Heat Treating Shafts

[hillbilly61]

How are the cane shafts heat treated? Saw some at the Howerd Hill SE Clasic and thought they looked real nice.

[Josh]

I usually just use heat to straighten the cane, not to actually treat it... I would be afraid I would mess up my straightening job by adding more heat after straightening it..  Thanks again for the bamboo backing strips man!  Cant wait to use them soon!   

[hillbilly61]

You're very welcome Josh . Hope they make a perfect speed demon for ya. I see some that say they are straightened and heat treated. Just wondering why and how.

[Pat B]

After I have straightened cane I will start at one end and heat it over our gas cook stove, rotating then as I work sown the shaft. Be careful of steam at the other end. I generally only scorch a little color here and there down the shaft for camo. After heat treating I let them rest and rehydrate for a week or so, laying on a flat surface.

[hillbilly61]

Thanks Pat. Is that what turns them from thr yellowish to a more golden bronze color?

[DirtyDan]

I agree with Pat.  I just made a dozen cane arrows for a lady and I am working on a dozen for myself.  Even green, the heat treating works great.  I straighten them first using an alcohol lamp from 3 Rivers, then set them aside, then come back and heat from end to end, scorching slightly to make sort of a camo pattern.  Then set them aside, then do a final straightening.  By then they are nice and dry and yellow with brown stripe areas.  They look and shoot great.
Dan

[agd68]

I use a heat gun instead of a stove. Works better for me.

[sailordad]

i dont use a lot of cane(does grow in my climate here in mn )
but i have used some
i have used a heat gun,candle,grill and even a can of sterno to do the straightening and tempering
it all seems to work the same,they get straight
its up to the person doing them to be satified with "what is straight enough"
dont know if tempering them actually helps stregthen the cain or not
its already super tuogh stuff as it is
like the rest i do it more for a camo pattern than actually caring if it helps strengthen them or not

i have used heat on red osier to help strengthen them after they have been straightened,also helps to keep them straight for a longer period of time