Primitive shafting and Sunday morning

[the Ferret]

I truly gave up and started working on 6 more, along with a couple more rose shafts to go with the ones in the beginning of this thread. I have 14 shafts almost ready to fletch, just one more giant session ha ha

Shane you can get them almost completely flat once the shafts are straight. If you try and take them down too flat and then straighten the shafts they will break in the node. I have taken them down with a scraper, a knife edge, a 4 cornered rasp, sandpaper and a belt sander over the years ha ha. It doesn't hurt anything to leave them a little proud either though. Those lumps won't affect the accuracy

Here is a node on one of my cane hunting shafts

 

And a comparison between a "raw" node and a dressed one

 

[the Ferret]

Dang I should have turned that raw shaft around so they were facing the same direction,     but you get the point.

[the Ferret]

Here's a pic of the 14 shafts ready for their last session L-R (3) wild rose (2) grey dogwood, (1) mock orange, (1)ocean spray (1) sourwood and (6) rivercane

 

That sourwood is a lumpy one ha ha

[SuperKodiak38]

Forgive me if this is an ignorant question. Is river Cane and Bamboo the same ? Can I make arra's from small Bambo shoots. I have alot of that growing around here.

[NEW GUY]

Thanks for the info Mickey.  I was scrapein down some nodes last night and didn't know how far I could take it.  Excellent pics.

On a side note, I have also been wondering on the measurements of your fletching.  Such as the highth of the back and the front.  I have been trying several different cuts on mine, just wondering what works the best for you.

thx,
NG

[Flatstick]

Hey Mickey,

I have six cane shafts plugged and ready for cutt'n nocks & point slots sitting on my work bench right now!  :p   Picked them up at a yard sale while I was in Ohio, the woman who sold them said she was tired of them laying around in the house, I only paid her $.50 for the six of them. She said if I was to come back in another week or so she could probably find some more to get rid of!

 AAAAH, just fool'n ya Mickey, I actually paid a whole $1.00 for them   :D  .

[the Ferret]

SuperKodiak..now bear in mind that I am not a botanist, but rivercane, switch cane, tonkin cane and bamboo are all grasses that are tubular, and when dried become stiff. The differences may be in diameter, or node placement or node type, I am not sure. I have seen 2 or 3 nodes n a 30" section and I have seen 6 nodes in the same 30" section. I would think any of them would make good arrow shafting.

Shane I cut my feathers 5 1/4" long, after installing I then shave back the front 1/4" or so using a razot blade and either sinew wrap the quill or thread wrap it.I then cut the feathers down with a scissors starting at the back and trimming forward about 3/4" at the back straight to about 1/2" at the front..nothing specific I just cut then until they please me.

Flatstick..that's a good deal considering the labor SOMEONE went thru..if ya see any more like that would ya pick me upsome?  :rolleyes:

[Timo]

Mickey, I think that Flatstick was saying that maybe,just maybe,that those shafts were yours?  

[the Ferret]

LOL I know Timo that's why I put up that little roll eye's gremlin

Why don't you tell them about yours? ha ha

[Flatstick]

Are you saying that Timo may have misplaced an arrow or two?  

[Timo]

Only in the woods Richard! Only in the woods.  

[SuperKodiak38]

Thanks Ferret, I guess I will have to cut some and give it a try.

[Jason Lester]

Mickey,

   Well I spent a while one ny rivercane tonight after reading this thread. The cane straightened pretty well. A couple more times and I'll be ready to make arrows. I think next time I'll only do half though. 12 shafts seem to be a lot to straighten all at once. I think I'm crosseyed now looking for the bend. LOL and of course the last one seemed to be the worst.

Now where did I put those turkey feathers.  

[jeff mccray]

Hey, would plum tree shoots work? i have a mini plum tree and the limbs are tough....Jeff

[Glasspoint]

Plum suckers work great, so do chokecherrys. I cut it so it's a little bigger around than a pencil on the narrow end and 36" long mol (nothin' worse than a too short, fat arrow    ).