posted
remember, the staining of the shafts is *optional* and not at all needed. the other 6 shafts of this dozen surewoods are gonna just get clear coated, no staining at all. fir takes clear well, and will kinda mute down and darken the raw wood color to a nice parchment-like hue after a few wipes of nothing more than clear.
unless you stain the entire shaft, one needs to be a tad careful when clear coating not to bleed the stain from one part of the shaft to the other. i'll be using three cotton wipe pads again, one for the unstained shafts, one for the amber stain of the cap, and the last for the walnut stained foreshaft - don't mix them up or you'll get color bleeds!
first step is to *lightly* steel wool buff all the shafts, both the stained and not stained. i use the ultra fine 0000 steel wool, and cut each pad in half as a full pad is overkill and you get to stretch the wool use. i use one side of a half pad to buff the amber cap, and the other side of that same half pad to buff the walnut foreshaft - don't mix them up! after wooling, use a paper towel to lightly rub down either the entire unstained shafts, or use separate towels for each color stained area of the stained shafts (again, so the stains don't bleed).
next up, the clear coats ...
-------------------- "Molon Labe" (Come and Get Them) ~ Instinctive Archer Magazine ~ TGMM Family of the Bow ~ NRA Life Member Posts: 8858 | From: NJ | Registered: Mar 2003
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If I may offer one suggestion...when orientating the grain and your nock...allign not ONLY so the grain is sideways as Rob suggests, but also notice any run out of grain. The best shafts are going to have straight grain, but almost all wood shafts will have some run out creating "arrow points" in the grain on one side. Allign the shaft so these run outs are on the top and pointing forward. This way should a shaft fail along the grain while shooting it, the bottom will point backwards and be less likely to go into your bowhand.
If that is not clear, let me know and I can illustrate it...or maybe Rob will get to that later.
-------------------- Until next time...good shooting, Lee Posts: 892 | From: Mississippi | Registered: Jun 2010
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quote:Originally posted by Protege Longbows: If I may offer one suggestion...when orientating the grain and your nock...allign not ONLY so the grain is sideways as Rob suggests, but also notice any run out of grain. The best shafts are going to have straight grain, but almost all wood shafts will have some run out creating "arrow points" in the grain on one side. Allign the shaft so these run outs are on the top and pointing forward. This way should a shaft fail along the grain while shooting it, the bottom will point backwards and be less likely to go into your bowhand.
If that is not clear, let me know and I can illustrate it...or maybe Rob will get to that later.
yes, that will be covered during the nock installation.
-------------------- "Molon Labe" (Come and Get Them) ~ Instinctive Archer Magazine ~ TGMM Family of the Bow ~ NRA Life Member Posts: 8858 | From: NJ | Registered: Mar 2003
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Well I'm now highly motivated. I just got word my first ever Douglas fir shafts are in transit. New material to play with. (Ramin didn't do it for me a few years back).
Plow ahead so I can follow in your wake, Rob.
-------------------- Charlie P. ~~ _/)~~ A.B.C.C.
Bear Kodiak & Kodiak Hunter, Dick Palmer Hunter (L/B), Ben Pearson Hunter, Wing Presentation II & 3 Red Wing Hunters (LH & 2 RH), Browning Explorer & Cobra II, Martin/Howatt Dream Catcher (wood arrows for all) Posts: 2817 | From: Upstate NY | Registered: May 2003
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Thank you Rob! I plan on trying some surewoods out real soon. This is very helpful!
Posts: 323 | From: Indiana | Registered: Jun 2009
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Thanks for the post...as soon as I finish my carbons I'm going to give woodies a try...Thanks
-------------------- 2nd Lt. George Rice: Looks like you guys are going to be surrounded. Richard Winters: We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded.
1972 Bear Kodiak Magnum
Pray, and let God worry. Posts: 58 | From: Maryland | Registered: Dec 2010
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Future Arrow Whisperer here, Thanks for the post!♠
-------------------- Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. TGMM ♥ Posts: 507 | From: Fountain Inn, South Carolina | Registered: Oct 2010
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i'll do the clear wipes on the unstained shafts first. put on yer rubber glove(s) a clean 2" to 3" square of 100% white cotton t-shirt, fold over to make a pad, shake the can of min-wax gloss wipe on polyu, pop the top and get the pad wet (not damp and not dripping wet), hold the shaft at where the pointed end will eventually be, wrap the pad a bit around the shaft and twist and wipe from the nock end on down.
you don't need to wipe right down to the very end of the shaft, unless you require a full 32" arrow. wipe to within 2" to 3" of the end of the shaft (for up to a 30" long arrow). hold the freshly wiped shaft by the nock end, push into the foam block for drying. i do this with just one glove for the wiping hand.
for the stained shafts - hold at the cap end, wipe the foreshaft first and don't go beyond the masking tape! when done, push each shaft into the foam block. when all shafts have had their foreshafts wiped with clear, get a fresh new wiping pad, and clear wipe the cap area of the shaft while the shaft is held in the foam block. too easy! allow to dry for a few hours.
after the clear dries, *lightly* buff each shaft with 0000 steel wool - use a separate piece of steel wool for each stain color! lightly rub each shaft with a paper towel - use a separate towel for each stain color!
do another clear coat wipe again, as in all of the above.
after the second wipe dries, for the stained shafts, remove the masking tape that separates the cap from the foreshaft. lightly steel wool buff the entire shaft, from nock end to point end - no need to be concerned about color bleeding - and lightly paper towel rub down. notice how the stain colors deepen and look more vibrant as more clear coats are applied. i loved stained arrows as opposed to opaque painted ones - i just prefer to see the natural wood grain.
do a third wiped on coat of clear.
three coats of min-wax clear is more than enuf to fully seal the shafts. i usually go for a fourth coat. your choice to either leave the last coat glossy or buff down with the steel wool and paper towel for a muted satin finish.
after i'm done with all four coats of clear, next up - glue on the nocks, cut the shafts to your proper draw length, taper for the points, add cresting using sharpie pens (optional). then on to fletching - we'll do all three flavors of fletches - store bought preshaped, chopped, and burnt - in both three and four fletch configurations. ALL fletches will be adhered with bohning fletch tape! then on to pointing up, checking for shaft/point trueness/straightness.
-------------------- "Molon Labe" (Come and Get Them) ~ Instinctive Archer Magazine ~ TGMM Family of the Bow ~ NRA Life Member Posts: 8858 | From: NJ | Registered: Mar 2003
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I love the grain on the Surewoods. Great follow along Rob.
-------------------- Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem. —President Ronald Reagan Posts: 7953 | From: NJ to GA back to NJ =Lost ;) | Registered: Sep 2009
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yep, and those darker stains really pop out a grainy wood like fir.
-------------------- "Molon Labe" (Come and Get Them) ~ Instinctive Archer Magazine ~ TGMM Family of the Bow ~ NRA Life Member Posts: 8858 | From: NJ | Registered: Mar 2003
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