I have a few hundred board foot of 4/4 and 5/4 cucumber magnolia. It has been air drying in a barn for at least 5 years.
Would this be suitable for arrowmaking?
Is there anyone who would like to trade some of this wood for finished arrows?
Joshua
It's in the Magnoliacae family along with Yellow Poplar, which has good straight grain and is used as an arrow wood.
I don't have any personal experience with it, but since you have it laying around, it's worth a try. You may have discovered the next great arrow wood! I'm sure someone with shaft making capabilities will take you up on your offer.
Run a search for Poplar arrows and you'll find quite a few folks on here that use them.
Never tried magnolia but poplar is hard too beat. I've build a bunch of shafts from yellow poplar and taken many game animals with them.
Get yourself a shaft shooter or dowel maker and go too town.
Mike
ttt
PM Don Stokes, he is the man to know in all things pertaining to poplar shafts. Also a wealth of knowledge on woods in general. He'd be the fellow most likely to have experimented with this particular wood.
Cucumber and yellow poplar are very similar in grain structure, but cucumber is a little stronger and heavier than poplar on average. Both are members of the Magnolia family. It should make excellent arrows. Based on its properties I would have used it for Superceder shafts but I couldn't find a reliable source. It grows very well in the Mississippi delta region.