Author Topic: Pressure treated wood arrows (Read 443 times)

draco · « **on:** July 13, 2007, 09:58:00 PM »

I read in Old Timers column a mention of pressure treating wood shafts with Watco Oil. I`ve used Watco Oil to finish my arrows for over 20 years and i`ts great, but would love to push it into the wood to make it heavier,stronger, and even more durable finish. There were no instructions though. Does anyone know anything about this.

OzarkRamblr · « **Reply #1 on:** July 14, 2007, 12:39:00 AM »

oldgriz · « **Reply #2 on:** July 14, 2007, 07:38:00 AM »

There was an article in TBM about 2 yrs ago about this.... the guy used a piece of pvc tubing to soak the arrows... he would take them out periodically to weight test them and put the light ones back in... he eventually got them all within about 10 grains of each other...
Now if you are just looking to get the oil into the arrow completely, you can build a pvc tube with a t at the center and a screw cap on one end... get a fitting for the t that will allow you to use an automotive vacuum pump (the kind they use for brake bleeding) put in your arrows fill with oil and pump away... leave sit for a while and see what the results are.
Just remember that not every arrow will accept the same amount of oil, so you may get some big weight differences

Rod Ham · « **Reply #3 on:** July 14, 2007, 11:51:00 AM »

I have done the long soak method a number of times with excellent results. If you are wanting more penetration than that, I would second the vaccum type of setup mentioned by oldgriz. Much safer than a pressure setup and can be done with several different setups. I do not know how much the brake pump can pull but there are all kinds fo hobbyist and professional vaccum pumps availabe that could help get the job done. I would still want to have a relatively long soak time . Also make sure to weigh and mark all shafts before putting them in the tube. You can then check them after to see at what rate they absorb the oil. I also found that keeping the setup in a warm garage helped greatly with the rate of penetration, but less so with the total amount absorbed. Have fun with it. You get some really tough arrows out of the deal.

SuperK · « **Reply #4 on:** July 14, 2007, 11:30:00 PM »

Draco,just curious; how do you use the Watco oil? I have always used Tru-oil; normally about 3 or 4 coats. Smooth it on with my fingers..let it dry and buff lightly with fine steelwool. Do you stain your shafts first or just use the Watco oil?.........Rod Ham, how long do you soak the shafts in the Watco oil? How long do you let them "dry". What are the advantages of the Watco oil over Tru-oil? A finish that is IN the wood rather than ON the wood would seem to be more durable. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

oldgriz · « **Reply #5 on:** July 15, 2007, 10:09:00 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by SuperK:
Draco,just curious; how do you use the Watco oil? I have always used Tru-oil; normally about 3 or 4 coats. Smooth it on with my fingers..let it dry and buff lightly with fine steelwool. Do you stain your shafts first or just use the Watco oil?.........Rod Ham, how long do you soak the shafts in the Watco oil? How long do you let them "dry". What are the advantages of the Watco oil over Tru-oil? A finish that is IN the wood rather than ON the wood would seem to be more durable. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

Truoil is a surface finish... generally used for gun stocks.. it does not penetrate deep into the wood.
The Watco oil will penetrate the wood deeply. It obviously will take a lot longer to dry because it penetrates so deeply...

R.W. · « **Reply #6 on:** July 15, 2007, 11:39:00 AM »

Would "double boiled" linseed oil not do the same? I *think* that Watco is mostly linseed oil, anyway.

The British arsenals used to dip rifle stocks in tubs of near boiling linseed oil. That oil goes nearly all the way through an SMLE stock.

Heating the oil may help get deeper penetration of the arrow shaft.

*The oil is FLAMMABLE! If you do try the heat thing, please take all safety precautions necessary.*

For vacuum pumps, I have read that skateboard shops sell a kit for making custom skateboard decks, and this kit comes with a very good manual vacuum pump.

If you could place your dipping tube in some sort of double boiler, and use that to heat the oil to around 220 F, you should get very good penetration, especially if you also use vacuum.

