Author Topic: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!  (Read 26839 times)

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Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2012, 01:22:36 am »
My plans look a little like this.  Possibly a shorter bow.






The bone tip isn't finished.  I'll bore a hole up the back side of it to fit the skinny shaft extension (which is filled with hidden spring steel).  Then either set a short thin flake in it with no barb or just file it to a point and and the back on a curve.  Bore a hole through the middle and make the toggle laynard like above.  I used artificial sinew and a blend of flemish twist and traditional braiding to make the lanyard which I saturated in TB3.  The triangular stone point will go into a piece of boo with epoxy and artificial sinew.  I had a little razor sharp back barb flake to make it toggle also but I lost it.  Probably droped it into my shoe.

Pluss I have the big pole spear like in the video I posted.  I had the idea to try to make them in wood with a toggling stone point.  Still need the surgical tubing for the activator.

The spool above.  I used to go with the metal clips but I kept breaking them, cutting my self, breaking drill bits etc.  Pluss they rust so I switched to plastic.  Cheap, Easy, and no rust.  I don't make the spools to make a mint.  I want to facilitate carp murder.  A few weeks ago I came up with a plan to clean up the insides more quickly and easier.. which means I can make them faster!

Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #16 on: February 24, 2012, 01:31:13 am »




I also make these:


to do this:









Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #17 on: February 24, 2012, 01:40:07 am »
buffalo is our favorite.
big head Asian has an awesome texture a bit like wahoo but snow white like haddock, and meaty like Mahi.  Smoked it's like a mild Mackeral.  Grilled hot with mexican spices for tacos is my favorite but spices and the rest of the family don't get along.

Silver asian isn't as musky it seems.  Your basic white fish.  Great steamed or poached with garlic and white wine...or same as above.

common carp is a gamble to clean and eat.  Some are great and some are all red meat.  I grow tomotoes and peaches on them and then eat those.

Smoked Buffalo is AWESOME.  Fillet like normal and trim the red meat.  Soak a few hours in a zip bag with water brown sugar and salt.  What ever spices you like,  rinse or not and smoke.  Flake apart and the bones come out easily.  That way wastes less meat and is quicker than trying to be a samurai with a fillet knife.

Flaked meat is great with cream cheese and cracker, leftovers in an omlet, made into some sort of crab salad or fish cake is realy nice also.

Offline Lee Slikkers

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #18 on: February 24, 2012, 06:00:35 pm »
Wow, killer pics and entire setup!  I'm glad you posted a pic of the spool mounted on the bow, I never would have guessed you shoot the arrow through the spool (duh on my part)

Thanks for the smoking recipe & tips, I think I will give this a real honest try this year.

How do you make those spear pole rigs?  My 2 boys (11 & 9) are swimming fools and I bet they'd have a riot with a set of those!
~ Lee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?"
— Aldo Leopold
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Offline Dazv

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #19 on: February 24, 2012, 06:14:35 pm »
sorry if this video belong to someone on the forum.

Have a look at this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdO1Y30xoVs

Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #20 on: February 24, 2012, 06:34:57 pm »
Well I was entirely too accademic and tried to beldn fiberglass and carbon fiber for mine.

I think the Gen 3 will be a wood shaft.  Looking for a good water resistant coating.  Thinking Epoxy.

I turned all the parts on my wood lathe.  Basically I use a 3/8" solid fiberglass rod section about 18" Long or so.  The I got on line to speedy metals and ordered some stainless. some pieces for the skinny bodkin tip and some tube that just needed to be barely drilled to go over the 3/8 fiberglass.  The back shaft for me was either aluminum (aircraft) tube or fiberglass cased in carbon fiber.  I thought about selling them.  They are weight fwd and pretty light.  Not that big a deal. 

The tobble tip I bought from JBL.  Oh I turned a stainless slug to goover the 3/8 and bored a 5/16 hold through the whole thing.  Put the 5/16" bodkin with a cross pin in that.  threaded th other end for the toggle tip. 

Next one will be easier and cheaper.  Wood back 2/3 and no need for the bodkin.  JBL sells a "slip tip" for their polespear (which is only great for perch).  So you only need a stainles bolt that protrudes from the front slug to atach their tip onto.  Cheaper and better. 

I like the fiberglas first 1/3" becasue it is more flexable under force.  Big fish will take off with your spear in them and lever it.  It absorbs some of the force so the shaft dosent bend.  Also Asian carp have a head of solid bone... I bent my first spear shaft on a head shot.  Spring steel on the bodkin shaft is a great idea but it rusts in the salt.

Google pole spear and you'll see how they are basically assembled.  The power band is a section of surgical tubing with a nylon rope knot poked up inside and zip tied off. 

Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #21 on: February 24, 2012, 06:42:28 pm »
sorry if this video belong to someone on the forum.

Have a look at this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdO1Y30xoVs

I love this video.  I watch it frequently and I think you can see the influence in my gear.   ;)  It's alittle like primitive bowfishing porn.

Offline Lee Slikkers

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #22 on: February 26, 2012, 05:14:06 pm »
Thanks for the detailed description PrairieBowyer...I'll have to see what I can come up with.

I did manage to get some cow femur cut up this morning and here is point #1 that I think I'll use on an Atlatl dart, might be a bit too heavy/large for a bowfishing arrow.  The design is not my own, I "borrowed" it after seeing it another website.







I have 3 more bone arrow heads cut out but need to file, shape and sharpen yet so I'll post those up when complete.

Cheers!
~ Lee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?"
— Aldo Leopold
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Offline Buckeye Guy

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #23 on: February 26, 2012, 07:22:15 pm »
That should do the trick !
Guy
Guy Dasher
The Marshall Primitive Archery Rendezvous
Primitive Archery Society
Having  fun
To God be the glory !

Offline Elktracker

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #24 on: February 26, 2012, 09:55:09 pm »
Nice point Lee! Look forward to seeing your catch!

Josh
my friends think my shops a mess, my wife thinks I have too much bow wood, my neighbors think im redneck white trash and they may all be right on the money!!

Josh Vance  Netarts OR. (Tillamook)

Offline Lee Slikkers

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #25 on: February 27, 2012, 11:04:51 pm »
Decided to "rehooch" my original bone head a touch and added 3 more to the pile.  Will be pitch/sinew hafting them on some Red Osier foreshafts tomorrow.  Thanks for looking!




~ Lee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?"
— Aldo Leopold
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Offline Bevan R.

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #26 on: February 27, 2012, 11:09:30 pm »
Wicked looking bones Lee. Looking forward to seeing them shafted.
Bowmakers are a little bent, but knappers are just plain flaky.

Offline seabass

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #27 on: February 28, 2012, 12:18:27 am »
i just have to say that this thread really inspired me to get off my butt and make some more arrows.i just ordered one of those beautiful turned reels.i have been using a boehning plastic reel with a strap on mount.those bone points you guys have been making really got me going.thank you everyone.it is almost time.thanks again,Steve
Middletown,Ohio

Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #28 on: February 28, 2012, 02:31:56 am »
NICE bone points!  Where do you get the Cow femur?  Don't say butcher cause I've checked with several... they don't come in cows anymore.  Meat is grown on little styrofoam plates with celephane over it.

Offline bubby

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Re: Bowfishing - homemade reels, shafts, heads & tips - Let see some pics!
« Reply #29 on: February 28, 2012, 07:08:05 am »
the pet store PB,you can get'em at the pet store, Bub
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