Looks like I need to get my hand on some fat next then! I guess it depends a bit on the materials themselves since they're natural, but roughly what ratio of fat to wax is in the glue? 50/50, or does it usually lean more to one or the other?
I hadn't thought about this being a naval find, so the materials used on land or in other periods might have been different, but it does indeed make perfect sense now that you mention it.
When you say ash doesn't handle water well, what exactly happens to it? Is it just more susceptible to rot, or does it make the arrow break or crack?
I don't know if you split your shafts yourself, but do you have any tips on how to get the most out of a log, or to get a better success rate for a beginner?
I've split 2 smaller arrow length logs thus far, but I don't know if there's a better way to do it before I go at the larger logs or if I get that aspen. I think the larger logs look straighter, but they also have a few knots, so maybe there won't be many straight shafts in them. Anyhow, the way I split the other day was by splitting the maybe 7" diameter logs radially into eighths, then removing the excess of the eighths with an axe until I had a very rough square of about 12mm. I feel like I should have left a bit more meat on them so I could plane them down to square instead, so they were more even in thickness throughout their length. I guess my question is at what size blank do you move on to a plane and do you make it square with a plane or some other tool? Also, on a larger log, do you get more shafts by splitting tangentially instead of radially?
Sorry if the last wood splitting questions aren't in your area of expertise or if my writing is a bit messy!
