Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: molongbowman on September 27, 2012, 04:00:00 PM
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I have been shooting a long time and am returning to wood arrows. How straight do the shafts need to be to shoot well? Or another way how crooked can they be and shoot well? I have some tapered Surewood shaftst that I am starting with that are to me not real straight. Alluminum and carbon are great as to their straightness and shaft to shaft consistancy. Just sick and tired of weight tubes,special nocks, broadhead adapt. and all the junk that goes with them. I realize with wood it has it's own set of issues, BUT all I would have is a shaft, nock and point. Thanks, Steve
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The straighter they are the better, esp with broadheads. It takes some practice, but woods aren't that hard to make straight. Once in a while I find one that just won't straighten; it goes in the stumper pile.
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Most of my limited experience with wood has been with Surewood shafts. I found most pretty easy to straighten.
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I've been making,wood arrows a long time. I have a home built roller with a dial indicator.
If I can get them to .005 they are good.
I also use a roller with ball bearings to check tip or broad head straightness and arrow wobble.
My hunting arrows must spin straight, target,get just a little leeway .
I start by straightening the shaft set it aside and do them all. Then go back through and straighten again as needed. Put on the nock taper, stain dip dry. Then check for straightness once more. Usually once to this step they stay straight.
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Well.... Fletcher must have had some practice then ! I spun some of his woodies at Compton and let me tell ya brothers, they are STRAIGHT ! I was looking for a silk screen label thinking it was a carbon arrow ! :readit:
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Frankly, I have yet to find a crooked Surewood shaft and I have bought hundreds!
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I like shooting the ones with a little crook in them,,,,, they shoot around the corners a little better.. :bigsmyl:
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Originally posted by Bjorn:
Frankly, I have yet to find a crooked Surewood shaft and I have bought hundreds!
I just got my first dozen shafts from Surewood. I thought I just got lucky. I didnt have to straighten any of them.
Scott.
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I've only had a dozen or two of Surewoods ( I mostly shoot POC), but I've never had a crooked surewood shaft either. Regardless, its fairly easy to straighten wood. There are a few tutorials in the how to section on this site, I believe. Sometimes, wood will also shoot itself straight. The large gentle bow will often come out after a few shots. Tighter bends near the nock or point need to be pressed out by hand. Even with a slight bow in them, most woodies will still shoot where you point them.
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The straighter the better but they do not have to be as straight as aluminum or carbon. In fact that is nearly unattainable. Not many people shoot wood it seems. But one thing many forget is that wood is more forgiving than any other shaft material. I learned that when you get raw shafts make them as straight as possible. Then right before you seal them. Check them again. I use a cresting machine to check them. Once you have them super straight seal them ASAP. After that they stay pretty straight and modifications are simple. It takes a bit of practice but is not too hard to do. Wood shafts will never go away. I like Sitka spruce the best.
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Sounds like we feel the same about arrows-my wife and I shot woodies for our first year or so, got frustrated with breaking arrows and seeing them get some bends. Tried carbons, wanting toughness and consistency. Got sick of all the specific parts, lack of " forgiveness", feel & noise, etc.
We decided to go back to woodies. Got the necessary tools, and I learned how to straighten them. Doesn't take long, or a special of tools. Really doesn't take long, or a lot of $. Don't see going back to carbon.
How straight? I'm no expert, by a long shot, but with a simple straightening tool, and a flat (FLAT!) surface to check them on, it doesn't take much at all to keep 'em straight... no wobble running 'em over the surface, no gaps of light showing bends. Checking that the points are spinning true is also important. So with a little bit of care, and less expense than the tools required for carbons, I'm more than satisfied shooting woods, with complete confidence.
As far as breakage, I do a lot of stump shooting; learned to choose my shots with a little more care. I find this is only helping my hunting skills. Carbons aren't indestructible, and get lost just as easy as anything else.
Go with your gut feeling, you'll be rewarded.
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Hi Steven,
I first install a fieldpoint and nock, after I cutted the shaft to lenght. Then I spin the shaft on my hand. You put the fieldpoint on the palm of your hand , take the shaft between thumb an indexfinger and give it a twist. When it spins on my hand, it must "stand" dead quiet, no wobbling or whatsoever. Try a carbon shaft first, to get an idea how it should spin.
Take the arrows that wobble apart. Give them the following treatment:
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000060
I learned that how bigger the screwdriver, how easier it goes. Straightening in this way is very easy. I roll the bended arrows on a flat surface first, like glass, to find out were it is bend. Sometimes shafts bent in different directions! Then do it curve after curve.
In this way you can get your arrows as straight as carbons. Once straight, they stay straight but you have to seal them fast then. After straightenig I seal them and fletch them. In this way the feathers are not in the way and you can't damage the sealing or any decoration of your arrow with the screwdriver. Before shooting I check the complete arrow again to be sure. Sometimes they need a little straitening again after being stored some time.
Hope this helps,
FD
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I shoot mostly surewoods (they are remarkably straight from the start) and I check them before sealing and work out any bad spots. (usually this takes only about 5-10 minutes for a dozen surewoods) Granite countertops are great for rolling shafts to check straightness...Once fletched, I load some with broadheads and see how they fly. If any have a wobble, I switch the BH to another and try again. The ones that wobble with a BH almost never do it with a field point.
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I have bout well over 50 dozen Sherwood Shafts, and I might have 1/2 dozen that had a single to them. it has gotten to be just a formality when making arrows with their shafts, but I still spin then just be sure. I didn't even bother trying to straighten them. My thoughts are that if they were bent, then they will go back due to fiber memory. Most, if not all, my shafts when spun before building. will spin like a XX75.
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Thanks everyone for all your time. The screw driver method looks great. Working on a set of surewoods as we speak. Steve
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Go gettum Steve! :)