Post by: Guru on February 25, 2006, 09:59:00 PM
all ya need is your shafts...and a screw driver with a round "shaft"...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/arastr.jpg)
sight down your shaft to see where it needs to be worked on.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/arastr1.jpg)
as you can see this one has a good curve to the left.Now all ya have to do is hold it so the curve is up,like a hump.... take your screw driver and with down pressure against the hump,run it back and forth on top of the shaft...working against the crook.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/arastr2.jpg)
This is a ramin dowel,so it takes a little more pressure and time to get them worked out....the softer the shaft,the less pressure and swipes back and forth it takes.Too much and you can actually make it go the other way.Go a little at a time... Do it and check,do some more and check......
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/arastr4.jpg)
work it some more....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/arastr5.jpg)
Same shaft...about a minute later...super straight ready for a broadhead.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/arastr3.jpg)
Easy,cheap....give it a shot....with practice anybody can do this
Post by: Cody Cantrell on February 25, 2006, 10:04:00 PM
great post :thumbsup:
Cody
Post by: Mark Fedrizzi on February 25, 2006, 10:06:00 PM
Post by: wifishkiller on February 25, 2006, 10:09:00 PM
Post by: rabbitman on February 25, 2006, 10:13:00 PM
Post by: themonkey on February 25, 2006, 10:36:00 PM
Post by: Ted Fry on February 25, 2006, 11:24:00 PM
Post by: Guru on February 26, 2006, 07:41:00 AM
My hope is that the pix help a little,if anyone has some questions or need another pic to explain something...don't hesitate to ask....
Now I just use a screwdriver...to me it's the easiest,simplest,and most effective way to do it.
Guys,If you can't get it straight this way with a little work.....then use it as a tomatoe stake,it isn't good enough to be used as an arrow :banghead:
!["[nope]"]("graemlins/nope.gif" "\"\"")
Post by: Shawn Leonard on February 26, 2006, 07:52:00 AM
Post by: heydeerman on February 26, 2006, 10:25:00 AM
How do the ramin dowells work for staying straight after finishing?
Post by: dj on February 26, 2006, 10:26:00 AM
Post by: **DONOTDELETE** on February 26, 2006, 10:34:00 AM
Post by: Ray Hammond on February 26, 2006, 10:34:00 AM
Different woods react differently, dj, in my experience it depends on a lot of factors but hardwoods will try to revert to the bend more than softwoods- the trick is to get your shafts in ahead of needing them, sort by dozens, straighten them, rubber band them together in several places, then store them in a relatively cool, dry, place to season and every few months pull them down, open the bundle, restraighten, and put back. In a year or two you will have some permanently straight shafts.
At least thats how I did it when I had an arrow business and it worked great.
Post by: Huntrdfk on February 26, 2006, 11:19:00 AM
David
Post by: George D. Stout on February 26, 2006, 01:01:00 PM
Post by: Ted Fry on February 26, 2006, 02:32:00 PM
This method will work well with Ramin , birch and ash as well Heydeerman , as it heats up the direct bend area from friction . Heat is the best way to keep the hardwood from returning to its original state as Raymond touched on. I have even seen a similar tecnique done on a wood work bench with a slot cut into the edge to do the same by running the shaft up and down on the wood , thus creating friction and pressure to the bent area.
Post by: Slycoyote on February 26, 2006, 09:22:00 PM
Post by: Guru on February 27, 2006, 07:25:00 AM
Sly, don't ever be afraid to ask a question here,someone will have an answer for ya....
Ted and some others answered about "staying straight".....Cedars and softwoods are not to bad to straighten by "palming".Did it that way for years,but this way is faster and more permanant.
I find that palming just doesn't work well for hardwoods.This method with the combination of heat from friction and the slight "crushing" of the cells on the opposite side of the bend works real well.
