rose shafts

[andy thomas]

saw a post about rose shafts on here and was wondering how long do you guys wait till you remove the bark on the shafts? do you seal the ends? about how long do you wait for them to dry before you start straightening them?

[Pat B]

Rose will check badly if you remove the bark too soon. You will probably have to season them for a couple of months.
  Some folks suggest that if you remove all but the last 2" of bark at each end the shaft won't check and will dry quicker. I have done this successfully with privet which will usually check if the bark is removed. Try it with a few rose shoots and see if it works. If so it will save lots of time drying.

[JustinNC]

Pat, what is your process for sourwood? Leave bark all the way on, end to end, until dry? Or similar method to what was posted about privet and rose. By the way, how do you like that privet Pat? Jonathan C and I attended a workshop the other week and they said privet was just about the most widespread invasive exotic in the USA. I think it was something like an estimated 8 million acres of it covered the US. Surpassing kudzu if I remember correctly Jonathan? Only makes sense that we cut it and put it to good use. I don't think it's leaving here any time soon.

[Pat B]

Justin, with sourwood you can peel the bark off as soon as you cut it. I went for years bundling it up and waiting months then scraping the bark and cambium before I straightened them. Now, as soon as I cut one I'll scrape the bark off. Takes 15 seconds. I've never had a sourwood shaft or shoot check.
  I have to thank Hillbilly for that jewel of archery info. 
  Privet makes a very good hard hitting heavy arrow. Jackcrafty(Patrick) has a build along in the "how to" section where he makes plains style arrows(I think) using privet.

[JustinNC]

Sounds good. Lots of privet around.

[Mark Anderson]

What Pat said is true rose will check badly if all of the bark is removed, but I have stripped all but the last inch and a half of and there seems to be no problem and it dries much faster. Make sure you cut them bigger than you need because all of the rose shoots I've cut shrink a lot.
Mark

[andy thomas]

thanks guys

[wood]

I'll second the fact that rose shrinks like crazy.

[Qwill]

I just started using rose shafts and i have found a couple of things. First, don't cut those with green colored bark. They seem to be young shoots that have a large pithy center. Red bark and the obviously old, gnarly-gray bark shafts are much, much stronger. Secondly, remove the outer layer of bark ASAP. There is an inner layer of bark that is very fibrous (which I believe would make decent cordage if peeled off green) that seems to keep the shaft from checking. I have seen the shafts split every which way with this layer removed too soon, but have not seen a split if this layer is left on. Thirdly, I have had good luck heating the shafts after only a day or so -- sometimes sooner. With the inner bark still on I heat an straighten while there is still quite a bit of moisture in the wood. Then everything seems to dry quickly with no (or very few) splits. I guess I just can't stand to wait a month or two.

[Pat B]

Experimentation and the sharing the knowledge is what PA is all about! 
It is good to know that Qwill. I tried removing all but the last 2" of each end and that seems to work on privet and other shoots prone to checking. Leaving the inner bark is another one I will try. Anything to speed up the drying time is good...BUT, nothing beats well cured wood for bows or arrows!
 A comment on not using the green barked rose shoots...it gets back to using only second year growth or older for arrows. Generally, plant shoots will have leaves along their shoots the first growth year. The second year small branches grow from near the leaf scar left from last years leaves. These or older shoots are what you want for arrows.

[lowell]

I usually strip the bark right away and have not had a problem with checking. But come to think...the ends usually have some bark on them since I expect to cut each end to get my proper length.

 The only time I have ever collected rose shoots was in the dead of winter.  Would that also help reduce/stop checking??

[Pat B]

There is less water in the shoots during the dormant period. That could have something to do with shafts checking less that are cut in the winter.

[andy thomas]

cutting in the winter sounds better than standing in the heat with the bugs too! lol

[Hillbilly]

Multiflora rose seems to check less than some of the native roses if you peel it soon after cutting.