Making wood arrows -- starting out

[Archie]

My brother and I inherited the stock from my dad's old archery shop when he passed away 15 years ago.  Along with the aluminum arrow shafts we've been using for years, there are hundreds of wood shafts.  They are not marked, but they are separated into several different groups, I'm assuming by spine.  These shafts have been sitting in dry storage since at least 1979. 

I want to start using the wood shafts, and am especially hopeful that I can start making wood arrows for my daughter and her brand new 30# @ 28" Maddog Prairie Predator.  I've been fletching my own aluminum shafts for many years, but my setup never changes and all I know is what works for me (spine, aluminum, 5" parabolic feathers...)  I don't even know the way to reference "arrow spine" weight that will work with my daughter's lighter bow.

I'm familiar with the basic premises... taper tools, crestors, stains, dip tubes, spine tester, etc.... but is there a "best resource" out there that I can go to, like a book I can get?  And there anything to be especially careful about, with using these shafts that have been sitting for so many years?

[Tedd]

Yes. It is all on here. Just search wood arrow making. Suppliers like Three Rivers Archery and Lost Nation have everything you need in a one stop shop.

You are looking for tapered cedars, old growth fire killed Rogue River shafts in 80-85 spine. Those you want to sell to me!

Tedd

[McDave]

I don't like to reply to anyone's post with a downer, but my experience with old wooden arrow shafts and the experience of friends also is that when untreated wood shafts are stored for many years, particularly in hot dry California summers, they become brittle and shatter easily when made into arrows.  Maybe where you are you don't have hot dry summers and that wouldn't happen, I don't know.  But if the only reason you're doing this is to use your dad's old arrow shafts, you should make sure they are still useable.  Most wood arrow shafts need straightening.  Maybe a good place to start would be to see if they can be straightened without breaking.  Then make a few of them into bare shafts with just point and nock and shoot them into a bale or target at close range to see if they hold together.  If they do, then make a half dozen into arrows with feathers, applying whatever finish you want to use without trying to get too fancy.  Shoot them for a while and notice if they seem to break too easily.  A good wood arrow will eventually break if used under normal conditions where you occasionally miss the target and it goes into the ground or hits a wooden surface, or maybe right away if you hit a rock, but you should get at least a few hundred shots out of it as long as you don't hit semi-hard surfaces too often.  I really hope these work out for you, but I thought I ought to add a note of caution.

[Orion]

I dunno.  My experience hasn't been the same as McDaves.  I've been shooting wood for more than 60 years and have found a lot of old wood shafts over the years that I've put to use. Never had a problem with POC.  Did run into some old Doug Fir one time that was very dry, and brittle, as McD describes.  But that was a rarity.

Regardless since you don't know the spine or weights of the shafts you have, you're going to need to buy (rather expensive) or borrow a spine tester.  Will also need a grain scale, but can pick up a good electronic grain scales for $20 bucks or so. 

[durp]

 :)Just a thought about bare shafting wood arrows...if they are the correct spine then it might work out...but...if they are not the correct spine they will impact the target at an angel and you run a much higher risk of them breaking in the grain run out...if they are brittle you'll know it!!!

[M60gunner]

I would flex the shafts before doing anything with them. I also have had older Cedar shafts become brittle. A couple were about 10 years old or so. One shattered just hitting the target bales made of compressed carpet. What I have done to put some moisture back into the shafts was apply Tung Oil to non fletch area. The Cedar did soak up some of the oil.

[ozarkcherrybow1]

3Rivers spine calculator in the “ask the experts” section is an excellent resource for most types of arrows including wood. It is fun to play with to see how different weight of points and shaft lengths effect the spine.

[Ray Lyon]

As a starting point you can go to the how to forum right here on Tradgang and find lots of information on wood arrow building. Three rivers archery and Kustom King archery both have lots of wood arrow making products. If you have a lot of wood shafts or want to be serious about wood arrow making, I’d suggest getting a spine tester.  I use the one made by Ace archery that hangs on the wall. It’s about $120 and very serviceable. You can also get a full-size one that sits on the bench however they’re about 2 to 3 times the price. Good luck, making wood arrows is a lot of fun and very satisfying.

[TSP]

Raw wood arrows 'can' develop issues over time if not properly stored or stored under very dry/wet/poorly-stacked conditions but these factors are secondary if storage and shaft quality were good to begin with.  No wood arrow is perfect, most can be readily straightened and they were never intended to be without their idiosyncrasies.  They are, after all, traditional wood arrows. 

Perhaps the key to shaft durability/usability of any age is the quality of the grain. Shafts with too much grain run-out (grains runs laterally at a slant rather than horizontally from one end to the other, or those that develop natural bowing due to poor grain orientation) likely won't last long regardless of how old they are.  Those with straight grain can and do last for many years if properly cared for and built into arrows with care.

Maybe a good place for you to start is to sort your shafts for grain quality (examine the grain run), and-spin for general straightness (no tools needed, just sight down the shafts and hand spin to check for any 'odd wobble'), and label them for overall soundness...before spine-checking them.  Best not to try and sell those with oddities or excessive grain runout...save those for tomato stakes along with your carbons    That'll at least tell you what you have for 'starting quality' shafts before getting serious and spending lots of time/money on equipment.

I envy your situation...love those traditional wood shafts.  Enjoy the work. 

[Tim Finley]

My main hunting arrows are made from old shafts I bought at a shoot from a fellow that was selling old archery equipment. I look for them all the time I never had one break because they were old and brittle I hope it doesn't happen .

[Gordon Jabben]

Yes, I buy old shafts when I can. Some of the older ones are perfection.  The quality of the wood shafts made by acme and rose city really deteriorated during the 1980's.  The ones you have are most likely cedar and will be fine. and with cedar, you don't have to worry too much about grain runout like you do with douglas fir although with the grain run out they will need straightening. I think you will really enjoy the process.