heat tempering for spine

[radius]

hey, i see people use heat to increase the poundage of their bows (by cooking the belly)...so i got to thinking:

Can I increase the spine of my arrows by doing the same thing?  I have just made six arrows, and a couple of them are way "bendier" than the others...i thought i could cook 'em and stiffen 'em up...any thoughts?  Anybody try this?

[ricktrojanowski]

Jamie from the site, just told me about doing this to boo shafting.  He said he toasted some shafting until it turned a nice bronzy color and it ended up giving them about an extra 10# of spine.  I don't know about wood shafting though.

[Pat B]

I temeper all shoot and cane arrows I make. Not necessarily to increase spine but to help keep them straight. If hear tempering works to strengthen bow wood, why shouldn't it do the same for arrows. When you do temper your arrows, give them a few days to rehydrate like with bow wood.
   You can also reduce the length, if they are long enough to begin with, and achieve positive weight increase results.    5#s per inch.     Pat

[radius]

but,are they still matched arrows if they are not the same length?

[Pat B]

When dealing with "primitive" arrows, none of mine match. Lengthwise, most are around 29" but they are different materials, different fletching styles, different feather types and very few of them are the same weight. I never worry about matched arrows. As long as they shoot well and go where I'm looking they are fine for me. Before hunting season I pick my best, add the points I'm gonna use and try them all again. The best of the best is what I hunt with.      Pat

[JackCrafty]

The difference the heat tempering will make is about 10%, I think.  So, if the arrow is spined for 50# then heat tempering will give you a 55# arrow.

For me, a 10-15% spine difference is the range I use to match my arrows....so heat tempering doesn't give me any real benefit.  If I've got a "really bendy" arrow, then 10% probably won't stiffen it enough anyway.....but I haven't tried it to find out.

Try it, and let us know how it works.

[GregB]

Pat, do you use a heat gun to temper your arrows?

Thanks,
Greg

[Pat B]

Greg, I usually use the gas kitchen stove but a heat gun would work fine.     Pat