rose shafts - how?

[stuckinthemud]

I went out to cut some hazel shafts and stumbled across a good size wild rose bush.  I cut a few nice shafts but i don't really know what to do with them.  I have built bamboo arrows by drilling out the pith at each end for an inch or so and plugging them with a softwood dowel (I hardened the bamboo with cyano and bound it with cotton ).  I will be using glue on field tips, not inserts. Do I treat rose shafts much the same?  What is the best way to deal with the nocks?  They will be target arrows.

Thanks
Andrew

[Pat B]

Like most hardwood and cane shafts I bundle fresh cut shoots and set them aside to dry. I use rubber bands for the binding as the shafts loose moisture they shrink and the rubber bands keep the bundles tight. You can use cordage also but have to keep an eye on the bundles and re-tighten them as they shrink. You can also unbundle every week or so and hand straighten then re-bundle. This will get them pretty straight before final straightening.

[Buckskinner]

I harvested several dozen multifloral rose shoots last winter and set them up in bundles of 12 with zip-ties. Let dry for several months over my shop furnace.  I soon found out that there is a lot of shrinkage with the rose shoots so I only got about 6 or 8 out of the bunch that were that 45-55lb shaft range, but no big deal. I debarked, straightened/prepped as you would any other shaft and then cut self-knocks and glue on field points with pine pitch.   They made excellent arrows and will be putting some broadheads on soon.

[GlisGlis]

I take the thorns out (  http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,72422.0.html  )
cut and debark except an inch or so at tips (tips will check)
bundle in groups of 6 to 10 tied with rope
Every couple days after cut I straighten them all by hand. no heat.
usally it takes 3 or 4 sessions  (6-10) days to have them almost perfectly straight
then let them complete the drying
They usally check at ends (that I'll remove) and sometimes where there was a thorn
Checks at thorn are not a concern. they just add character
when dry I sand them at will, do self knocks, fletch...

Knocks. I drill a hole where the string will sit and open a slit with a knife tip moving from the hole outward. then refine with sand paper. Last i secure with glue and thread (sinew would probably be better) just below the hole.

[stuckinthemud]

So I don’t need to worry about a pithy centre?

[Pat B]

Not at all. A sinew or thread wrap is all you need to hold it together.

[stuckinthemud]

Fab

[stuckinthemud]

Right, so, the shafts have been drying few weeks, been working them straight, though they were pretty good to start with. I need them for target shooting.  Before I cut to length, any recommendations on diameter for 26” shaft and draw weight between 30 and 40lb?

[Pat B]

Start out using the small end and make them 30" long and give that a try. If too light of spine cut 1" off the point end and try again, etc.