As mentioned earlier,it might take a couple sessions per shaft throughout the stages of making your arrows.But they will stay straight...as long as the shaft wasn't real bad to start with....that's why I said they would make better tomatoe stakes....or you'll end up doing a lot of this :banghead:
practice with some old crooked shafts...I think you'll like what you can do with them....
Post by: Jake H on February 27, 2006, 09:45:00 AM
It's easier on softwoods because, being soft, it's easier to get the needful compression.
The other way to do this is with something like the Ace roller straightener where you put the arrow on a flat surface and roll it down. That minimizes the chance of overbending or breaking shafts (I had a batch of douglas fir that would snap if you tried to pressure bend them- luck of the draw no slight to the wood or the vendor)
Good post Curt
Jake
(who had to learn this one the hard way)
Post by: Aeronut on February 27, 2006, 10:26:00 AM
Good post Guru!
Post by: Slim Buttes on February 27, 2006, 10:41:00 AM
Post by: Huntschool on February 27, 2006, 11:05:00 AM
Post by: Guru on February 27, 2006, 10:08:00 PM
Post by: Keith Deters on February 27, 2006, 10:54:00 PM
I use a hardwood block on my bench like Ted mentioned above.
Let me know how you make out with your bow Curt.
Post by: Red Beastmaster on February 27, 2006, 10:56:00 PM
It works really well on the hardwoods I get from Twig Archery. I have made up several dozen so far this winter. They stay just as straight as the best cedar I have.
I agree that the combination of heat and compression is the key. Rub fast and evenly, with long strokes. You are trying to make the "long" side of the shaft equal the "short" side. You don't want to make a sharp dent in the shaft.
If I over hook and warp it toward the compressed side I usually just bump it a few times with hand straightening to get it back to straight. I wait to cut to length until after all straightening is finished. Full length shafts are easier to work with.
Soft woods like cedar can be flattened pretty quickly with hooking. I usually just hand straighten them.
One other thing: make the nock end of the shaft the end that was straight naturally, prior to straighting. If it wants to bend again it will be easier to see and correct if not covered with fletching.
Post by: JasonV on February 27, 2006, 11:36:00 PM
I'd been favoring carbon since I'm "straightening impaired" - But recently been messing with a pile of ramin shafts trying to get them straight enough to invest the time into making them up into arrows... I just spent about an hour in the garage with a screwdriver, and I've got a dozen close enough that my shooting won't show the difference (and only broke 1)
Do you just hand-straighten if needed once they're finished? (I'm sure the screwdriver will screw up the finish...)
Thanks again - the pictures really helped...
Post by: poekoelan on February 28, 2006, 02:50:00 AM
If you can still find one, a frontier arrow straightener works wonders on finished or unfinished ramin. I bought mine years ago when I shot a compound. They were origninally made for aluminum shafts, but they work just as well on wood. Especially ramin. Haven't seen one around in a long time though. I can even straighten a shaft with multiple bends.
the screwdriver trick does work well though. Much better than trying to straighten ramin with nothing but your hands.
Post by: Guru on February 28, 2006, 12:30:00 PM
I find that I can touch them up(if need be) after they are finished as long as it's a tough finish( I use poly).But if you go over them a couple times during the steps of the making process,they should stay straight.But some will fight ya....Just be careful with the softer woods,go easy...
Post by: Terry Green on February 28, 2006, 03:29:00 PM
Post by: Curtiss Cardinal on February 28, 2006, 03:54:00 PM
Post by: Walkingstick on February 28, 2006, 04:34:00 PM
Post by: Guru on March 01, 2006, 12:46:00 PM
Post by: **DONOTDELETE** on March 01, 2006, 01:05:00 PM
Post by: On Fire aka Charlie on March 01, 2006, 03:33:00 PM
Charlie
Post by: Guru on March 03, 2006, 10:49:00 AM
Charlie, after you get the feel for it,it's almost too simple....
Post by: **DONOTDELETE** on March 03, 2006, 12:07:00 PM
Post by: Aram on March 03, 2006, 04:22:00 PM