Arrow Woods

[WILL CAROTHERS]

Hey again, i want to start making split shaft arrows where i saw out blanks and plane the corners etc; i used a few pieces of scrap cypress to try it, and it seems like a cool new technique, and much cheaper than buying shafts.
The question is, what woods from my local hardware store would be best, we have poplar, pine, regular cedar, and fir. I know all of these are sold as shafting but which ones would be easier to make using the technique im thinking of?

[red hill]

Will, I've worked a little with poplar and it does okay. Make sure the grain is as straight as possible.

[Pat B]

I'm shooting poplar shafts now and love them. I didn't make them but they were cut from board stock and hand doweled.  IMO poplar would be a tougher shafting of any you mentioned.
  Both sapwood and heartwood poplar work well. The heartwood will probably make a heavier shaft but the sapwood is very good shafting too.

[Roy from Pa]

Will, go harvest some river cane.

[okie64]

Im shootin poplar shafts now also. They are very durable and not as heavy as some of the other hardwoods. Cedar and fir would probably be the easiest to work with of the woods you mentioned. Ive never tried the method you're talking about with poplar, i usually just by the poplar dowel rods at the hardware stores.

[Living_waters]

Poplar makes some tough shafts. Go to your big box lumber stores and you will find all there building lumber stamped SPF (spruce, pine, fir) the mills just use what ever they are running at the time. Spruce and fir makes some good arrows, the softer pine both (yellow and white) are sorry. You can tell the difference generally spruce has finer hard winter growth rings. Firs tend to have a wider hard winter growth ring. Look at your clear lumber section and that is mostly fir and spruce. Spruce to me stays straightest of any shaft I have used. Martha Stewart tomato stakes (bamboo) from wall mart makes the most forging.I like them for squirrel hunting they handle glances off trees good.