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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: PAPA BEAR on December 08, 2009, 01:46:00 AM
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thinking about trying some wood arrows.need input on the best buy for your buck.
thanks......larry
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Douglas fir from www.surewoodshafts.com (http://www.surewoodshafts.com) .
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i'm partial to tapered cedars from Kustom King ... very straight , easy to restraighten and just seem to shoot great regardless . they seem very forgiving and by using heavier heads i'm able to achieve good FOC and still keep my weight down round the 550gn for my 53# bows .
if your looking for real heavyweight shafts i've had good luck with the finished laminated birch arrows i bought from Dick Robertson.for my 53# Hill i ended up with a hog bustin close range 735gns ....
i, much like my northern counterpart Mr Kleinig , have had great success with douglas fir . and whilst i bought mine elsewhere , i have spoken with the guys at " surewood " and they are a good bunch to deal with .
let us know how you go .
ben
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I'm with Ben on this one.
doug77
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What ever wood you desire.Quality is key IMO and like everything,you pay for it!
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What qualities you looking for?
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hex pine 6 quadrant laminated shafts.
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Shafts? Surewood, Hildebrand, Hexpine
Arrows? Elite arrows, Our own JNLFT (Joe Lorenz?) , Whispering Wind by Bob Burton (arrowmkr)
Eric
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Been shooting douglas fir for nearly 20 years, no reason to switch now!
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Cedar,sitka spurce,laminated birch and the best of all, straight ones.......
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For cedar shafts, Raven archery.
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Across the river from you is Raptor Archery, Ted is a sponsor, and has all kinds of arrows and supplies ready to go. raptorarchery.com
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thanks guys appreciate it.think i'm gonna take the plunge and learn how to fletch my own and the whole nine yards.any good books on arrow building you'd reccomend?
larry
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Larry, If you like I can call you and we can B.S. You tell me about Elk and I'll help you with wood arrows...
Mark
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I'd have to say Surewood shafts...they take everything difficult to new arrow makers (grain orientation, culling, initial straightening) out of their product.
That said, I really liked the 2 dozen hickory shafts I bought from Raptor archery. Once straightened, they stayed straight and always hit hard. Only broke once in a blue moon, too. Just had some really hard grain to read...
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how about a list of all things required to build arrows?
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chris...just looking for a good hunting arrow that is gonna hit where it needs to hit provided i do my part of course.
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Larry for your rig you will need some serious spine. Folks we are talking 60#@30" drawn to 30" modern string, cut to center modern LB and a 145gn+ point; I'd say over 100# spine. And at least 32" long if the ends are all perfect-yeah right!
Surewood will have some shafting that meets spec and Don Stokes likely has some left too.
Larry, if you have a vcr machine I can send you a tape.
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Get a good taper tool, some kind of electric sanding machine, rather than a hand-held pencil sharpener type. I rigged my own up using a belt sander clamped to a board, and the taper jig from 3Rivers. I also recommend the 3Rivers dip tube with the rubber gasket. We can't get the exactly the same products that you use in the USA here. So I use an outdoor varnish, upon which all forms of Fletchtite are not useful, and I glue the feathers on with a type of runny superglue called Loctite 406. I've found that the best, most user-friendly glue for the nocks is superglue gel, as it sets quick, and all the excess that gets squeezed out does not set at all, because it's not between two surfaces, and can be easily wiped away with a tissue. Doing a good taper is vital, and it is worth the fiddling required to get the angle just right by adjusting the clamps or jig ever-so-slightly. I'm not an expert, and have only started this year, but this is what I've found to work for me. At present, I only make simple arrows.
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bjorn...if i shoot woodies off of my morrison the poundage will be [email protected] worse huh? i do have a vcr still. thanks ben thats helpful info.
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Yes, the Morrison will be worse for spine needs. But you could do like Howard and bend your elbow more! :thumbsup:
PM me your address and I'll send you the tape.
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i have tried bending my elbow but its just not comfortable at all and i am not nearly as accurate as i am when i lock my arm fully extended.i even tried this when i shot wheelies with the same results.maybe its me maybe not,not really sure about that one but i think i'll stay with what works best for me.
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Larry, Bob at Whispering Wind Arrows may be able to help. He may be able to foot some shafts to give you the lenght and spine needed. I'll give you a call tonight. Give him a call and tell him your needs. I just bought some Footed shafts from the Sponsers classified. Kye at the GBFS, shoot him a PM and ask if her can help also.
Mark
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IMHO the best currently are surewood douglas fir tapered by Dave Doran at archery past. My bow is 74# at 28" and I use 190 grain BHs for a 800 grain arrow. I use 110-115# spine. They shoot flatter than 2219s with 125 head. I buy the shafts, wipe on 3 coats of helmsman spar urathane and fletch with 5 1/2" high back shields in yellow. Nocks are 5/16 classic index. Taper mine on my combo sander with a taper block I bought from appalachian archery at coudersport. Use a bitzenburger dial o fletch. Use a propane torch to heat the hot melt. Thats about it.
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If I were ever going to buy wood arrows, I would get them from "Fletcher" here. I've had a booth next to his at a couple shows and his wood arrows are straighter than any carbon or aluminum shaft. Every time he would throw one on his spinner, I was amazed.
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Is Rogue River still in business? They always had the best POC I've ever used.
I agree with Bjorn on the spine. My bow is 60# @ 30" and I pull about 31-32" and I needed 100-105# spine. I had footed my arrows to 34" then tapered to 33" BOP and I couldn't shoot anything heavier than 125 grain points or they were too weak. Sounds like your arrows will be too weak but you want a heavier head so it'll be about a wash.
Last year I started out trying carbons and have used the CE Heritage 350's (I think... whatever their stiffest one is) and with brass 100 grain inserts, I can't go over 125 gr points on them either.
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Dave,
Rouge River was sold to Wapiti Archery in Grants Pass, Oregon. Google "Wapiti Archery" and you'll get their website. Only reason I didn't get some when looking at wood arrows was that based on their website it doesn't look like they have spines over 75#.
Craig
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You can get by with some pretty simple tools if you keep your arrows simple. The shaft is the heart of the arrow. There is nothing you can do to a crappy shaft to make it a good arrow. Start with good matched shafts and the rest will be pretty easy. Michael S. above has it figured out.
True and accurate nock and point tapers are important and I would recommend the disk sander/guide approach. You can get by with the pencil sharpener tools, but be prepared to mess with your points and nocks to get them on straight. Minwax stains and polyurethane work great for a finish and can be found most anywhere. Dalys Profin is a very good finish as well. You can wipe the finish on or make a quickie dip tube from a golf club tube and a couple rubber stoppers. A fletching jig and some Duco glue will get the feathers on and good hot melt with a propane torch works fine for points. Piece of cake, man.
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thanks to all of you for the valuable input.i'll wait for the tape that bjorn has offered to loan me and see if i want to pursue this further.dave i really dont want to shoot less than 145gr's on the broadheads so i may end up staying with my 2613's aka (patriot missles)by wannabe1... lol...patriots... :D
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I second steveo's vote for Fletcher. His arrows are pretty doggone nice looking and STRAIGHT.
Heck of a nice guy also.
Chuck
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Steve and Chuck, thanks for the kind words. I really do work at it.
Steve, I have some stiff shafts coming for test arrows. Bring your bow to Nashville and we'll get you shooting some wood.