Pine Arrows?

[RedStag5728]

I've seen a lot of people favor POC, Douglas Fir or even Poplar for arrow shafting, but how about Pine?

We've got a lot of small diameter standing pine forests by the house and quite a bit of them have died and are already starting to fall over. So I decided I would like to recycle them and make some cheap arrows out of them by cutting them into 32" lengths and then using the table saw to cut them into 1/2" x 1/2" square raw shafts. I saw a method on youtube of a guy using a steel plate which he drilled a hole the size of his desired diameter shafts, and then drilled holes on the side of the main hole to act as a cutting surface, and used the drill to spin the square shaft through the hole which cut the shaft into a dowel.

Video Here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR9-gdNdZAA

Details about his method here:  http://www.ibuildit.ca/Workshop%20Projects/Jigs/dowel-maker-1.html

So my question is would Pine make a suitable shafting? And what would be a better method of converting the square shafts into dowels without buying an expensive dowel maker jig (if the method I described is impractical)?

[Greyfox54]

Sounds like it would work , please let us know if you try it out . I beleive Chundoo arrows are made from northern pine and they work great .

[fujimo]

yup chundoo, is lodgepole pine. and seems to be favoured by the guys shooting warbows.

[centaur]

I have some chundoo shafts; they are tough and straight, but don't have the good smell of cedar. For my money, they are a very good shaft.

[RedStag5728]

Ok I'll definately give it a go. I was just wondering if pine might be too soft of a wood.

Thanks

[Mark Baker]

Pine is a great shaft material...like has been said, straight and tough.   It's also easy to work, and easy to make shafts from.   I've made a bunch from straight grained 2 by 4's....too good (deemed by me) to use in a framed wall, so I cut arrow shafts from them.   Good luck...it's a fun project!

[highplains55]

i shoot the hex pine from whispering wind ,they are strong and fly great!

[Jake Fr]

Look at lee valey and veritas tools for a basic dowle maker cost bout $45 and watch the vidio building the footed shaft he shows how to make jigs for this tool and it works great

[mtnwalker]

that's awesome idea, maybe do a build along.  like the idea of using "too good for framing" 2x4's. seems like you could get quite a few out of them.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Yellow pine was sold (and may still be) as Chundoo a few years back, and by all accounts made a good arrow.

[chanumpa]

I have tried chundoo.Its o.k.Didnt find it as resiliant as po ceder or doug fir,but hey it is readily available for you so what the heck.Also, you might find a good used shaftshooter dowel maker.Ive got one and they are a good unit.Trick is to find good enough wood.If I can find wood were I can count say 7 grouth rings in a3/8sX3/8s square it will usually make a good shaft,then its a matter of what they spine out to and weigh.Good luck.

[gringol]

I believe chundoo is actually lodgepole pine.  Also, I don't think all pine species are created equally, so some might make a better arrow than others.  That said, I don't see the harm in trying the pine to have, maybe it's just ok, but maybe it's an awesome arrow shaft.  Go for it.

[helo]

I have had good luck with lodgepole pine for arrows. I prefer doug fir but pine has not let me down.

[RedStag5728]

Yeah what I was thinking was to help recycle some of the pine trees on the property, but if I do I will definately keep an eye on on the grain of the wood.

I was looking at the dowel maker you were talking about Jake, and the item you were talking about for $45 is actually the insert to the dowel maker. I would need to buy the dowel maker (which is the "Basic Dowel Maker 1"") for $195 and the 5/16", 3/8" insert for the $45. What I want to try to do is mitigate the costs as much as possible and provide a penny pinching way to do so.

I've actually decided I am going to settle on the method used by Volkmar Hübschmann (from the book "Bow Accessories":  http://www.3riversarchery.com/Bow+Accessories+Book_i7830_baseitem.html),  and create a shaft planing box out of angled steel profiling bars, 4 square steel bars, a 2x4, and wing nuts. It uses a hand planer (which I already have), and an adjustable (through the wingnuts) "V" groove cut 2x4 (in the book he used Pertinax), by which he can adjust the height of the pertinax to his running rail (made of square steel bars) which provided the running surface for his hand planer, so that he can change the relation of the pertinax to his running rail allowing him to adjust the diameter of his desired shaft. He had it set to where either ends of the pertinax (two wing nuts)could be adjusted so that he could create tapered shafts if he so desired.

I know it's kind of hard to explain and I'm sure the picture of his design isn't coming across clearly for those who don't own the book. But believe me the concept and design is really simple. The hardest part is using the hand planer to shave off the edges of the square shaft. Which then once that's done he uses a smoothing box (openable 2x4 box with two different size diameter holes drilled out using a router, and a brass rail clamped with screws to hold the sandpaper in) to make final adjustments to the diameter he desired which in his case was 9mm or approximately 11/32" = .34375

Once I get the materials and get it going I will definately post pictures. I would like to do a few shafts to ensure the method is reliable (to make sure I follow his design right     ) and to see how efficient it is in a reasonable amount of time.  

I decided to go this route as opposed to using a steel plate with holes drilled in it, is that is relatively dangerous! I would have to support the other end of the shaft from wobbling as I use the drill to pass the shaft through the plate. So it's better to be safer than sorry, and plus we don't have a drill press (just an electric drill and drill bits lol).

So I'll look into the materials and go from there!    

[magnus]

I was told by a trusted friend that pine begins to rot quickly once dead so you might want to test some first. I had the same thought as you with the dead pine on my property but it was too brittle and rotten to use. NOT trying to pop your bubble! Just don't want to see you get hurt or waste a lot of time getting wood ready. Try a small amount first and go from there. You will have to make A LOT of shafts to get matched sets. I admire your drive and determination though. It's all about the journey.

[Jake Fr]

No they make a nother one that is cheaper I will get the correct name for it I have one

[Jake Fr]

I went and looked its a verritas dowel and tennon cutter I have made some hackberry arrows with it and it works great

[RedStag5728]

ok I found it. Yeah 29.99 is cheap enough! I will surely give it a shot.

Magnus, I understand what you're saying and I appreciate the concern. I'll definately keep an eye out and check the quality of the wood before I do anything.

[Jake Fr]

if ya get one and build the jig I used a copper tube to keep the arrow from whiping around as itfeeds through and a guide in front of the tool to belp keep it straight as any turn in the shaft can put a dog leg in it