gonna try some new arrow woods now, can anyone tell me about spruce, how does it compare to cedar, how does it compare to laminated birch?, would they be good for stump shooting, are they strong?
I have made two dozen arrows from Sitka Spruce. You get about 325 to 350gr for raw shaft weight for spines in the 50 to 60# range. The shafts I used did not hold up well to stump shooting. They fly as well as cedar and stay straight well. Not a stumpin arrow in my opinion. Laminated birch is very, very tough and makes a heavy shaft. If you use a blade type taper tool, it will tear the blades up in a hurry.
Curt
Iput my arrows through a lot of use and abuse, so mabey i should go back to lam birch, what about douglas fir?
heard anything good about poplarwood for shafting?
I like Doug fir, heavy tough arrows. Lam birch is tougher in my opinion. I have only read about poplar shafts so I don't know. My personal stumpin arrows are ash, they are tough as it gets. I lost two in the snow last year, found them in the spring, sanded them down, refinished and am still shooting them. I plan to try some white birch from Raptor this year.
the only problem i see with ash is the straightening
I have heard of that problem but have not experienced it. Doug fir is a good comprimise, still tough but makes a finished arrow in the 600gr range, the ash will finish out in the 700gr range if that is a concern.
I tried ash as well but they were horrible to get straight and keep them that way. About two out of a dozen were suitable for anything but stumping. If you can find straight ones, they are tough and very heavy.
I think most damage to any wooden arrows are from side hits or improper tapering. I shoot stumps on a regular basis and my cedars hold up as good or better than a lot of other types. You may want to check your arrow flight and make sure those tapers butt-up against the end of the point hole.
I just haven't found anything better than cedar yet, for straightness and durability.
I've had very good luck with Doug Fir shafts. They have been easy to straighten and have been very durable. I like that they are heavier than my cedars. Problem is I bought a several hundred shafts many years ago and am about out. Anybody know of a source for quality affordable Doug Fir?
I have had good results with sitka. Just this morning I was testing some bunny buster tipped sitka arrows. I shot one directly into a 4" diamater cypress pole at 15 yards using a 55# long bow. I was tesitng it's toughness. The arrow made it...no problem.
I haven't used them for stumpin, but I have had good success with Sitka Spruce. I hunted with them exclusively and they performed well. I have found them easy to straighten, they take stain well and I can get 525-590 grains out of them with 145-160 grain heads.
Dave
check out hildebrandarrowshafts.com I'm in the process of ordering some sitka spruce right now. It sounds as if sitka spruce compare very well with cedar. The sitka spruce makes a straighter lighter arrow and the douglas fir is heavier and tougher ..not as straight. Stumpin is tough on any woods... although some do better than others. In the future I will be using my carbons for stumpin and wood for hunting and 3-d.
ceb... hildebrand also sells douglas fir... The owner seems great to work with.
http://www.hildebrandarrowshafts.com/
Just a point to remember. I read this the other day.. and makes sense to me. The best way to keep wood arrows straight is to use a "good" finish that will not release or let in moisture. Some are definitely better than others. Straighten your shafts between each coat. Sounds like fun ha. ha! Apparently cedar has an oil in it .. so it less likely to have the problems other wood do....