Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Huntingnut on December 12, 2010, 09:27:00 AM
-
I've shot aluminum for years now, but have realy wanted to make some wood ones.I am looking for a fairly durable wood that straightens pretty easily.I've researched a lot on here and am leaning towards Douglas Fir.I originally was going to go with cedar, but there seem to be some durability issues.Also looked at lam. birch,but I'm afraid it would be hard to work with.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Shane
-
POC, fir, spruce. They all shoot well, straighten easy enough and take stain nice. Plus, most all cost about the same price as well. If you dont have a belt sander for the tapers, I suggest POC because the pencil sharpener style taper tools work great on POC. The spruce tends to splinter and make crappy tapers when using the pencil sharpener style. Do yourself a favor and dont think too hard about the shaft material, you will find that they are so close to eqaul it doesnt matter. Try them all over time!
-
I've shot cedar for a long time, and yes, you will break some. But I also have cedars that I have used for stump shooting for certainly hundreds, and maybe more, shots, and they are still shooting just fine. I have shot some sitka spruce, and it is a good shaft as well. Never shot douglas fir, so I can't comment on that. Cedar has been used for a long time and just keeps on being a great shaft material. Smells good, too.
-
Originally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
POC, fir, spruce. They all shoot well, straighten easy enough and take stain nice. Plus, most all cost about the same price as well. If you dont have a belt sander for the tapers, I suggest POC because the pencil sharpener style taper tools work great on POC. The spruce tends to splinter and make crappy tapers when using the pencil sharpener style. Do yourself a favor and dont think too hard about the shaft material, you will find that they are so close to eqaul it doesnt matter. Try them all over time!
I agree
-
So POC holds up OK for stumping?Which for me is usually shooting at leaves, not actual stumps LOL.
Also, I do have the pencil sharpener type tapering tool so that was something I was wondering about with the different woods.Thanks for the heads up on that.
-
I'd go with Cedar and you can always try others later. Breakage is only a problem if you can't keep your arrow in the target. :bigsmyl:
-
POC will hold up just fine. You will break a few no matter what species it is. Have fun making and BREAKING them! I dont mind breaking mine at all because it gives me a reason to make more, its cheap, fun and a great way to spend a Saturday. POC gets a bad rap for breaking easily, I dont buy it. They all break easily if you hit just right!
-
If you are ordering shafts, let your supplier know what weight shaft you are looking for to match up close to the weight of your aluminums. That way you can shoot both without having to reprogram your brain.
-
My experience has been that good STRAIGHT Cedar is hard to come by. Very high quality Douglas Fir from Surewood Shafts and Sitka Spruce from Hildebrand and their dealers is very easy to come by.
-
Shane, I would recommend cedar. Other woods you will find may be more durable, but very heavy. Ash is one of those heavy woods, finished arrow in the 28" length range would be close to 700-800grains. Cedar can be kept around 500 grains and is quite durable, easy to work with, sands easily, and like Centaur said....it smells good!
I taper my shafts on a belt sander. I made my own jig with the angles set on it, then clamp it to the little table on the front of the belt sander. Once you get the hang of it, it's real simple.
For straigtening, look up how to use a cup hook. That works amazingly well for me.
Then I wipe with my stain of choice and spray a couple coats of satin polyurethane on them. Add an arrow wrap and fletch.
I also make my own point adapters out of aluminum shafting w/insert so I can use screw in points and broadheads. I also use glue ons, both work great, but I wanted the option of using different heads quickly going from judo to field point to broadhead in just a matter of seconds depending on what I'm going after that day.
I found that a 2312 arrow shaft is about perfect for 11/32 cedar shaft, but you will need to sand it slightly to get a snug fit. About 2" of the aluminum shaft and the insert is all that is needed to be straight and do the job well, then installed with hot melt glue.
A 2117 shaft fits 5/16 wood shaft well.
I also shoot carbons, but I still love my woodies.
If you have any questions when you get started building them just shoot me a PM and I'll help you out. I'll even send you pics of how I do mine.
-
I sure like Douglas Fir from Surewood Shafts.
-
I'm making my first right. They are Doud fir from Surewood. I ordered them through Tim @ Braveheart, he's a sponsor here and a top notch fella to deal with.
-
I have never had a problem with cedar not being straight. Lots of folks talk about it, but I've just never seen too many shafts that weren't straight, and with a little bit of correction, the crooked ones remained straight. Maybe I'm just lucky or too dumb to know when a shaft isn't straight.
-
POC nothing smells like a broken cedar shaft...
-
I really like POC, but that is the wood I have always shot. I am sure the others are very good as well. I agree with Centaur I have had very good experience with POC being straight. My last arrows came from Elite arrows, great looking arrow, straight and a great price. I also agree with Centaur on the toughness of cedar, I have made or should I say, missed shots that I just knew the arrow was busted and the arrow was fine when I retrieved it.
-
Thanks for the feed back!
Semo Hunter, I sent you a PM.
-
Ceader or Douglas Fir are good to start with. Try 'em all. I do mostly cane now, but still love POC. :bigsmyl:
My saying about breaking 'em, is that I can buid new arrows everyday! :campfire:
-
I've tried cedar, douglas fir, and ash. In my experience douglas fir was not any tougher than cedar. Both cedar and douglas fir are very straight. Ash is one tough wood, but does take some straightening. I don't think ash is as hard to straighten as a lot of what you read. I've been shooting primarily douglas fir the past two years, but I think I'm going to go back to ash in the next batch of shafts I buy.
-
Cedar soaked in Watco. I love the smell of a broken cedar shaft also.
-
Ash
-
I get tapered poc that are extra heavy for their spine when ever I can. They seem tough enough for hunting and stumping. Mine get broken in the target when other arrows hit them. I also soak the front 20" with watco oil. Makes them heavier and less likely to abrade or sliver.
-
I agree with centaur!Been shooting cedar since 1982 and still love them.Tryed other woods but keep true to POC.Try the tapered shafts from Three rivers.Dip them in a couple coats of gloss poly and then lighly steel wool them to cut the gloss.The gloss seems thicker.You still have to check for straightness but this is just part of the labor of love for traditional archery.
-
where do you guys get your POC shafts from?
-
I'm just getting started two and have made 4 or 5 dozen. I buy 2nds a lot and usually buy POC or Chundoo. I love working with Chundoo.
It takes a little work to get any material straight. That's half the fun.
-
If I were to buy woodies it would be Sitka Spruce from the Hildebrands...PR