Anyone want a dogwood arrow build-along?

[iowabow]

I have been trying new materials for shafts and really like the dogwood arrows. So I am going to make a few more and thought someone might like a start to finish post. Anyone interested?

[gothmog]

Absolutely.  BTW, your boy been shootin that bow he made in Tn?

[iowabow]

Yes he has been shooing it. Ok well after finding good grove of dogwood i take my time picking real good and straight shoot shafts. Picking good shoots will save you time. Here are some  pictures of the tree and some of us shaving off the bark so they will dry faster.

[iowabow]

Isaac shaving bark

[JW_Halverson]

Not to put too fine of a point on it...but have you got that dogwood arrow shaft build along done yet?  Getting tired of waiting, I wanna seeeeee!

[markinengland]

It's well known that dogwood shafts take at least a few hours if not longer :>) to dry. No doubt we will have a nice series of pics of shafts drying!

[iowabow]

Not to put too fine of a point on it...but have you got that dogwood arrow shaft build along done yet?  Getting tired of waiting, I wanna seeeeee!

You can't rush child labor in the USA!

[JW_Halverson]

I would think getting Isaac to slow down would be much harder!

[AJMag]

[/quote]
You can't rush child labor in the USA!
[/quote]

I wish someone would have told my dad and grandfather that. I'm having flashbacks now.

I'm definitely interested in a build along. Just another thing that will have me busy on weekends.

[iowabow]

OK the bark on the four shafts has been removed and now I will weigh it each day.  When it is no longer dropping wt it should be close to dry. After it dries I will  spine it to the bow wt.  more photos to follow when it dries. I will record the drop in wt each day so you can follow along. If you have any question about what I have done up to this point please ask. I did forget to say that I cut each shoot extra long so that I have the option to move up or down the shaft to spine it. Be real picky when selecting shoots your time is important. Cutting and debarking takes only a couple minutes. This arrow takes very little labor to make.

[AJMag]

Is there anything special about drying shoots? Such as sealing the ends like a stave or hang them over bundling? I remember reading posts about straightening them by hand daily or weekly as they dry, do you do anything in particular?

[iowabow]

Yes I try to hand bend each day. No sealing that is why I cut  them long. This is a cake walk compared to the red oak shafts I made.

[iowabow]

The wet green shoot is now dryer and has a wt of 744 grains. This sounds heavy but remember it is long and heavy on one end. We will straighten them a little today.

[iowabow]

Here are a few more pics of the shafts. One has a dog leg but it is 60inches long. If this one spines ok below the dog leg it will not need to be part of the arrow. For now I will keep it to be on the safe side. No cracks yet. On the first arrow I made I had a crack form around a stem. Lucky it did not become part of the arrow.  So this time I left more wood and will trim lt later. Already the shafts are looking great and straight. The lengths now are between 40 and 60 inches. My draw is 25 and I make 28 inch arrows.

[Jodocus]

Thanks for posting this! I'm gonna go get me some popcorn and watch!

what kind of dogwood is this? cornus sanguinea?