Looking at getting some wood shafts.I like to stump hunt and small game hunt,so I'd like to know what is the consensus on the most durable of the woods.They will also be deer arrows as well.
I was thinking lam birch,but maybe you folks know something I don't(Which is alot.. :D )
A search of the forum really didn't give me much of anything,so I decided to post on it.
I pretty fond of ash, hard to break for sure, but not as easy as many others to straighten (and they will need straightening)
POC
I like Ash too, had good luck with them staying straight. I go through them once a day for a few days to make sure they are straight befor I seal them.
You realy have to try hard to brake one.
Eric
Lam Birch are The toughest Ive shot. But I like to shoot poc.
The good thing about ash, in my experience, though is that once you straighten ash, it stays straight for a good while.
But for small game, stumping, and the occassional deer...I'd go with POC. You'll go thru a lot of shafts shooting at squirrels and rabbits, and that can get expensive. I'd shoot the less expensive cedars, and homemake your own blunts for critters and stumping. It'll save you alot of loot!
In the heavier shafts, ash and hickory are the tough guys for sure, and in the lighter material it is tough to beat Doug Fir.
Having said all that mostly I just shoot POC-nothing else quite compares-and if they break-fix them with a Reparrow.
I'm pretty tough on wood shafts; I shoot fairly heavy poundage (about 70 usually), and am always hitting things with my judos that I shouldn't be, but these Douglas Firs from Surewood have been very good. None broken yet in about 3 months, and I do alot of shooting. Very little straightening was necessary; some excellent quality shafts all around.
Dave
Hickory and ash are probably the toughest, with and lam birch pretty close behind. They are also quite heavy. Of the bunch, the lam birch shoot the nicest for me. Ramin is very good if you can find it. Very tough, shoots well and reasonable weight. Dough fir is pretty good, too, and can be had in a wide weight range.
John @ Twig Archery swears by his RAMIN wood shafts---says they are VERY durable and I have seen them take some hits that would break other shafts
Ben
I agree with Bjorn. I think hickory edges out ash for toughness, but they're both tough. Doug fir is inbetween the hardwoods and cedar. Tougher and heavier than POC. Despite that, I shoot cedar most of the time.
I like lam. birch.I've tried most other out there and for consistancy and quality lam. birch from 3 rivers have been very good.
Do a search" Favorite wood for wood arrows" by me bentpole. I have shot tapered cedars for a few months and just tried some parallel Sitka Spruce. My opinion is that the Spruce is more durable than the cedars. So much that I just orderd a dozen taperd Sitka Spruce.These are the only two types I tried so far.
I received a test pack of Douglas fir from Surewood shafts and they were awesome. Everyone rolled clean on the table and they were very easy to work with. I cannot say how tough they are when it comes to stump shooting, but they are supposed to be heavier than cedar and lighter than the hardwoods.
I prefer bamboo but i just ordered some poplar shafts from john@twig rchery to try out,been wondering how they will wrk out.
I'm with Ben...that ramin from Twig archery is some tuff stuff. Hey Shikari,John's poplar is a great arrow wood too. Maybe not as tuff as ramin but a lot easier to taper. Give John at Twig archery a call. You will be glad you did.
I like the split hex shafts. Frank
I have not personally used ash but a friend of mine did and he and I both spent some time getting them straight. It did take some work and depending on how they are stored, they might need it several times over their lifespan but usually just a tweak.
My personal favorite for a heavy, strong shaft is maple. I've bought a few times from Silent Pond but it's been several years since I've used them. They varied quite a lot in the amount of straightening required and I usually had about 2 out of a dozen that were only good for flu-flus. They are heavy too. I have a very long draw and I was ending up with nearly 800 grain finished weight arrows. They were super tough though. I shot one square into a piece of angle iron on a target frame once and it bounced back real hard. When I looked at I was shocked to see that the tip had actually mushroomed somewhat. Usually, I'd had tips get a flat spot or push back farther on the shaft but this thing caved in the tip and started to roll back behind it! The shaft was just fine. Shot the arrow as it was for a year or more before loosing it somewhere. If I ever go on a moose hunt, these are likely what I'll carry.
What I shoot now is a compromise. I shoot POC but footed with a single point footing of either ramin dowel from the hardware store or black walnut dowel from a wood supply store. Someone else either here or on the *********** posted about this years ago so I can't take credit for the idea. I did a build along on this at one point quite a while back but I just did a search and couldn't find it so it must have been dropped out of the archives.
