Dowel for arrows

[darthTer]

Anyone tried using lengths of Doweling from B&Q (for example) for arrow shafts???

I am in the process of putting together a couple to allow me a decent number of arrows to shoot until I can get proper shafts ordered.

Should be interesting.

[alanesq]

I have heard of it being done but I understand you have to be careful as some can be joined and it can be difficult to see the joint but its a weak spot

[LobbyMuncher]

One or two of our younger lads have tried it. Only once. Breakages are high and they tend to warp readily.

[darthTer]

Cheers folks.....

Not something that I plan on doing on a regular basis...but I did have a couple of lengths kicking about and needed a few more arrows ASAP.....they came out quite nice actually.

I will be getting some proper shafts within the next couple of weeks!!!!

[jaselpool]

Usually made of Ramin and as others have pointed out they warp and break easily. Also there is a big spine issue. If you have a spine tester and can spine them close then that's better otherwise you'll be shooting totally different spines for each arrow which isn't good for your bow or your scores. You also need heat to straighten them out as hand straightening will result in them reforming back to the wiggly shapes.

I wouldn't recommend them myself for any purpose other then holding tomato plants up or shoving in wood joints - at the end of the day you get waht you pay for!

Jase

[darthTer]

Originally Posted by darthTer

Cheers folks.....
I will be getting some proper shafts within the next couple of weeks!!!!

Jase....I may be giving you a call....

how do you find the Spruce shafts compare to the Cedar???

[jaselpool]

Originally Posted by darthTer

Jase....I may be giving you a call....

how do you find the Spruce shafts compare to the Cedar???

No worries I'm a UK dealer for Rose City and also Hildebrand as well now

To be honest I like both. POC is a little lighter than Sitka but then Sitka can take more punishment. Generally POC is needs less straightening but then all shafts need some to some degree. Sitka takes a stain better than POC. POC smells nice though it has to be said

J

[N.Vodden]

Originally Posted by jaselpool

POC smells nice though it has to be said

J

so true that is

i love the smell of POC arrowshafts, makes working on them that bit nicer

[jb.68]

Originally Posted by darthTer

Anyone tried using lengths of Doweling from B&Q (for example) for arrow shafts???

I am in the process of putting together a couple to allow me a decent number of arrows to shoot until I can get proper shafts ordered.

Should be interesting.

I made a dozen from 1/2" Ramin, (not from B&Q or the like, but from a timber yard) they are a bit light in spine but have not had problems with them exploding. The only problem is that it is a very weak wood and if your arra hits anything hard, especially if at a shallower angle, it stands a very good chance of breaking and more often than not, I have lost the head too.

I also made some from Pine. They are much better and much stronger. As Alan says, just watch for comb joints along the length, but you should be able to get 2 arras from an 8' length.

To be honest though, they are fine for mucking around (I use them on rove shots where I don't expect to see them again) but for serious shooting, stick with something of a better quality. I am now using ash where possible and I'm going to look at birch too.

[AlanClark]

B&Q sell 8mm pine dowels. These are no more likely to break or warp than custom pine arrow shafts, if you select straight grain lengths and cut out the finger joints that others have mentioned.

There is no doubt that you can make first class accurate arrows from these dowels. I once shot with an archer in the N.F.A.S. Nationals who was using them, and he won H.T.

The downside is that they are a lot of work, spining, weight matching etc. But they are cheap.

Alan Clark