Author Topic: I love collecting arrow shafts (Read 9386 times)

aznboi3644 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 02, 2011, 12:28:31 pm »

I'm sorry but I dont know what salt ceder looks like. The only known shoots I know I have are viburnum and bamboo...the big bundle thats tied up and a bush I have no name on.

aero86 · « **Reply #16 on:** January 02, 2011, 12:31:33 pm »

Quote from: broken arrow on December 31, 2010, 12:13:01 pm

I love collecting shoot shafts too. I have one area where the Ocean Spray ( Ironwood) is located in 20 ft firs and makes them reach for the sunlight and are really straight . I cut them about 36 in long and seal the ends with glue and bring them into the house . Over a few weeks they dry slowly through the bark . I leave them on my work table where I must walk by them regularly and straighten them when they are still green. Daily or weekly tweeking will give a really straight shaft . The bark dries very hard and does not have to be removed . I push the round part of a screwdriver up and down the shaft , when the shaft is drying. This does two things, it polishes the bark and flattens out the nodes. With a piece of sandstone I lightly sand out nodes that will not compress. The bark is dark brown when it's dry and requires no finishing material to water proof it.

Winston

this sounds interesting, do you have any pictures?

broken arrow · « **Reply #17 on:** January 02, 2011, 01:22:39 pm »

Will send pics soon .

stringstretcher · « **Reply #18 on:** January 02, 2011, 02:52:21 pm »

I would love to see those pictures too broken arrow

JackCrafty · « **Reply #19 on:** January 03, 2011, 04:31:40 pm »

JEB, I use salt cedar for foreshafts on my kid's arrows whenever I can get it. The heart wood is VERY tough. The inner bark is thick so I have to harvest shoots with a larger diameter compared to the other shoots I collect. It can also be a bit wavy. I straighten the shoots in stages.