best shaft material

[Dante_F]

hi so i was wondering what the is  best lumber type arrow material. i dont have access to port orford cedar and dont like western red cedar. i thinking poplar, doug fir, or maybe sitka spruce

[Scyth]

Sitka spruce.

(period.)


regards,

Scyth

[Pat B]

Poplar makes very good arrows as does ash. Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine and Port Orford cedar also make good arrows.

[Dante_F]

thanks i think ill maybe give the sitka spruce and poplar a try and maybe doug fir, however can you get spruce at a home depot? further suggestions welcome

[Pat B]

They don't call it spruce specifically. Framing lumber that isn't eastern pine is sometimes spruce or fir. You can get poplar right next to the red oak at least at out Lowe's.

[Dante_F]

thanks i think ive seen some poplar at home depot i think ill give it a go

[TSA]

common building lumber is referred to as SPF ( spruce, Pine , Fir- and the fir can be Hemlock at times too).
the problem with that is that the S is very seldom Sitka Spruce, and there would be no way of knowing what spruce it is.
sitka is streets ahead of the other spruces in structural integrity- hence its specific use in airplane frames and masts and spars on boats.
 having said that- there are many woods that make excellent shafts- they dont all have to be as good as Sitka to work, and deliver the point to the target.

another issue with commercial lumber- is that it is kiln dried.
 kiln drying wood, does huge and irreparable damage to the wood on a cellular level, now having said that,  even kiln drying will not render wood useless- its just a negative point against it. many woods are tough enough to overcome that.

i am obviously a tad biased towards sitka- but generally the best arrow wood, is the one you have in your hand at the time .
specialty wood shops will sell all kinds of sitka etc- especially boat lumber suppliers.
but if you need, we could sell you a chunk or two to help you out.

how are you planning to make the actual shafts- there was a great build along on here recently, by swampman, where the shafts were made by hand planing.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,64685.0.html
 and Philipp has done a bunch with his veritas doweller- lots of options.

[TSA]

i have also heard great things about poplar- i know its a specific poplar- just not sure which specie- but i know its not the one we have on the west coast.

[DC]

If you snoop around your local airport you just might find someone who is building/restoring an old plane. He may have some Sitka scraps

[Pat B]

The poplar I'm referring to is Liriodendron tulipifera, yellow poplar, tulip poplar, not a true poplar. Aspen also makes good shafts.

[willie]

being that the spf is easily available and priced right, you might be able to find lodgepole pine in the spf stack.

it has more apparent yellowish rings than the spruce which is hard to differentiate from the weaker fir.

depends on what part of the country you are in also. look for fine growth rings in addition to the desired straight grain.

[Pat B]

After you buy board stock let it acclimatize to the environment where you'll be working it. It is less likely to warp if kept in the whole instead of cutting it down to shaft size. I'd let it sit for at least a week(2 better) before working it.

[ohma2]

Tulip poplar cut to just above ground will send up some beautifull straight shafts in no time if in good growing conditions.it grows like crazy the ones i cut were around the size of a soup can and the next season the 3 trees put out 30  beautifull shafts 6 foot long.mo.conservation sells plantings very reasonably.

[bassman]

I have made arrows from Willow,Japanese Honeysuckle, Bamboo, Wild Choke Cherry shoots,Cedar , Spice Bush,Arrow wood and other woods.Large variety to pick from.Just a personal choice.For me Bamboo is hard to beat.

[Hawkdancer]

Red osier dogwood is good. River cane also.  Depends on where you are and what the pocketbook says, too.  TSA is one of our sponsors, btw.
Hawkdancer