How many of you have used a compression block to take larger diameter shafts and reduce them down to smaller diameter and hight spine? How did they work for you in spine and weight?
This is the first I've hard that an average person can compress their own shafts. Would love to hear more from those who know! dave
I've been considering buying a compression block as well. There has been a thread or two on this topic before. Folks have reported variable success. Apparently there's a fair amount of breakage. But if memory serves, most are getting OK results reducing shafts one size, i.e., from 23/64 to 11/32 or 11/32 to 5/16. But it appears too much of a squeeze to go from 23/64 to 11/32 to 5/16.
The block doesn't increase the spine, at most only negligibly. However, it enables the user to start with a higher spined, heavier arrow and compress it down one size such that the resulting shaft is higher spined and physically heavier than one can normally find in the same diameter.
It's mostly the outside of the shaft that's compressed. The wood isn't compressed throughout the entire depth of the shaft as were original Sweetland forgewoods in the 40s and 50s. Also, Sweetland compressed blocks of cedar before squaring and doweling that were thicker on one end than the other, which yielded a shaft that was substantially heavier on one end than the other, i.e. built in FOC. Sure wish those folks in Alaska would put that Sweetland machinery back to work.
Until then, we'll have to struggle with this block, but it apprears to work well enough. Last time I checked, the Cedarsmith, a shaft supplier out of Colorado, also supplied compressed shafts. He,too, uses some sort of die) to compress them.
I have a compression block that i bought from 3Rivers. I took 11/32 shafts and compressed them down to 5/16. The block works good you loose about 3# spine after they run through the block, it comes with directions and is easy to use.