Bare shaft breakage

[TSA]

 sounds like a good chunk of wood. nice ring count!
yes, hemlock is a bit more "brittle" than some other woods- but makes an awesome shaft none the less- heavier than spruce- not as heavy as Fir- about the same as chundoo.

tell me what spine you are looking for- i will have all kinds of odds and ends here- if you pay the shipping- i will send you some spruce and might even have some hemlock

[Tuomo]

Here you can see, what really happens:

Too strong arrow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBq0Wr6H7uU

Just right arrow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI-jGc5PWRk

You can see quite a significant difference!

I have there a lot of other videos where you can see what happens when arrow is too stiff or weak or just right.

[Philipp A]

Hi DC, I find that hemlock in my area (Eastern Canada) wants to splinter. Is it different from Western Hemlock? I have not used it for arrows so I am by no means an expert in this.

[Blayne]

Your issue is as Wayne says, standing too far from the target. I have done the same thing with my spruce shafts and it is very frustrating. Called Wayne so he could talk me off the ledge lol. The nock end will snap around quickly and snap that shaft like nothing. The woods have lots of strength through them pile to nock, but laterally thats when they break. I have found that with all the softwoods I have shot. Clip a hard object, like a live tree, suddenly changes the direction and they lift a splinter, or explode. Spruce, poc, hemlock or fir they all seem to perform well, until that sudden change of direction. And I beat the tar out of my arrows:)

I have found western hemlock to be a solid arrow shaft. Nothing to complain about thats for sure. I need to do some bare shafting soon, maybe we can work together on it. I have a foam block target I can bring.

[DC]

Last one I broke I was 10' from the target.

[TSA]

you do need to be reasonably close to the final spine- thats where the charts get you off on the right foot.
was the shaft showing weak or stiff when it broke, go up or down a spine accordingly and try again.
if you are too far off, they will still break at times.

another thing i have done, is take your test arrows to a field- and shoot them- watch how they fly.
use a judo- or shoot at an angle that wont lose the shafts.
that can get you close without breaking shafts.
when you have a shaft that is a bit long and still a wee bit weak- then start bareshafting.

this is only necessary if your bow is an anomaly- and defies the charts.

[Knoll]

If shooting from just 10' and shaft is reasonably close to appropriate spine and you're breaking shafts . . . your release may be culprit.

[DC]

The last one was too stiff. All the ones I've broken before were too limp so I erred on the stiff side. Judging by the chunk left in the target it was nock right by maybe 3".

[TSA]

mmmm, shouldnt have broken if it was off center by only 3 "
dunno what to say my friend!

[DC]

I keep thinking that the face material is too strong and has no give. It's that heavy white tarp material that big tote bags are made from. But if that's the case I'm sure someone else would have had the same problem. Maybe Knoll is right but I don't know where to go with that. People say, "Your release is wrong" but I've never seen anything to say what to do to correct it.

[TSA]

Lnoll has a good point.....
can you get a video of you shooting.
ask Blayne to help as well.
my release was horrific for years- then i had someone just observe and help me- what a big difference it made- its still my Achilles- but manageable.
even just videoing yourself- and watching it yourself may be a big help- you may see yourself doing something that you are not aware of.
this chart may help some.
but my view on form, is that you rarely find two trad shooters with exactly the same form. more important than form i believe is consistency.
even if its bad- its the same thing over and over- and the brain can adjust the aim for it.
however major errors should be rectified, then just shoot and have fun!

[TSA]

but in all honesty- i wouldnt go and get all in a knot- trying to change your form- you can end up chasing your tail.
get Blayne to give you a hand, and lends some extra eyes to it!

[Blayne]

I think having a partner when tuning is a good idea. Watch flight, release etc. I will find some time to come visit soon:)

[DC]

Sounds good.