Hi, I am ready to attempt making my first set of wood arrows. What would be the best type to start with? Any recommendations on where to buy? Thanks
Port Orford Cedar.
There are tons of places to buy supplies but take into consideration various shipping charges...You will find it more economical to buy everything from one source regardless of a dollar here or there.
I usually choose 3Rivers as they are close and I get what I ordered in a day or two, plus their tech support is great.
I've used a lot of Douglas fir from surewood. If you get the premium grade I think it's called most of the shafts will either not need straightened or very little. They are not much more that the hunter grade but well worth it imo. They say Douglas fir doesn't like to be tapered with the pencil sharpener type taper tools but I personally never tried it. I just use a jig on a 6" disk sander
2X on the Surewood Douglas Fir . :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by Graps:
2X on the Surewood Douglas Fir . :thumbsup:
I hear you guys on the fir, but he's a first-timer and I think POC is easier to work with. Just my opinion, of course.
Poc may be easier for sure. Never had quality poc so I honestly can't say. I was just speakin from my experience. I know a lot of people still shoot and love cedar arrows. Nothing wrong with that
Douglas requires a tender hand, and a sharp blade to taper with pencil type taper tools. It can be done, but I think I would recommend Cedar for the very first time. If it werent for the tapering factor, any of the soft woods are easy to work with. People get very particular about getting wood straight, and there is no need to get them perfect. Cane and bamboo are proof perfect isnt necessary. I hand straighten the best I can, and I shoot as well as most, so I know its not a huge factor. Just get them as good as you can and thats all you need.
I've been using sitka spruce and am a rookie arrow maker. It's fairly easy to work with and am having some good results so far. I haven't used anything else, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
POC
Another newbie to making my own, as well. For what it's worth --
I ordered POC from 3Rivers, spined 60-65. They required a fair amount of straightening (by my lack-of-comparisons judgement), but have stayed rather straight since. Weights ranged from a low of 398gr to a high of 442gr (weight matched are more expensive) - but both my recurve and longbow like them, and I can't perceive any differences when shooting them. They took stain, cresting and poly very well. Very pleased with them for my first endeavors, but I will be ordering doug fir for the next batch, if for no other reason than experimentation and learning.
I just got 100 hunter grade and they are absolutely fantastic. All 100 never had any flaws in them and they were all so straight I couldn't get them any better.
3X on the Surewood Douglas Fir
http://www.surewoodshafts.com/
Cedar is easier to work I think, yes, but the Surewood shafts I have received ( numerous times) have required no work at all except tapering for nock and point. In addition, I have yet to have a waste shaft. That is often not true with cedar of late.
I agree with the "don't use a pencil sharpener style cutter". Douglas fir seems grainier than cedar and won't cut as well. It sands quite well though and I think it is stronger than cedar. Contrive some sort of sanding wheel and jig and just do it.
I really like the product and treatment I got with Surewood. Yup, I still use some cedar, but I get kinda picky.
ChuckC
I'm also a fan of the surewood Doug fir. Well worth the $ and I would pay the couple extra bucks to simply have them tapered for you. You'll spend way more money time and headache trying to do it yourself. For $6 worth it
Scroll to the bottom of this link to the Surewood site, and follow along to my "Build-a-Long" that I did.
http://www.surewoodshafts.com/arrows.html
If you are wanting to make arrows, this a good, understandable How-to. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to ask.
Good luck, enjoy the journey, and MOST importantly...Take your time, and do not rush.
Get Premium grade, matched shafts. Doug Fir, Sitka Spruce, or cedar; and consider the weight you want for your finished arrows (what weight is your bow at your draw length? what weight points do you want to shoot?).
Surewood, Hildebrand, or Wapiti... depending on the shaft material.
And like Mike says, be sure to take your time. Straighten shafts between each step of the process. I still use hand held sharpeners, even on fir (can't yet afford a sanding set up) - but use a light, gradual touch. Be SURE your tapers are true ( spin tester, however simple, is a huge help).
POC, easy to work with and smell good when broken. Currently working on 4 doz as we speek.
Cedar is much easier to cut tapers on with hand held tools.