Bamboo arrow debate

stiventiger · Post by **stiventiger** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am

for pass custom 100% also for protect buyers healthy,our shafts must be passed higher temperature carbonization for kill all disease or worm etc,i worry kashi or other seller haven't carbonization machine and nobady garantee their bamboo is 100% safety

Orda Khan · Post by **Orda Khan** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:03 pm

Having fletched the Pseudosasa japonica shafts I posted earlier in the thread, I was hoping that the arrows would be finished. Unfortunately, I decided to apply lacquer over the silk whippings......That ruined them. The finish is very nice and smooth but the silk may as well be boring cotton.
I'll shoot them tonight and then comes the laborious job of removing all the silk and replacing it.

Jos?Dom · Post by **Jos?Dom** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:12 pm

Orda, I use nylon thread and then epoxy glue on top. Then I apply resin (the one used on fishing poles) to give a nice finish.

Orda Khan · Post by **Orda Khan** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 4:23 pm

I should have test coated before diving in to finish these arrows. Thankfully I didn't coat the set I re whipped in silk for my wife. This was a product used in fishing rods as well, I got it specifically because it was supposed to coat without altering thread colour. I've whipped eyelets on fishing rods myself and I know silk is often used. Instead of the beautiful lustre of silk, the whippings now look like they've been painted on.
On a brighter note, they fly very well.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 8:22 pm

When making thread lashings in the Japanese style, I have used clear fingernail polish successfully. After the first coat has cured, not just dried but cured, I hold 0000 steel wool around the lash while rolling the arrow on my thigh. Several subsequent coats become very smooth.

stiventiger · Post by **stiventiger** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:22 pm

thread wrap and with glue coated is bamboo fly rod making way,but now i see modern bamboo fly rods way :use special glue taper:just few seconds will wrap nock in perfect,i don't know the name of glue taper

Orda Khan · Post by **Orda Khan** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:16 pm

Interesting idea Jack. Did the polish alter the colour or natural sheen of the silk?

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 10:32 pm

I used polyester thread and it improved black and made white translucent.

Orda Khan · Post by **Orda Khan** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 12:52 pm

I've always whipped the fletch leading end and still use the same thread for that area and under the nock. That stuff has some man made fibre in it, it won't snap like cotton, cut into your skin first. Because this thread is a dark brown, absorption is not a factor and I've used yacht varnish in the past. Because I used silk cresting, I bought some threadmaster from a fishing site, it had rave revues

We had an American visitor to our club and he thought the finish was quite nice and added an element of age. I suppose it does look more antique.
Here are a series of photos. My wife's old arrows with new whipping; my new arrows, complete and incomplete and three new shafts that are a bit longer. I'm using wooden nocks on these, shaped from a small branch of seasoned Holly.

Kyudohund · Post by **Kyudohund** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 5:59 pm

It?s nearly equal which thread you take; it only has to be smooth; there must not be fibres standing out of the thread. After wrapping I "paint" it 2 - 3 times thin with carpenters glue (the white one), it gets transparent when dry. Then up to 5 coats with clear fingernail varnish, like Jack. The result is, the thread does not change into dark and keeps its natural colour and the wrapping is even. Too it gets a great mechanical resistence, because this kind of varnish keeps elastic.

Sorry, no bamboo-shafts!

Ashbow · Post by **Ashbow** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:43 pm

Very neat job Orda. The method with nail varnish seems to be the solution, I've used to coat thread whippings with superglue before any further finish, but some of this nasty stuff can get white and ugly.

It's good to see you keep up making your own good quality bamboo arrow shafts, they all look lovely on the pictures. I see you got hold of some pheasant feathers as well.
I have to admit you keep tempting me with your shafts and I was wondering if it's possible to get a small amount of them of you sometime? When I finally have some time I would love to craft myself a set of good bamboos, and so far I can't think of a better source around, ha!
I've just started to stockpile pheasant feathers.

Orda Khan · Post by **Orda Khan** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:13 am

I think we can remedy that

edit: The pheasant fletchings were a selection but not all were good. Some showed distinct shot damage, holes in quills etc, in fact two of those fletchings needed to be spliced because of missing areas.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:25 am

Till now I have always painted my wooden nocks. These are from different sets of my arrows. The black ones are horn; just a little more effort than wood.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:52 am

Recently I decided to try out Stiven's bamboo sticks. This is my review.

Jim and I went in and bought 200 sticks to get a larger source to choose from. These were the 1m long, #60, 35 gram weight. Cost was a little over $300 USD delivered. The package was opened by customs, reclosed and arrived less than a week after payment. There was a strong smell of the finish which dissipated after several days. Shafts were in 2 groups of sizes of the point end.

A spacing was left on all shafts above the fletch node such that only 23 sticks had a space less than 7". We then cut all the small diameter shafts into my favorite layout and reduced the overall lengths to 32" and weighed the shafts, writing the weight to the tenth gram on the nock end with permanent marker.

Sticks were grouped by one gram yeilding about 25 in a group for 27, 26, 25, 24, and 23 grams. Very few shafts weighed less but the balance weighed more in smaller and smaller groups.

About the straightness; only a couple of sticks were useless, probably 60% could use some degree of restraightening and maybe 35% were as straight as anything I have ever made. Direct heat with gas flame did not degrade the finish but did produce some offgassing.

I also had a small complaint about a previous purchase which Stiven made good two times over. You should be lucky if he makes a mistake on your order.

After all the grief I have placed on him here I must say that I am completely satisfied with his product and enthusiastically recommend his arrow products and service which demanding Americans have come to expect.

Daniel T. · Post by **Daniel T.** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:47 am

jack farrell wrote: I also had a small complaint about a previous purchase which Stiven made good two times over. You should be lucky if he makes a mistake on your order.

Then I guess you are better at complaining than I am.

Daniel