There is no tamarack in my neck of the woods but we do have southern arrowood, also known as viburnum, which is prolific on piedmont hardwood ridges and is a natural source of shafting. The only problem with it is it can take some work to make the shafts and they are heavier than the other commonly used materials. The good points about it is that it dries quickly and straightens well with some heat applied. I use a doweling plane to reduce mine to 11/32″. Another plus is they are nearly indesructable. If you are looking for a natural, heavy shaft this could be an option.
Duncan

SteveMcd- Doesn’t look like tamarack would make a good shafting material- you might try over on your side of the continent- Allegheny Mountain Arrow Woods
P.O.Box 582
Coudersport, PA 16915
(814)-274-2282 http://www.arrowwoods.com
They list- laminated birch,Doug fir,POC,purpleheart,hickory along with maple, yellow birch, poplar,and cherry on a limited basis for shafting. Prices look fair too. Sure they could give you a hand or the “shaft” as it were!
Best from the soggy PNW-Bert

HI Steve,
I’ve had some experience with Tamarack or Larch as it is commonly called around here, NW MT. First there are two major species of Tamarack, the Eastern and Western Larch.

Eastern grows across a part of the NE US and a large area of Canada. It grows in “peaty soils of bogs and swamps and in drier upland soils”, 1′-2′ dia, 40-80′ high. Indians used the roots to sew their birch canoes. It is used for houses, railroad ties, poles and pulpwood. I have no experience with Eastern Larch.

Western Larch grows in a small portion of WA, ID, OR, MT and southern BC. It can be up to 3′ dia and 150′ high. It grows in the valleys and the mountains here and is highly prized as firewood and the saw logs normally bring good prices at the mills. It burns very hot and requires caution in the wood stove. It is not as common as Doug Fir in this area.

Larch is heavy, quite a bit heavier than Doug Fir. It is very straight grained and splits easily. It makes good arrow shafts but they will be heavy compared to POC. I’ve found it to be a tough shaft but if it gets too dry it can become brittle and will not be durable.

I have several blocks of dry Larch (and pine and fir) in my woodshed that I plan to cut to square stock and mill shafts with. I will post here and let you know how they turn out. My project list is long but I hope to get to it by spring.

Chad

:shock:Thanks Chad I have made some arrows from Tamarack shoots. But didn’t trust them for hunting good information always.

Curtis