I know ....    but they look so wrong....      I did a few like that, and some were good arrows and some were bad, just like usual.  My two Otzi arrows, I had one of each, and the one with the fat end at the point was the bad arrow.   But I promise I'll try again this next batch!