rose shoot arrows.. finished arrows!!

[lowell]

Had posted a couple deer I had got with osage bow and rose shoot arrows this fall. Someone said I should showhow I made the arrows.  Ihad said maybe when deer season wound down.

 Well I have been collecting some shoots so I'll attempt to explain what I do.  Don't claim to know it all but the arrows have been working pretty good for me.

 I would be glad to learn something from this too so please add anything that may help me make them better or easier!!
 
  Bear with me and here goes!!

 First go collect some shoots... be fussy, hey don't get straighter after you get them home to the shop.  Also get them a lttle bigger than you think you need.  They seem to shrink a lot after they are dethorned, scarped and dry out. Get a avriety of size so you can get an idae of what you will need to get them spine right for your bow.

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[lowell]

The next thing is to get rid of the thorns... I scrape them off with a sureform rasp and gloves!

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[lowell]

Now I remove the rest of the bark/outer layer of shoot.  I use a scraper like I use to scrappe bows.

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[lowell]

I built a bit of a jig to straighten the shoots.  I just slide the shoots betwwen 2 pieces of wood and bend back and froth to get rid of the major bends. You can't do to much yet to straighten them now when they are so green but just get a start at getting them straight!!

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[lowell]

Now just put 8 or 10 shoots in a bundle and wrap with tape.  I put equal number of thick ends and thin ends together at each end of bundle.  I also try to move shoots so they are as straight as possible in taped bundle as they can be as they dry.

 Just set aside and let them dry for maybe a week.

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[lowell]

After they have dried a week or so I start to straighten in jig again but with some heat from a heat gun.  Use the jig or just straighten by bending with hands. You won't get all the bends out right away, just rebundle and do again in a few days as needed untill they are straight

  Slight waves from end to end don't seem to bother the arrow flight but you don't want the arrow to have any arch from one end to the other.

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[lowell]

Here they are starting to get straighter but I'll keep working them on and off and rebundle after each straightening.

 Would like them to be dry for maybe a couple months but not really sure how long it takes.   Depends how busy I am and how antsy I am to get them to shoot.  Dryer is no doubt better!!

 I have 2 batches I'm working on.  The one batch has been drying about a month already.  This is how far I am with them right now.

 Will post more when I do more work on them!!

If I'm  not making something clear just ask and I'll try to explain better!!

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[Cromm]

Hi, Man they look great!!!!!! Could you tell me what poundage your bow is that you shoot these arrows with? Steve.

[DanaM]

Thanks for sharing lowell, nice build along. I like the straihgtening jig thats a great idear.
Now I have another project to get to

[whatareyadoin]

Like the straightening Jig Happy Christmas

[lowell]

Hi, Man they look great!!!!!! Could you tell me what poundage your bow is that you shoot these arrows with? Steve.

  I'm making these arrows for a bow somewhere between 47# to 54#.  This is the poundage I try to get when I'm making a new bow. The bow I hunted with this fall was 47# @ 26" but would like to try one at a few more pounds!!.

  Some of the shoots will spine higher and some lower. I'll sort them out later. Not sure how heavy an arrow could be made from the shoots before they get too big!!

[Otoe Bow]

Neat Build-a-Long Lowell.  Can't wait to see more and I too like the jig and the ingenious Heat Gun holder. 

Otoe 

[Hillbilly]

Great build-a-long. Rose shoots make good arrows. The only time-saving tip I will add is one that my wife who doesn't make arrows taught me-use rubber bands on those bundles. They tighten as the shoots shrink, and I'm more likely to take the bundles apart and hand-straighten them more often if I don't have to deal with tape or string. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build-a-long.

[chessieboy]

This might be silly but I have some over grown rose bushes around the house that the wife wants to get rid of. Will these be alright to use or are the wild roses different that the ornamental ones?

[DanaM]

Good question , I would have to say no difference. If you can get some fairly stright
shoots of the appropriate diameter they should work.