| You can buy bamboo shafts from Korea, from bare unstraightened shafts to finished arrows. Be aware they are extremely expensive, 25$ for a bare shaft. A set of finished arrows require a mortgage but they are as finely matched as any carbon (Korean fletchers are simply the best) down to the last grain.
Bamboo is often called nature's carbon, it is light and strong. The arrow making process is a very long one, culms of the correct, uniform diameter are harvested and dried for a year. They then go through a tempering and straightening process, using various stoves. The nodes, though not very protrusive on this species (Sasa Koreana) are sanded and matched, distance wise, more straightening, then the thin waxy outer wall of the bamboo is removed by sanding (only enough to remove this skin) Nocks are fashioned from Bush Clover and glued into the shaft using fish bladder glue and sinew is wrapped around the area. The tip is sanded lightly and a thin wood shaving is wrapped around and glued in place before the pile is fitted (over this area) The piles are then heated. Pheasant fletchings are glued on by hand (no jigs) and cut to shape on a burner. A final check for straightness and each arrow is weighed.
Pseudosasa Japonica has already been mentioned and this is what I used to make bamboo arrows. I made and fitted nocks from buffalo horn using sinew but decided to simply cut a self nock for the next set as it was far less labour intensive. As long as the bamboo has dried for long enough, straightening can be achieved by holding over a gas hob. Keep the shaft around 8" above the flame and do not allow it to scorch, as soon as you get a grassy smell it is ready to straighten. Sanding to remove the skin is not easy, it has to be done lengthways with the fibres and by hand - you will be sore. When the nock is cut and shaped, use whipping silk to bind beneath it for security.
It is very rewarding to see them fly but with all the work involved, losing or breaking one would leave you suicidal.  | 
08-09-07, 05:24 PM
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