Birch Dowels

[Kegan]

My brother and I are looking in to buying some 3/8" birch dowels to try for arrows, and was wondering what they roughly weigh (3/8", say 29" overall, just shaft)?

Also, if anyone has any experience using them, I'd much appreciate any advice/forwarnings .

[JackCrafty]

This is what I told a friend of mine (a while back) after sorting some birch dowels for him:

The batch of 3/8" birch I'm working with is giving me spines of anywhere between 65# and 150#....with the average being around 85#.   The deflection @ 85# is about 0.325 inches.  The weights of the shafts vary between 420 and 550 grains - with the average around 480 gr.

I'm using a Flight-Rite spine tester @ 26" span.  The shafts are 28" long.


Hope this helps.

[scattershot]

If you need lighter weights, I'd recommend the 5/16". The ones I've had spine between 40-55#, with the majority in the mid to high forties. You can get them from American Woodcrafters Supply for around $25.00/100, and they make great shafts. You need to remember, though, that the grain is hard to read, and they are dowels, not arrow shafts. Flex each one before you use it to make an arrow with, and you'll be fine.. If you decide to go with the 3/8" dowels, just leave them full length. They'll be heavy, but most of them will shoot just fine.


Here's the post I made on another forum about them.

Well, I was curious, too, so I ordered 50 3/8" birch dowels from American Woodcrafters. They are all straight, 36" long, and look like they would make decent arrows. Some grain runout, and a few knots here and there, but for the most part they appear to be serviceable. Out of the 50, here's how they spined out:
68-1 70-1 73-2 75-3 76-2 79-1 81-1 84-1 87-7 90-2 93-4 96-7 98-1 100-5 104-8 108-3 130-1

Those are WAY heavier than I thought they would be, but I wanted to see for myself.

The 5/16" I have used in the past maxed out at 55#, with the majority going in the low to mid 40's.



Good luck.

[Marc St Louis]

Birch is nasty for warping.  A wood that has pretty darn good stability is Black Ash and it makes great arrows.  White Ash is also pretty stable but not as much as the Black and makes a really tough arrow

[huntertrapper]

well, as for warping.....not sure, i aint sayin they dont but mine havent, ive shot at some starlings and black birds(missed every time ) and the arrow has held up well. but i dont spine test mine or anything, i only use my dowel for small game so i aint to worried ont hat.

[david w.]

if you want to shoot accurately at anything you should try to match your arrow spine to your bow.  if you made sure your arrows were properly spined i be your accuracy would go up.  in fact i am going to build a spine tester and start on some shaft Pat B sent me because i dont have any properly matched arrows.
just tryin to help

[TRACY]

I shoot LAMINATED birch shafts for the weight. They are 11/32 and finished weigh about 600 grains spined for #60.

[Titan_Bow]

I bought some birch arrow shafts from a trad archery vendor last year.  If there is any grain runout they will break along that runout. ( I broke two shafts while straightening them)   Also,  I could not keep them straight. I used heat, got them really straight, but again, if there is any wave or deviation in the grain at all, they tended to bend or warp there, regardless of how much I fought to keep them striaght.

[Kegan]

My bows are about 80#, and I shoot thme with a slightly tunred grip- making them less finicky on spine (but it does mess with the limbs I realize). Weight and durability are what I'm mainly concerned with- and they seem like they'll do the trick. And if they don't work out, I can always just go back to my hickories.

Sounds like I need to at least give them a try .