Basically, I use my point tapering setup on my table saw. I have a jig set with two grooves. One angle is for point taper and one for nock taper. To do a single point footing, all I do is locate the bottom side of the arrow based on nock and grain orientation and then put the shaft in the jig groove with that side facing the sanding disc. Then, I simply feed it in like I would to make a point taper but I do NOT rotate the shaft. On a 23/64" shaft, I end up with a single taper to a feather thin point that is about 3 or 4 inches long. Do the same with your footing material of choice and then use some Tight Bond 2 or 3 glue on both pieces. (type 3 is more water proof but the strength is about the same as 2) Lay the two pieces together and wrap with thread from one end of the splice to the other and back with about 1/4 to 3/8 inch spacing between wraps. I use waxed B50 bowstring material. It peels off nicely without sticking to the glue very much. You can put nice even pressure on the joint this way and still have a little working wiggle room for final positioning. Rolling the wound shaft on a flat surface like the table helps get things aligned nicely. Let sit until dried well. Overnight is best. Remove thread and sand lightly to remove glue residue and smooth transition areas then cut and taper like a normal shaft. I chuck the point end up in an electric drill to sand the footed area before I taper. Tapering removes and indentations caused by the drill chuck.
These shafts are VERY strong. I was skeptical of the single taper splice until I tested several by shooting into a rock wall at about 10 yards. This was from a 65lb at 32" bow and while the front of the arrow did shatter (Like duh!) the splice was intact. I shot the untipped shaft into the same wall and it splintered more shaft and got up into the spliced area but none of the splits/damage followed the glue line! I'd like to try something like hickory, maple, purple heart or osage as a footing but like I said, I've only done it with ramin dowel and black walnut. Black walnut is not super strong or heavy but it sure looks pretty. Purple heart, bloodwood, ebony or other tropical hardwoods would be much stronger, would help increase FOC and would be drop dead gorgeous.
By the way, this is a great way to salvage arrows that get broken behind the point too.
Maybe I'll do another build along if anyone is interested?
Dave,definately do a build along!We always love build alongs around here.lol I'd have been skeptical about a single taper splice as well.
From what I read,ash and hickory seem to be the top contenders here.
Ash for me. Spine and weight just come out perfect for my 50-60 lb selfbows. I find them tough and durable.
Ramin Ramin Ramin. If John at twig archery has them, order some, you won't be disapointed!
Please do the build along! I love wood arrows but am moving to carbon for competitions, I am the single wood shooter amongst my trad companions, it costs me plenty points! I am not changing for hunting though. Wood is the right thing for my hunting shafts. Sitka spruce, hex pine and douglas fir all good for me.
chrisg
For small game it hard to beat 3/8 ramin dowels from the lumber yard. Fletch with feather scraps left over from cutting full length feathers. I like to use a regular blunt. Total cost per arrow under a dollar! When you miss a high squirrel or your arrow skips into a multiflora rose thicket, no big loss.
Most 3/8 ramin spines around 80# so you will need to leave them long, use a heavy blunt and/or sand them down if you shoot a lighter bow.
Sitka spruce is tough stuff.
It's nice to choose a shaft that is native to your area. White Ash is prevalent from Iowa to the east coast and was my first choice when recently making the switch to wood. I haven't been disappointed.
All hardwoods (yellow poplar, ash, maple, hickory, ramin, birch, etc.) are at least twice as tough as any softwood (POC, spruce, fir, pine, etc.) according to the USDA Wood Handbook, the "bible" of wood people. Of the hardwoods, yellow poplar is the lightest in weight. Ash, hickory, and ramin are much heavier. Poplar shafts give arrow weights in the 550-700 grain range most of the time.
Twig Archery's hardwood Pass-Thru shafts.
Maple and Hickory.
ramin wood
My hat's in the ring for hickory...
ASH is hard and the best for staying straight.But when I was younger I shot in hte low 70's for years.And I knew a guy back in the 80's that I built 3 bows for 83,85,86 pound bows for.And I know for a fact that we had to shot HICKORY.It could take hits over and over that I could'nt shoot my ASH shaffs against.And he shot 10 pounds or so more than me.
A few years earyer I built I'm a 100 and 102 pound selfbows which he hickory logs from it.But I don't think he ever stump shot with either.
HICKORY