well im getin ready to start my wood arrow journey. i have narrowed it down to these two types or wood and would like your oppinion on the two. im a stranger to the whole thing about what makes a wood arrow beter than another wood arrow thing but am willing to learn. so what are your oppinions on the two??
steven
Both great woods. Cedars smell better when you break them.
I just received and finished a Surewood's test pak. I couldn't believe how straight they were....I didn't have to do a thing to any of them except start staining. All claims & testimonials from tradgang members met & exceeded.
QuoteOriginally posted by Grapes:
Both great woods. Cedars smell better when you break them.
well if i go with cedar i hope not to smell that to often. at least under the circumstances of breaking an arrow.
Cedar might be an easier option to learn on but you can't go wrong with either .....
Doug Fir can be a bit brittle if you are not doing tapers with a sander, other than that it is my choice these days.
brittle? i thought it was supposed to be a tougher shaft? i only have pencil sharpener taper tool since im starting out, i dont want an arrow thats gonna snap when im putting on the tappers....
Bjorn is not suggestiong that Douglas Fir shafts will break but that because it is not as soft as Cedar the finished taper has some nicks in it when tapered with a hand tool. My experience is that very straight, beautifully grained Douglas Fir is readily available, especially that from Surewoodshafts. I have gotten very good Sitka Spruce as well from Hildebrand and again in my experience, comparable Cedar shafting is very, very hard to find as in the number of times that I have tried I have gotten really good Cedar only once.
Start off with cedar, I do believe they are cheaper. If You don't like woodies Your not out that much money..
even if i dont like them $100 (ll the supplies and stuff estimate) is a lot of money for a 14 year ol kid with a steady job....
Bob and Rourke at Surewood shafts are going to great lengths to bring us the best doug fir shafts that can be bought.They take great pride in their work and really go through a great deal of logs to get even some that make the cut and their finished product is great or they dont send them out.Port Orford ceders are great too,dont get me wrong.But if you want a good ,straight hard hitting wood shaft that will take some punishment Surewoods are the stuff.Great guys tooo!And the fir shafts are heavier right out of the gate,if thats what you are after.Dont forget about hickory also ,if you can get it.
Bowhunter. I will gladly put the tapers on for you with my disk sander if that's what you need. You can pm me and we can work out the details. If you go fir the hand held is not advised as stated above. It will wear out your taper tool sooner as well.
Keeping the Faith!
Magnus
thanks for the offer magnus. whats so bad about using surewoods witha handheld taper tool??? i dint see why its so bad?.?.?.?
QuoteOriginally posted by $bowhunter$:
thanks for the offer magnus. whats so bad about using surewoods witha handheld taper tool??? i dint see why its so bad?.?.?.?
scrape your teeth across the top of a peeled hard boiled egg, then do it across the grain of a piece of celery. You can probably visualize the difference now. If not, just try it. It's going to tear the fibers, not cut cleanly thru them.
I know you asked about cedar or Surewoods, but don't rule out the German pine from Kustom King. Costs less for learnin'. I just ordered my second dozen tonight. I'm only one dozen ahead of you on the learnin' process. They accept stain well and the grain was straight on the last doz. They did need some slight straightening but they taper well with the twist tools. I got the 5/16 shafts. First dozen was 30-35 spine. These are 45-50 spine I have on the way. Ebony stain really brought out the golden growth rings.
I gave 7 to my father and kept the rest for stumpin.
do they work ok with cedars? ok one last thing before i got to get off my puter. i was lookin and found 2 types of arrows for cheap and want to know what yall think of them. there are some shafts on **** cheap for $15 for 12 and sure wood has the flu flu shafts for 1.50 a shaft. would these be good enough to start and possibly hunt with?
You get what you pay for, and they didn't come up with the saying "Buyer Beware" for no reason at all.
QuoteOriginally posted by $bowhunter$:
brittle? i thought it was supposed to be a tougher shaft? i only have pencil sharpener taper tool since im starting out, i dont want an arrow thats gonna snap when im putting on the tappers....
Go with the cedar the SW's are not going to give you a clean taper with the pencil sharpener type( I found that out first hand). If you do cedar it will give you a clean taper and that helps to make the finished product that much more prettier.It looks smooth and clean when done.Definite confidence builder.
Douglas fir is a harder wood than cedar. The hand held will want to make the taper rip more than cut. It's just the way of the beast. There is absolutely nothing wrong with cedar or Sitka spruce or any if the other named shafts as long as you get them from a quality supplier. A lot of sponsors will put the tapers on for you for a small fee. If you go douglas fir I recommend Braveheart archery. Tim will take good care of you as well as many of the sponsors on this site.
Keeping the Faith!
Magnus
QuoteOriginally posted by $bowhunter$:
even if i dont like them $100 (ll the supplies and stuff estimate) is a lot of money for a 14 year ol kid with a steady job....
This is true, But only the taper tool is for wood only. The rest of the stuff to make arrows can be used for carbons & Aluminum arrows.
I tried the surewoods and loved them. Getting harder to find good cedar
Steven look on the classifieds here and not the bay. you can always get cedars for a good price on the classifieds.
I just started making woodies last month. I used the info from the how to section called the .92 arrow
They fly great, are easy to work with and don't cost much if you mess one up.
I am very pleased with these arrows and know they work. If you are shooting 45 pounds or under you might check the .92 arrow out.
for a newbie venturing into woodie building, my advice is surewood fir. don't even bother with any other woods.
well i found a place where they taper the nock and point end for free when you purchace in the sponsers list (raptor archery) and theres 2 types of wood. sitka spruse and ash. has anyone used these compared to otherS?
You might want to reread the post above your last one. That's someone who knows and has the experience. Wood takes a lot of work as far as straightening and such. You'll have to do it several times. I'm sending you a pm with my number. Call when you can.
Keeping the Faith!
Magnus
Steven, If You are using a right wing or straight fletch I have some feathers You can have.
Send Me Your address in a P.M. and I will send them to You. I might have some shafts also if You know what spine Your shooting.
I would love to help out a 14 year old with a steady job if I can.
bretto
Just a note to the above advice. I use the Tru Taper tool with great success. Hand held with both nock and point tapers. The advantage to this tool is the blades are replacable and there are guides for 5/16, 11/32, and 23/64 shafts. This tool should last quite a while. It costs more than the other styles but works well with the shafts I have done (Doug Fir, Sitka Spruce, Ceder). This tool is the first and only tool I have used for tapering shafts. Provided you can afford it, I would recommend you go this route as an alternative to the less expensive taper tools. Above all, have fun with arrow building.
Good luck with your journey into Trad Archery.
Joe
$BOWHUNTER$
what spine and length to back of point do you need? I can probably fix you up in the surewood fir with tapers done one a wood chuck.
soory guys i had skool so i just got back it will take me a few to catchup on everything. thanks for the advice everyone. i use a 32" arrow and about a 65-70 # shaft with a 125 grain tip for any one asking.
thanks all,
steven
Surewoods for sure. Just because the tapers aren't pretty doesn't mean they won't fly great.
In my long archery experience the firs will last much longer than cedars.
maxwell thats exactly what i thought. plus i figure just a little bit of sandpaper would smooth it all out.
well im still lokin around and am hopin to find a deal on some shafts i can buy yet but i will soon...