laminated arrows?
 

Hey all I was wondering if any of the forum friends had ever tried laminated wood arrows? If you have what type? And where can a guy find some? Doing my homwork before hand.
Thanks, your friend in Christ and field,
Vern Pratt

RE: laminated arrows?
 

I' ve had a few, don' t think I ever even made them into arrows. I have talked to quite a few folks about them--it seems if they are straight when they are glued up, they stay straight, but if not, you can' t make them stay straight. Kinda expensive also--I just stick with good cedar.

Chad

RE: laminated arrows?
 

I bought some laminated maple last year at the Denton Hill shoot in PA.last year.They' re very heavy(660gr finished wgt.)but they' re straight and hit real hard.I believe I paid $18/dozen from Dink' s Feather Shop-he' s out of W.Va.I like them and will probably pick up some more this year.

RE: laminated arrows?
 

I gotta say all the guys up here with laminated birch none of them can get the crooked ones straight. There is one guy claiming it, I have yet to see it.

If you want heavy, go to some 23/64th' s ash/hickory. That should get you well over 700 grains. That or even poplar or birch if you can find it.

RE: laminated arrows?
 

towerrat- allegheny mountain arrows in good old PA @ www.arrowwoods.com has some finished or blank laminated birch arrows: i' m just getting into arrow building myself and these fellas are fabulous to work with and i think there prices are reasonable. good luck if you do use them let us know how you make out[8D]

RE: laminated arrows?
 

I tried to get some, but the arrow maker said he couldn' t get ' em strong enough for my bow. Didn' t think it was that heavy, but it' s hard to find aluminum, what with the light and fast craze. What I' d like to know is why there is a difference in maple for pool cues and maple for arrows. Maple is the preferred wood in pool cues, which , it seems to me, goes through a similar distortion as an arrow , and yet hit after hit, they stay straight as an ?arrow?

RE: laminated arrows?
 

ah and they are also footed, inlaid and seriously tapered and usually come in 2 pieces.......things that make ya go hmmmm

RE: laminated arrows?
 

I bought some laminated birch at Denton last year from Allegheny Mountain. They are tough, hard to straighten ( I HAD to use heat) and very heavy. I bought 60-65' s and they finished around 700 grains.

RE: laminated arrows?
 

Vern,

This is almost a coinkydink. A buddy of mine brought over 2 dozen shafts he wanted me to finish. You' ll never guess what they were. Laminted birch he uses for horeshoes. Ok all seriousness aside a couple werent to bad but over all these have to be the worst of all the laminated birch I have seen yet. Warp like snakes in the hot sun! (and btw, it aint hot hehe).

I will have to go with what I said the first time. Ash/Maple would be my pref in that order. They are both durable as heck (have bounced them off 1/8" galvanized steel, then again have bounce cedar off a junked car door to) The one thing with ash is to seal them well. They are very porus. If these pores are not sealed, the wood will warp for obvious reasons. I dont feel they warp when they are taken care of. Atleast none of mine have from mn to southeast rainforest of Ak, to the interior and north slope. Wood arras do take a bit of tlc as you well know and ash is no more different. I have played a little with Maple and liked them. They were some tuff stuff. I however didnt buy them and had to givem back. (the conditions of me making them for him lol)

I' ll let you know how they straighten this weekend as I have a handful of other sets I am working on currently.

I will try to add pics also now that this new deal is to easy, the typical before, during and after stuff on a couple shafts.....

RE: laminated arrows?
 

My experience (very limited) with ash and maple were a bit different. The maple I tried wasn' t even as tough as cedar--I broke a few bare-shafting in some really soft foam--haven' t tried them again. Got a dozen ash, very heavy and very durable, but I can' t keep them straight. I got them as finished arrows, and the fellow I got them from used a good sealer, but I was constantly straightening them. They are in a box in the basement now. I had good luck with sitka spruce and douglas fir, but I always wind up going back to cedar. I am in the minority I guess--I shoot full-length shafts, and have no problems getting a 600+ grain finished arrow with a 125 grain point. Maybe the arrow length is why I had problems with the maple and ash?

Chad

RE: laminated arrows?
 

Chad I agree. I will definitely go back to Cedar. I like it also because cedar is easy to straighten, takes stains well and is relatively inexpensive. But if you want a heavy arrow these Laminated Birch are a good choice. I shoot a 29" arrow and with a crown dip/cresting, 3 5" feathers and a 125 grn. point they finished at right around 700 grains even.

RE: laminated arrows?
 

I finally went out and got some laminated birch shafts. I got some 70-75 spine 11/32 shafts. I found that they were about as straight as any dozen of un premium shafts I have ever gotten. Six of them were pretty good and the other six had some curve and bend to them. I took the curvy six and burned them with a torch to make a natural kind of camo. Just a meandering pattern. I striaghtened them as I burned them and it worked very well. I think that it works better that way because they are heated in the burning process. I then mixed up some food coloring and dyed them a light yellowish green. 7 drops of yellow, 2 drops of green food coloring in a shot glass half full of rubbing alcohol, paint on with foam brush. 5 coats of gasket laquer later I have six reasonably straight, attractive, 580-600gr shafts ready to fletch up. They are not as straight as a carbon or aluminum arrow but they are plenty straigh enough that they will fly just fine even with a broadhead. I just have to make these up and test them out to see how they fly but they look impressive enough and if they are as tough as I have heard they are I think they would work quite well for roving/stump shooting and hunting.