Orion · « **Reply #7 on:** July 15, 2007, 09:39:00 PM »

I've done the pressure treating with Watco several times. Use a piece of 4-inch PVC pipe topped off with a plug into which a metal bicycle tire air valve was screwed. First put in the oil, then a dozen shafts or so with enough oil to cover them when the cap it put on. Put on the cap and then gave it some air with a bicycle pump. Don't really know how much. Usually let them sit for several days to a week. 11/32 cedar shafts came out of the tube nearly 200 grains heavier than when I put them in. However, they bled for the next week, during which time I wiped them down daily. Ended up with a net gain of about 75 grains per shaft, which is the same I get if I let them soak a week or more without pressure. So, I don't use the pressure method anymore. Even soaked without pressure, the penetration is usually completely through the arrow.

jdemoya · « **Reply #8 on:** July 15, 2007, 11:23:00 PM »

Do you guys have any problems with loosing the points/broadheads with the oil dipped arrows? I have had problems with the hotmelt glue. I have not tried epoxy yet, but I will next time I loose a field point in a target.
Thanks.
God bless,

Jose

draco · « **Reply #9 on:** July 16, 2007, 10:31:00 PM »

SuperK, I`ve aiways wiped my shafts down with a liberal coating of Watco Oil on a paper towel, then wait a few minutes and then rub them down with a piece of lambs wool.Even this light coating will soak in some. The stain is in the oil already. It leaves a slightly shiny finish. It doesn`t absorb any more finish with a second coat. You can crown dip with any oil based paint. It`s the easiest and I think one of the best finishes you can use. I`ve already made a PVC tube with a rack to hold two doz. shafts, but after my test run the cap was very hard to remove. I could tell it would`nt last for repeated use. Planning to build one out of steel pipe next. An engineer friend says the vacuum won`t work, it has to be pressure. I wonder how many pounds for how long. I want to add 50 to 70 grains.

SuperK · « **Reply #10 on:** July 17, 2007, 09:28:00 PM »

Thanks for the info, Draco and ya'll. Just might give it a try for my next batch.

Rod Ham · « **Reply #11 on:** July 29, 2007, 12:30:00 PM »

SuperK,

Sorry for the delay. I just started a new position and have been remiss in checking back on posts. I tried everything from a few hours to a week. What I ended up doing was (Phase 1)weighing all shafts before I started, marking the shafts and putting them in the tube for 24 hours. I then took them out, wiped them off and reweighing them. I would take out any shafts that were excessively heavy and put them aside for stumpers (usually only one or two in two dozen). I then took out the majority of the shafts that fell into the same weight bracket, usually ranging about 30 grains overall, and put them aside to dry. Finally (Phase 2) I put the remaining light shafts back in the tube and checked them every day. When they fell into the overall weight bracket of the majority of the arrows I put them asisde. If they quit gaining weight and did not make weight I put them in the stumper pile as well. I kept repeating Phase 2 until all arrows were accouted for. Normally I ended up with 3-4 arrows in the stumper pile from two dozen.

I had the issue with the sticking cap until I quit using the cap end to remove the Watco. Instead I took a piece of 3" pvc 36" long and cut it 10" down from the top. I inserted a 45 degree reducing tee and reconnected the two pieces with the tee pointed to the 10"side. I put the screwon cap on the 10" end and a regular cap on the other end. I put a 2" pipe on the tee and left it long enoug that it was level with the top or screw in cap. It is best described as a spout. Use the spout to fill and drain the tube and check the level of Watco ocassionally.

Hope this helps.

Ham

42WLA · « **Reply #12 on:** July 29, 2007, 03:14:00 PM »

I picture would help. It sounds like a good system.

I plan to try it with my next set of POCs.

SuperK · « **Reply #13 on:** July 29, 2007, 03:29:00 PM »

Rod Ham,thanks for the info........

Rod Ham · « **Reply #14 on:** July 29, 2007, 08:07:00 PM »

42WLA,

It has worked well for me. Here is a picture:

http://brazoscountyarchery.com/images/stories/soaker.jpg

I will be glad to answer any questions i can.

Rod

draco · « **Reply #15 on:** July 29, 2007, 10:17:00 PM »

Thanks Rod for the info. I`ve used Watco Oil for ages and truely love it, but have always wanted more weight,agout 70gr. or so. When you said you got that much by long soaking I pretty much quit thinking about pressure treating shafts. Where in Texas are you at? I live west of Georgetown close to the lake.

42WLA · « **Reply #16 on:** July 30, 2007, 10:15:00 AM »

Rod, thanks for the pic. I'll give it a try. This thread should be archived in the how-tos.

Rod Ham · « **Reply #17 on:** August 03, 2007, 11:30:00 AM »

You are welcome.

Nice area draco. I am located over in Bryan.

hickstick · « **Reply #18 on:** August 03, 2007, 05:40:00 PM »

I know some in the knife making world have done the vacuum think with knife scales and say it works. one even made up a rig with a simple 'food saver' type thing (if I remember right)....I'll see if I can find more info...


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