Milled Wood Shafts

Daryl Hrdlicka
Jeffers Petroglyphs Historic Site
February 5, 2003

      Milled wood means wood that has been cut and processed before it gets to you. It includes dowels, which are the simplest to use for shafts, and lumber, which can be turned into shafts fairly easily. While milled wood shafts cost more than green wood shafts, there are several advantages which are hard to ignore.

• For dowels, they are already perfectly round and straight, which saves a lot of time prepping them.
• You can choose the length you want to make. You're not limited to what you find.
• The wood has already been dried and seasoned, so it shouldn't split or crack.
• If you live in an urban area, green wood may be very hard to find.

      Dowels are, or course, already shafts. While they don't have a taper to them (which usually helps in flight), you can correct it with proper fletching. You need to watch the diameter to width ratio, though. A dart shaft needs the right amount of flex to work properly. A good rule of thumb is:

• 3/8" diameter x 4' long
• 7/16" diameter x 5' long
• 1/2" diameter x 6' long
• 5/8" diameter x 7' long

      These are pretty much the ideal ratios. Any shorter than what I have listed, and the dart won't flex enough; any longer, and they are too flexible, which means they won't fly properly and they will break.

      I've found a good supplier of birch dowels at very reasonable prices. There is a minimum order, though, and it takes time for them to make the dowels, but if you want a lot, I recommend them.

      You can also make your own shafts by splicing two dowels together. It's hard to do properly, but you can make a good shaft, tapered and weighted properly.

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      If you'd rather make your shafts out of lumber (1x2, 2x4, or whatever) it's more complicated, but not bad. If you have the tools, it's not too much trouble.

      First, cut it into square pieces in the appropriate length. If you want a finished 6' shaft, cut it into 1/2" x 1/2" strips.



      Second, using a plane or a cutting jig, knock off the corners to make the shaft an octagon. You can either stop there and sand it down, or keep planing/cutting off the corners to make it as round as you want.

      There are advantages to making a shaft out of lumber.

• You can choose the piece of wood you want to make the shafts out of, making sure it's free from knots and imperfections.
• You can custom-taper it while you're working it.
• You can make it odd lengths that dowels don't come in.

      Good luck!

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