really primitive bowhunting

Question for the primitive bow hunters out there .
Ive been making split shaft arrows by splitting off cuts of straight grained cedar siding and then carving and sanding to an appropriate diameter . Unfortunately I can only get my shafts so straight ,but not quite straight enough . I am a fairly skilled wood carver so its not really a question of incompetence with a knife .
Any thoughts on how I can garuntee a perfect shaft ? Ive been thinking of making a jig and steam box , or even trying to make some kind of natural resin laquer { to provide a stiff shell around a wood core after manipulating the wood }.
Ive been hunting with a hemlock long bow I carved last year {about 60#} and Ive been making medieval style Iron socket point broadheads , so Id like to find a fairly low tech aproach if possibe.
As of yet I dont have enough faith in the accuracy of my self arrows to inflict them on anything but targets , so Ive been hunting with factory aluminum shafts and commercial broad heads. Any info wood be appreciated as it wood get me a lot closer to a true primitive hunt . Also any general info on primitive bowyering techniques , material preferences , and arrow making would also be appreciated , you can never learn too much

I haven't been into the wood arrows for 20 yrs or so but you likely know that most wooden arrows were made from Port Orford Cedar, they have very good strength and fairly straight grain and can be straightened. What about trying to find some end cuts of cedar that are left in the log slashes and try them if you don't want to buy woods?

I don't mind paying for materials , but there arent any archery suppliers up here , and I do like to be as self sufficent as possible . I do like your Idea though , Think I'll take the chainsaw out this weekend .

These guys aren't "Primitive" but their idea on the shafts might help you.

http://www.hexshaftarrows.com/

Maybe try making some that way and then taking it to a lathe to round it off? Sorry - I'm not a wood worker at all, just thinking out loud.

Any and all thoughts and Ideas are appreciated , even if theyre not based on personal experience . If you think it could work I'd love to hear it.

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Originally Posted by Bow Walker

These guys aren't "Primitive" but their idea on the shafts might help you.

http://www.hexshaftarrows.com/

Maybe try making some that way and then taking it to a lathe to round it off? Sorry - I'm not a wood worker at all, just thinking out loud.

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Neat idea on wood shafts, have you tried them?

No I haven't tried them - yet. But I like the concept. Should help the spine quite a bit, I'd think.

The hexshafts are hard to get and keep straight. I have tried them and wouldn't recommend them. There are lots of fir logs in your country. Cut some chinks 34 inches long and then rip the pieces into 3/8 inch square shafts. Build yourself a jig, chuck these into a drill and run them through a dowl maker. They make great shfts. If you have to chuck a couple its no big deal because they were free to start with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Onesock

The hexshafts are hard to get and keep straight. I have tried them and wouldn't recommend them. There are lots of fir logs in your country. Cut some chinks 34 inches long and then rip the pieces into 3/8 inch square shafts. Build yourself a jig, chuck these into a drill and run them through a dowl maker. They make great shfts. If you have to chuck a couple its no big deal because they were free to start with.

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I Just finished up a batch of hexshaft arrows (haven't been able to get them out yet), but I also had problems straightening them. The one upside is that they weigh out somewhere between cedar and birch (~600 grains). We'll see what happens when I get out and shoot them, but they fought me in making them for sure.

Not really primitive but if you have modern tools then Yellow cedar makes good arrows , the wood can be twisted so choose a good piece . Yellow cedar is closely related to Port Orford cedar. Fir works but you want the really tight ring stuff , fast growth is too coarse ringed.

Since you are doing the primitive approach consider shoots , from shrubs , not sure what is around your area but look for willow along train tracks and ditches . In warmer places on the coast ocean spray has really good heavy strong 2 year old shoots that make very good arrows, you can even prune them so you have a future supply of shoots year after year .

What width are the limbs of your hemlock bow ?

Start with the straightest grain wood you can find. Heat is your friend when it comes to straightening shafts. Heat them up then either bend them the opposite way or even put them on a concrete floor and roll them with your foot. Something else you could try is to find a pipe or similar the diameter of your shaft and about as wide as your hand and run it back and forth over the arrow to straighten it. If you really want to get primitive, find a rock with the right size hole in it. :)

Fir makes nice arrows- especially if can find some old growth straight grain pieces. Watch it for moisture content though- too dry and it might shatter when you shoot them (usually about mid shaft when they hit the target.

Yellow cedar is nice to work with too but it can be difficult to get the right spine so you might have to go larger diameter. I have been playing around with bamboo lately- heavy and tough!

While not strictly "primitive" these are yellow cedar (with hand spliced feathers)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20...ity/splice.jpg

These are my latest attempts- bamboo with rose wood nocks

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20...y/0abe7ae4.jpg

Can't seem to find a pic of the rosewood footed fir ones I made a few yeas ago.

Making your own will certainly keep you busy! lol

RC

Very nice looking work on the arrows, Tuffy!

What kind of feathers are those in the lower picture I really like the grey striping . Are they turkey ?

They are white barred turkey feathers. Ebay special. :)

Nice work Tuffcity!!

I also like tha bow in the back ground , I'd like to do a laminate one day. What kind of wood is that , how thick are the veneers ?

The riser wood is bubinga and curly maple and the limbs are yew under glas. I have no idea the veneer thickness as I didn't make the bow.

RC

If you want to make shafts from sprouts, some suitable woods are: Dogwood, viburnum, red osier, wild rose. Oversized (both ways) shafts are cut in winter, bundled and seasoned, then shaped and sized. Straightening comes later and after much work as previously mentioned. Basically it's grease and heat and also a tedious process.
Personally, I much prefer a firearm

thanks chuck , I prefer guns too , but I find the extra two weeks of bow season is handy for early season scouting , except if i can get close enough I can kill. has'nt happened yet , but I like the theory. The other thing I like is the self sufficiency that comes with being able to construct a deadly and accurate projectile weapon . One day I'd like to try building decent rifle from scratch , but at the moment the law and my budget are holding me back.

Sitka spruce weighs about the same as Port Orford cedar. Split the blocks, then use the split side as the guide on your table saw fence. That eliminates cross grain. Plane them to 8 sided, then put them in a drill chuck and use it like a lathe, with sandpaper, to make them round.
Self nocks work well, with a good lashing ahead of them, soaked in epoxy glue, and are tougher and more reliable than plastic ones.
I make arrow heads out of old skill saw blades . I made up a pattern out of 1/4 inch steel plate. I clamp a one inch wide strip of saw blade to the pattern with vise grips, then use it as a guide for a zip cut blade on an angle grinder. I lash them into the arrow shaft with sail twine and lots of epoxy glue.

Lots of good advice here. From what I can remember reading, Western Red Cedar doesn't make a particularly good shaft because it's hard to keep straight. Port Orford Cedar is what you want but it only grows in western Oregon. Other local woods that will do a fine job are Doug Fir, Sitka Spruce, Yellow Cedar, Lodgepole Pine.
You can dowel them in a jig or plane the corners off and hand sand until round. Google should locate lots of info re this.

'yote

Put a a strip of solas reflector tape around, just ahead of the nock. Put a drop of super glue on, then hold it with clear plastic while the glue hardens. Makes it easier to find lost arrows, with a flashlite after dark. Shines at you like a penlight.