Bamboo arrow questions...

[K. Mogensen]

I posted a question a week or so ago about bamboo arrows and staining and sealing them. It was said that the rind had to be peeled off and that you could then dye them. I just wanted to clarify.

What dyes work? DO stains work? If so, what stains? Do you really not have to seal them? Can you just leave the rind on and not stain or dye or seal them? Will any fletching cement work? Thanks!

[Steve Thomson]

I've been making bamboo arrows a while now, and you can leave the rind on and not apply a finish.This is the natural protection for the shaft and you can't improve on that.You will however need to sand the area the fletch goes on,as glue does not hold well if unsanded.I use Duco and works well for me.Removing the rind allows you to stain the shaft with something like leather dye.I use a sponge to apply evenly.Steel wool lightly and the seal with tung oil or polyurethane.This protects them from moisture and makes them look great.Hope that helps.

[Benjy]

I don't strip off the rind. I sand with 150 then 220 and finish with 360 grit sandpaper. I then dip the complete shaft into fletch-lac supercoat. It makes a beautiful finish.

Benjy

 

[K. Mogensen]

Thanks guys! Can you add just a normal arrow stain after you sand or strip the rind off?

[Neutron]

Do you guys sand down the nodes and then seal those areas?

[AkDan]

you guys need to pick up Thomas Duverny's, hope I spelled that right, video of a korean fletcher building bamboo arrows from scratch!

If nothing else you'll come away with the understanding of how to straighten these arrows quite effetively, the tool that's used, and I bet it would also work on river cane very well.  It starts with shoots and ends with a finished bamboo arrow!   I wish we had some here locally or the stuff wasnt so dang spendy!

[AkDan]

here's the link....

  http://www.bambooarrow.com/video.html

Heck if you look at the pics, you could come away with everything you need right there...minus the staining and sealing info.

[K. Mogensen]

I can get the bamboo straightened I just need to figure out the sealing part. Very intersting site though. Thanks for posting that AkDan.