Ok long story short. Went to the archery range today with some cedar arrows. I had 3 crack and 1 completely shatter just hitting the target butts! My question, what was it about those arrows that caused that to happen? My last batch of cedars from the same company shot just fine and didn't break unless I hit metal or rock. So what gives?

Was the grain correctly oriented.

Could they be badly underspined? I never heard of that happening. It's hard to damage wood in processing so much that so many failures happen. A possibility is brash wood from a leaning tree, but it's not really likely. Brash wood breaks across the grain instead of making long splinters.

I would stop shooting the batch and contact the supplier and ask to return them for replacements. Wood that breaks that easily is dangerous to shoot.

Hi Justin,
   I wonder if the wood dried beyond what it's connective cells would tolerate.  I have wood do this to me from time to time where the wood was improperly dried and honeycombed inside, mostly thick stuff but you never know.  Another possibility is terrible grain run out, I have had cedar strip just blow when I have put some torc on them for the strip boats.  Any way good luck buddy, Joe

Was the target butts frozen solid?

I agree with SS   check first to see if the butts were frozen.
ChuckC

Lol no the butts were not frozen, we are actually having unseasonably warm weather at the moment. I have retired the remainders of the batch and will shoot my aluminums for the time being until it is sorted out. Thank you for your suggestions.

Interesting, I had the same experience with my first set of ash shafts. My target was a little frozen but not rock hard. So here is what I think I might of done incorrectly, I cut my shafts on my table saw and I'm wondering if even if it looked like a clean cut maybe they were not. Maybe I need a high speed cut off saw. How did you cut your shafts? - Steve

Very strange-- Ive shot a million cedars and never had any thing like that happen. Send them back, ask for another batch--most dealers would make amends.

My guess is too dry.  I had a batch of doug fir I was working and hand straightening a bit and had 2 or 3 just snap as soon as I began bending them.  That wood was so dry it was impossible to do anything with.  Probably kiln dried in this instance.

i've had similar problems in the distant past with cedar shafts, where the wood just snaps off, almost cleanly.  never figured out exactly why they busted.  

ain't gonna happen with hex pines or cane shafts!

sdpeb1

I never had to cut the shafts, they were  pre-fletched, sealed etc. All I had to do was taper them. Glad to hear that this isn't a totally isolated incident.

I had few incidents like that in the past.  What I found out was my arrows hit something hard burried in the butt.  I guess some arrows did not use the right glue for their points and the points fell off and got stuck in the butt.

Rob,

It did happened with my cane shaft oncewhen my bamboo arrow hit a point burried in butt. The shaft just snapped at a node.  Looks like the node is the weakest spot for cane shafts.  

For 2 times on my cedar shafts, they snapped off right behind the point when they hit the points in the butt.

Points fell off from shafts happened more often in the winter.  The cold weather seems to make the glue/epoxy brittle.

I agree with Don Stokes, I'd send them back and ask for a refund.I dont know about you guys, but what we are getting up here for cedar shafts is not much better than kindling. I switched to spruce and Bamboo. Lots of local guys are giving up wood altogether and going to carbons.

"Another possibility is terrible grain run out..."
WOODWORKER

Agree.