poplar arrows?

[flyfish1]

anybody have experience using poplar shafts please share. Thanks.

[SuperK]

I got some from Twig archery several years ago.  Lots tuffer than cedar.  Heavier too.  Made a good, medium weight arrow.  Price is good too.

[Bill Skinner]

I got some tapered shafts, they were used, maker unknown.  I made some really heavy arrows from them, one would not stay straight no matter what I did.  And I couldn't even lose it, the others were great, they rank right behind fiberglass as my preferred hog hunting shafts.  Heavy and tough.  Bill

[Sal]

Poplar is good, tougher and heavier that cedar or sitka, but not as heavy as ash or birch.  I would call it the perfect wooden hunting shaft.

[moose eye levi]

Tapered poplars from Twig are my bread and butter arrows always reliable, excellent service and craftsmanship. Best arrows I have thus far, but I am going to experiment with some Ramins.

[Don Stokes]

If they're well manufactured, they can't be beat. Assume you mean yellow poplar.

[calgarychef]

The arrows recovered from the Mary Rose were made of poplar.  Seems it's been a "popular" shafting for a very long time.

[Cromm]

I like it a lot. Seems to be a better wood than POC and because not a lot of people use it or know of it, it is very cheap to buy.
Thanks for your time.

[deaddoc4444]

I Like poplar too.  I am in the middle of making some arrows now on poplar shafts .  They take a bit more time to straighten than POC  but they usually stay pretty straight .  Certainly   heavier  and a bit denser than POC  They are   also stronger . Ones I am making right now  im  making with Self Nocks     I like poplar  for self nock arrows due to their better strength. I get mine from Lowes or HOME DEPOT AS 3/8 Dowells and I taper them my self .   YOu just have to watch for grain run off  when you pick out the dowels and    try to get  straight ones  .

[4est trekker]

I love 'em.  I, too, make them from dowels purchased at the local lumber yard.  Each time I visit I picked out all the straight grained, knot-free dowels they have.  I take them home, cut them to 30", straighten them, weigh both their spine and mass, and then bundle them in like groups.  I can make very close tolerance matched sets that way, and the price is right at $0.25 a shaft!  I agree, too, that they're a touch heavier and tougher than POC, as long as they're fairly straight grained.  I find them a touch easier to stain than POC, birch, and spruce as well.  Here's a few poplar matched sets:

 

 

 

[Jack Skinner]

I agree with above. Poplar makes a great arrow. I make parallel shafts and hardwood footed poplar shafts. I turn mine from boards bought at lumbar stores. I find them to be tougher than cedar, not as brittle as douglas fir, and easier to keep straight than birch. I am still trying to learn how to pick out the perfect board for making shafts in the spine/weight perfect for me.

Seeing Don Stokes ask about yellow poplar made me wonder if the lumbar yards sell only yellow poplar or some other variety. With a little research I found yellow is from the east coast it is the tallest of hardwoods most readily available and not a true poplar but a mangnolia. And it is what most lumbar stores offer.

All in all a really good arrow wood IMO.

[RAU]

What diameter dowels are you buying forest trecker? Theyre real nice looking arrows. what kind od apines do you find in poplar dowels?

[ron w]

Got 2 doz. from Twig Archery last year, straightest shafts I have ever seen, good price also! I like them.

[Don Stokes]

Right, Jack, yellow poplar actually isn't a poplar at all, it's in the magnolia family. True poplars are in the willow family, and include cottonwood and aspen. They aren't nearly as good as yellow poplar for shafts.

[Jack Skinner]

Don

If cottonwood made good arrows I would be the richest arrowsmith in the west  

[Don Stokes]

I hear you, Jack. Cottonwood makes high grade pulp, but not much else.