I'm helping with a youth archery event. Can anyone tell me of a source for a couple hundred arrow quality dowells. Poplar, birch or maple preferably. Thanks, Steve

5/16” Poplar dowels from Madison mills. They can be found at Lowes. You’ll have to be very judicious with quality control . No grain runout, no anomalies in color etc.. Youll want a spine tester. They can range from 20# to almost 50#. They can make very good arrows, but how good depends on you.

Also only pick only the straightest dowels. But that should go without saying.

I plan on culling them out. Looking for a good vendor for batches of 100 plus. I'll contact Madison mills. Thanks!

Try Chicago Dowel company and Cincinnati Dowel and Wood Products if they are still in business. They used to have good quality dowels.

I culled out 1/4" Ramin wood dowels from a hardware store for my son's first hunting arrows. They worked great and he still has them 20 years later as a keepsake. I had him help me build and decorate them. It was a fun project.

Once you cut them down to suitable lengths for young archers (I think his were no more than 23" long) it's not that hard to find a reasonably straight section with no grain run-out.

Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback!

I've got a good friend who has shot /used for years, nothing but arrows made from Ramin wood dowels he gets from the lumber yards, and hardware stores.

I've shot with them also. They aren't the best, but they aren't bad either.

Rick

You can save yourself and the kids some frustration by ordering these. https://wapitiarcherypoc.com/product/100-lot-516-port- orford-cedar-kids-shafts/

75 cents each and they will all be usable.

Ramin wood is on the no import list. Has been for years now. Try and find popular wood dowels or Doug Fir. Hardwood dowels will be expensive. The other option is bamboo.

I have used popular dowels from Lowes in 5/16 and 3/8. The 3 foot dowels are usually straighter.

Poplar dowels can make good arrows as can Oak. I'm a fan of Oak.

The good thing about the 3/8" dowels is that you are normally able to spin sand them to REALLY match spine. And then sand the point and nock end to match weight.

Take Thumpers advice and contact Surewood, although I've never bought any shafting from them (I will if ever run out), I did talk to them and know folks who have bought those odd lot shafts for kids arrows. Good folks, they'll treat you right and save you some legwork.

I've traded with Wapiti quite a lot. They are reliable.

What longcruise said.

You’ll still want some kind of a spine tester, as they’ll range from about #25-#45, and a little scale is useful for grouping them by mass.

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