Sanding Cane/Bamboo

[CherokeeKC]

I have made a few cane arrows and also a few from bamboo.  I have never sanded the whole shaft.  I have whittled/sanded the nodes down even.  What is the advantage of sanding the entire shaft?  I would think this would weaken the shaft to a degree? 

[stringstretcher]

CherokeeKC.  I have made them both ways, and it really depends on the look you want.  If you want a dull, camoflaged arrow, do nothing.  If you like the more advanced clean look, I scrape the rind off of mine.  You will loose about 2 lbs of spine and some weight when doing this.  When I make my cane/bamboo arrows, I start out with a calculated spine weight for  the specific bow weight/draw length/piont weight that I want to make and go from there.  I have never lost enough weight or spine to make that calculated arrow not work.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Intresting, I never tried scraping canes. Would that speed up drying?
-Squirrel

[stringstretcher]

I could not tell you because I only scrape mine after they are dry.

[Pat B]

I leave my cane arrows raw but I have heard from others say that you straighten the cane first then it is safe to sand the nodes and shaft without problems. If you sand the nodes first the cane will break when you straighten them.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Hm...
I just stuck 12 canes into the oven at 250 degrees, when I pull them out I will straighten them, then sand nodes.
-Squirrel

[sleek]

It only takes one hour in the oven, fyi....

[osage outlaw]

I like to scrape the rind off and lightly sand the shaft and nodes.  I think they look nicer and my feathers stick better when I scrape them.

[CherokeeKC]

Ok thanks for the replies guys.  I might try one and see how I like it

[stringstretcher]

Be very careful on sanding the nodes down.  It will make that part of the shaft very weak.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Ah. Here is some hard data.
Bamboo dries faster when you scrape its outer skin off(at least in the oven), cause I put 13 pieces in. One scrap- I scraped it and sanded the outer skin off, then carved nodes down with knife.
The rest i left intact. The piece with scraped skin was "done" in 45 mins VS 1 hour for the rest.
However, when I tried to straighten it, 3 of the canes broke- 2 normal(I had cut off branches with knife, damaged nodes...probably why) and the sanded one.
so I think it is a better idea to just leave them as is until you straighten them.

[Fred Arnold]

I always sand the nodes before straightening but I have never tried to get them smooth. The purpose is to remove the (I call it pith) and lightly blend the node into the shaft. Then my heating and straightening process begins. Depending on the shaft (type of bamboo or cane) determines whether I straighten the nodes or internodes first. You have to make a judgement call on which will require the least amount of work and the best outcome.
I have straightened high hundreds of reed shafts of different materials and they are all unique but generally close per species.

[bhenders]

watch this video of a master ya maker (Japanese Arrow Maker ).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyejbipavWw&playnext=1&list=PL9907327A8447A869&feature=results_video  (there are three vids in total - watch them all... )

He heats half the shaft and pulls it through his tool to straighten it.  I think he's already filed the nodes down a bit before he does this.  He then does the other half and then touches up any spots that are not straight.  I've changed to this method and it takes half the time to straighten a shaft.  I used to use a heat gun and do the internodes, then the nodes... it took forever to do a shaft. 

NOW I file down the nodes, straighten the shaft and then scrape the rind off and then sand to make them smooth.  NOTE:  Do NOT inhale bamboo dust!!!  It contains silicon and you can get silicosis from inhaling it over time!!!

 You can scrape the rind off with a razor blade knife but I use a scraper blade from Home Depot that I mount between two light wood handles so I can go to town on the scraping.

[Youngboyer2(billyf)]

Wow bhenders that video is great, I didn't know you could make bamboo look so pretty, but why a razor and not sandpaper?

[bhenders]

Scraping is faster than sanding.  There are actually two layers the outer skin and an under bark (very thin).  Sanding takes forever to get through the outer skin.  Besides, sanding creates bamboo dust which is NOT good to breathe. 

If you watch the three vids, the guy actually uses water to keep down the dust when he 'sands' the shafts with horsetail reeds.  Horsetail is another plant with silicon in it and the Japanese use it  for sanding. I've actually saved the scrapings from the arrows and used them to 'sand' the shafts smooth.  Just put some in the palm of your hand and sand away - btw, I've started wetting the arrow shafts to keep the bamboo dust from getting airborne.

You can buy a scraper that uses razor blades but I just buy a packet of scraper blades from HomeDepot ( 5 for $4 or so) and mount them between two 1" x 8" pieces of cedar shingle (stuff laying around) and hot melt them all together.  It makes a lightweight scrapper with a long horizontal handle that is easy to use.  It's important that you rotate the bamboo as you scrape and that the nodes have been filed down close to smooth.  I find the horizontally held scraper to easier on my wrist and arm.