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Red Osier shafts

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Pat B:
Sorry I was unclear. The large end(butt) is the point end and the small end is the nock end. With a tapered shaft you automatically have weight forward. Unless the nock end is to small, I remove excess length from the front end. I never measure the diameter. I spine the shaft and remove wood with a thumb plane or sand paper to reduce the spine if necessary.  For self bows you want your shafts to be spined about 10# lighter than your draw weight. It has to get around the handle. Shoot shafts can get stiffer as they cure. Sometimes it can take a year or 2 to completely cure. Just because it is dry doesn't mean it is cured. Once cured, it will be more stable also.
  On a red osier arrow I have it is 30" long, 3/8" just behind the point and 5/16" at the nock.It shoots perfectly from my 55# to 60# bows at my 26" draw. This arrow weighs 599gr with a 125gr trade point.   Pat

David Long:
Thanks again Pat that clears it up. I have to wonder how Native Americans got around waiting for the shoots to cure. Obviously they used them right after making them. They must have HAD to do this frequently. We know many woods make good arrows, but what strikes me about this stuff is that it appears to be pretty darned easy to work with. Except for this waiting to cure business. Maybe they just cooked them in the fire and got on with things.

Dave

Pat B:
Like with Utzi, the Iceman they would collect as they went and only work a few at a time while the others cured in their quivers. With some materials you could heat straighten them and temper them to remove moisture. Most would check but some, like sourwood, would work.
   I collect lots of shoot shafts during the winter. I give or trade away lots of them but always have some left over from last year or before that are very dry...cured.
  Try greasing one down good and heating it up and down the shaft. Be careful at the ends because steam will come out and can scorch your hands.  You can force the moisture out the ends and the grease will prevent too much moisture loss along the shaft that would cause checking.    Pat

D. Tiller:
Nah! They just picked them way ahead of time and had a bunch drying all the time. They had time to do stuff like that that we dont these days.

Justin Snyder:

--- Quote from: 1/2primitive on April 28, 2007, 11:18:27 am ---Uh, yeah, what Pat said. ;D ;)
      Sean

--- End quote ---
Since I don't know what the heck he just said I have to agree.  ;D Just kidding Pat, good explanation.  Justin

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