Syringa Arrows

[Keenan]

 Well here are some pics of my first hand tied fletchings and primitive arrows made from syringa shoots. Juniper Junky showed me some neat tricks for adding the hardwood nocks and stripping the fletch. Dave said he's going to do a syringa arrow buildalong soon.
  The nocks are mountain mahogany and syringa shafts with turkey feathers.    Keenan

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[jamie]

nice job keenan. how come you footed the nocks . they look great just wondering why. i havent done syringa since the one in my yard died off

[Justin Snyder]

Looks great Keenan. Justin

[Keenan]

  Jamie, Thank you, the syringa has a fairly large pith center. The nocks aren't footed but rather have turned tip that inserts into the pith cavity.  Dave showed me the trick of cutting a squared peice,then just chucking it in a drill and using a grinder to turn a tip on one end to insert into the syninga. It's real easy and quick but I'll let him explain a little better in His buildalong.   
  Thanks Justin: I still got alot to learn on the arrows.    Keenan

[mullet]

    Those are some nice looking arrows Keena,But what is Syringa shoots ? Does it grow in the South or just out ya'lls way?

[Pat B]

Is it Lilac? Which species...or does it matter?   
  Those are beautiful arrows, Keenan.     Pat

[michbowguy]

nice lookin' sticks!!!

jamie

[jamie]

do you know what species it is. mine has pith but not that much to warrant a nock insert. . sort of kicked myself in the butt for asking though seeing as the latin meaning of the name actually refers to a hollow tube

[Keenan]

  Thanks Guys for the compliments. As far as the variety of syringa I'm not sure. I'll call Dave and see if we can get Him to chime in here and give some more info.  He cut the shoots and gave them to me. I do know, that they came from the creek bottoms here in Central Oregon. And He said it has a white flower when in bloom. It is a Lilac and I'm really impressed with how strong and durable it is. Dave had told me it made great arrows and He's definately got me convinced.       Keenan

[Kegan]

Sweeeeeeeeet .

[juniper junkie]

keenan and I just got back from a harvesting trip!!! I will post another thread on that big adventure. the syringa i am using is a member of the lilac family, and is the idaho state flower, so you can research the specs from there. it grows in rocky areas in the northwest and california.  it is a extremely flexible wood. when you cut the shoots they are limber and can be straightened by hand, remove the bark and they start to get stiffer, you need to straighten the shafts as they dry, after they are dry, then you can use heat to help. the wood becomes dense and rigid, my hunting arrows for elk were 55-60# spine and weighed around 650 grains, they were tipped with obsidian heads. I will do a build along in the next couple of days.

[joewaco78]

I am jealous Juniper hehe.. Does that happen to grow in most creek bottoms in OR?

[juniper junkie]

I am jealous Juniper hehe.. Does that happen to grow in most creek bottoms in OR?

mostly on the east side of the cascades in the more arid areas.