quick dry cane/bamboo..

[aero86]

im thinking of trying it.  but i was wondering if anyone else has tried it.. basically just heating it up, like laying fresh shafts over a bed of coals..  i know it might dry them out, but i was gonna try it as an experiment.  im poking a hole or two between the nodes of course.  and the shafts have dried a bit already, so its not a fresh job.. just wondering..

[stringstretcher]

I am sure it can be done and has been, but I can not make arrows fast enough, that I usually don't have cane drying by the water heater in the basement to be ready by the time I finish what I am working on.  If you have cane available, got cut you a big batch, get it drying.  In about two week, go cut another big batch.  By the time you finish using up all of the first batch, you will have the next one dried and ready to work.   Just keep the stash going and you never run out.

[aero86]

yeah, thats a good idea. wish i had a water heater at my house.  got one of those instant water heaters

[crooketarrow]

    I'm not sure about cane but I know shoots will warp and take exture straighting. Had a friend that use to do just that. But did everytime around a camp fire. I like to bundle. Hang up at the cealing over a stove. NOT AS FAST BUT MORE OF A CONSTENCE HEAT. It dose cut down on the drying time if your in a hurry I'm sure. How much quicker I'm not sure. I'm slow when it comes to building anything.

[Pat B]

Since reading this thread I decided to do an experiment. I went for a walk this morning and cut 6 pieces of hill cane. Since it has been bleow freezing for a week now I decuded to let the cane acclimatize an hour or so inside our house but then when room temp I slid them under my wood stove. I will monater these for the next few days or week and see what happens. They will stay under the wood stove except for a little hand straightening.  I'll report of the results and as we go along.

[aero86]

groovy pat.  how hot would you say it was under there?  can you hold your hand under there for any length of time?  just trying to get an idea..

[artcher1]

Give your cane/boo about a week to lose the bulk of it's moisture, drill some relief holes at the stem scar as you mentioned, and slow heat until done. Seal the holes with super glue and dust as you finish out your shaft. Quick and easy. Have fun and enjoy..........Art

[Pat B]

aero, I can't hold my hand on the tile under the stove. The air temp there isn't all that bad but the radient heat is hot! I did notice after an hour or two under the stove that the cuts at the top and bottom were sticky. They were loosing a bit of moisture after they were cut so the sticky sap indicates moisture loss.
  I do this with sourwood shoot with very good results. Since I found out they wouldn't check I usually strip the bark as soon as I cut sourwood and I can put them fresh under the stove and in a week they are ready for final straightening.
  Art, the bundle of cane I cut last week is still on the front porch air drying before they come in the house.

[aero86]

the holes, do you just make one inbetween two nodes?  in the leaf scar, right?  think i might do this to the cane i have drying and see if it dries quicker..

[Pat B]

There was a video of an Asian guy straightening cane arrows in a steel oven. He would work the shafts in and out of the oven, rotating as he went along and straightening by hand and back in the oven. I think he would drill a small hole at each node to release the steam and pressure.

[Sparrow]

 Just go cut a bunch of shoots every year.Bundle them tight and put them away.I've got wild rose shoots that are 10 yrs. old,talk about golden. They make the craziest,cool arrows ever. No checking,no worms or beetles,dense,hard, the best. Rasp off the thorns and bark, heat straighten,work down till you hit the right spine,cut to length,fletches and points, Killer. just put a bundle away every year.  The regular stuff is dry in just a few weeks if you bring it inside. Makes really good arrows. Seal and shoot them till they bust. Make more. The cycle of life for the arrowsmith. Some of those really old shafted arrows will go thru several stone points before the end of the shaft. I can't wait to see how long the cane and bamboo last. Maybe......longer than the man  '  Frank

[hillbilly61]

I've been keeping about 6 cane shafts i my work truck,in the window, with the defroster blowing on them. I t takes about 5 days for them to be ready to straighten and shoot.

 I've been thinking of building a bos out of ductboard, with a flex vent. Attatch this to a space heater (electric w/blower) I'm going to make this large enough to put a couple dzn shafts in. My bet is they would be ready to work in a week.

[RidgeRunner]

If you are in a Real Big Hurry scrap the outer wax coating off the cane shafts.
Placed in a very warm place, with a bit of air flow, they will dry in a week. 
The shafts will have to be sealed after they dry.

David