Home Grown Hunting Equipment for 2006/07 (UPDATE - Nov. 5th, 2006)

[TexMex]

Awesome!!
I the arrow shafts look like bamboo, to me anyways.    the leave on the rivercane wraps the node the this looks like there is a little stem coming off to one side.

Thanks for sharing.

[Osagetree]

Tex,
 Like I said switchcane, rivercane, bamboo,,, I don't know but it is what I've been using. This stuff only gets about 15 foot and the biggist stalks are only an inch or so. The stalk does have a sheath at the node, but like you say, it does have a small leaf branch at the node as well.

Thanks for your input.

And thanks to the rest of the gang for the nice comments!

  :D

[Osagetree]

After skining the snake I find it is over 6 feet streached out and pinned down. I like to put salt on mine though some say it is not needed. I do it because of flies and other insects. Salt keeps them away until it's dry in about three days in my out building.
 
After it is dry I'll scrap off the salt and roll up the skin to save for the backing on my selfbow.  

[4runr]

This is great stuff Osagetree.

[Jim Spencer]

Awesome build along OT,thanks for sharing...Jim.

[knife river]

Osagetree, this is as good as it gets!  You're setting the bar pretty high for the rest of us.  Can't wait to see the rest, although I know there's a long way to go, especially with the bow.  My hats off to you!  

[Osagetree]

[K.S.TRAPPER]

This is some good stuff,    Can't wait to see what you take with it.

[TimBow2]

GREAT THREAD  

[UK Bowman]

This is great.

[Osagetree]

I hope Brian does not mind,,, but I am modifying his arrow berry stain method for my own use.

The wife and I over the past two weekends have picked 16 qrts of blackberries and over a gallon of thimble berries.

Always thinking of gathering while in the woods,,, I remembered Brians post of the cane arrows he made for 4nolz.

 

 

I got to try something similar.

So here goes,,,

One cup of thimble berries for the red color and one cup of blackberies for the black color,,, I hope. Heated them up in the microwave for a minute or so to make them easier to mush up with a wooden spoon.

 

Berry mash'n
 

Pour mashed berries into a piece of ace bandage and squeze out the juice into a juice glass.

 

Now I have the juice I can't wait to try them out.

 

The six arrows already fletched will probably stay natural, but the rest I may stain if this works for me.

Dang the stain is not as visible as I like. The natural waterproofing of the rivercane won't absorb the stain.

I sanded a couple and this is what I got. There is a plain one in the pic to compare the result. Can you tell the black arrow from the red?

 

I think I will let the juice evaporate a couple days, maybe it will be more concentrated and work better.
I hate to sand off the rivercane natural seal.

[Shaun]

Them arrows will be red soon enogh - October. Good tale so far, really enjoying the build along for a whole set of gear.

[Shakes.602]

Amazing Work Joseph!!      

[Shakes.602]

I have a Question,  :rolleyes:   maybe a Dumb Question, but Why do you Leave that Front 1/4" of the Feather Stick up like that? Does it get Trimmed after all is said and done?
  I am going to do some Fletching like You just did, but didnt know what the Purpose with the Front of those Feathers. You are doing some excellent work Joseph, more  Artistry  than Work I think.          

[Pat B]

Joseph, Be sure you get all of the salt off of your skin. If you don't, it will collect any moisture that is available through R/H. That moisture will get down through most finishes you put down. The only way I know to get all the salt out would be to rinse and rerinse it. You may have already experienced this. I'm just passing on experiences I've had in the past.     Pat

[Osagetree]

Shake.602,
The tang on the feather helps me hold the feather with the string while tying it on. I like the looks of them also. sometimes it effects the flight of the arrow. When it's noticible in the flight of the arrow,,, I wack'm off.

Pat B,
Always warm water wash with a little dawn dish liquid, then a cold water rinse before glueing down the skin. Never have experienced any problems this way.

[Osagetree]

Why am I at the swamp?

Just gathering materials for my home grown hunting gear,,, again!

What kind of goodies can I find here?

   

Cattails??? You may ask why?

Well you see the Native North Americans used this for a wide variety of things. It was gathered and used for wigwams, flour, insulation, foods and medicines.

So, I slip on the waders, and in I go.

   

I ain't here cause I'm hungry! I want to make an arrow quiver.

Never done this before, so hang on for a bumpy ride,,, I figure anyways.

This one is coming from my own thoughts and a thread that inspired me here on the TRADGANG.

Please bear with me        

Select the longest reeds you can find. August would be a better time to gather the reeds as they will be at their longest point durring the year. You can use a knife, but you dont really need one. Cut the reed close to the stalk.

   

You may recognize the knife. It was given to me by ADKMOUNTAINKEN one of Tradgangs very own. I gave him a box call and he sends me a knife,,,, what a site to belong to.

Not real sure how many I need so I gather several bunches a little at a time.

   

Always keep an eye for snakes,,, might need another skin for backing        

   

[Frenchymanny]

             

Thank you Sir for the buildalong(s)

F-Manny

[Osagetree]

Well after that the wife dragged me down the road to pic berries for a while.

Here I found some small willow thickets. Could'nt get any pictures because the camera was full up.

I cut over a dozen arrow size shoots about 5 foot long to use as a sturdy frame in the quiver. Got a little carried away cutting them but, you never know this may not be my only quiver I make.

Anyways, I got the reeds and willow shoots back to the house.

 

I spread the reeds out in the sun on a screen for my front door, so that the air will dry them evenly. If you dry them in the shade the reed will stay green longer. Drying in the sun turns them to a tan color,,, so I am told.

 

Then I started on the willow shoots. Starting at the top of the shoot the bark is easily peeled with your fingers,,, if their good and green like these are.

 

I peeled these in about a half hour.

 

Using my uncanny & accurate system for making a quiver out of this stuff,,, I cut the willow shoots to a length of 50".

The small end (top) is a little bigger than a pencil lead and the big end (bottom) is,,,, well as big as it is....

 

Along with berry pick'n this was a good mornings work for a white eye!    

It's a good thing I got an understanding wife,,, you see the willow shoots are soaking in warm water in my bathtub. She dind'nt say anything when I took out the screen from our front door to dry the reeds on. But, I really don't know what she'll say when she goes to take a shower later tonight.

I'll let the willow shoots soak over night in hopes with a little heat I can bend them where they need bending.

Stay tuned,,,,,,,,

[Osagetree]

After soaking the willow shoots in the tub all night. I found my heat gun only dried the wood out when trying to heat bend the shoots. Actually the willows got stiffer with the heat gun than when I first cut them.

So, I tried steam bending. The steam worked but, I could not get the extreme bend accomplished I needed for the bottom of the quiver. The shoots would eventualy break before I got them where I needed them to be.

Back to the drawing board!