Author Topic: Head weight  (Read 2910 times)

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Offline JesseBeaux

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Head weight
« on: March 05, 2018, 03:26:51 pm »
Hey Guys,

Super excited to join the forum! I plan to not say much but do a lot of reading! Haha. However, I do have one question:

I've begun learning how to knap on old beer bottles and I'm really enjoying! Plus it's my way of helping clean up the National Forest I hunt. Anyway, I've decided I'd love to mount these heads onto my Cedar shafts (Haven't started with Cane yet) and try to kill a hog with one! However, I'm having  trouble getting my arrows to fly well because my finished heads are only about 40grains due to how much material I have to take off in order to flatten out the curve of the bottle bottom.... Any tips for increasing this weight? Or other options for adding front weight?

Offline Tracker0721

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2018, 04:33:14 pm »
Since you’re already using glass, send me your address in a PM and I’ll ship a little box of obsidian and dacite so you can make a bit bigger head. Mine are usually 80+ Grains. Inch wide and 2 inches long is what I like. Hogs are tough sons of guns so be careful, make sure your heads are insanely sharp, and tune your arrows for the best flight and practice shooting sub par heads into fine sand, foam(not dense stuff), etc. and before hunting haft up the real deal heads and go bring home the ham!

You can also drill a hole into the point end and glue a bit of a nail in there to add weight and help with spine issues. Or wrap a bit of wire behind the point. Make sure your heads are mounted straight too! Little off center and it’ll steer that arrow everywhere.

To get em good and sharp I use stringmans way he told me. Get the head thin, get it to shape, now go down the edge and using a fine point pop flakes off in serrations down the edge being sure that they’re popping cleanly. Usually the smaller the serrations the better. Now flip the point over and press against each tip of the sawtooth pattern you left and pop down quickly. If done correctly the bottoms of the original serrations should now be the points and you should have an edge of tiny teeth all in a perfect line. I usually drag mine with no pressure across my meaty part of my thumb just about a centimeter, if done correctly and with no pressure it’ll give me a tiny paper cut which I usually don’t cut deep enough to bleed. If done incorrectly it’ll try to tear or slide over or cut like a saw. I prefer the paper cut slice.

Best of luck and post some pictures of your heads! Welcome to the forum! Be sure to fill the hunting section with your kills bud!

Might be able to make out the tiny serrations on this one...
May my presence go unnoticed, may my shot be true, may the blood trail be short. Amen.

Offline jeffp51

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2018, 05:36:23 pm »
use bigger bottles.  Wine and whiskey bottles -- or Martinelli's sparkling juices -- or some perrier sparkling water  all make bigger points than beer bottles.  I have a glass recycling dumpster near my home that I raid when I want to work glass.  I have been known to throw my youngest child into the dumpster if the glass is pretty enough and out of reach . . . :OK :KN

Offline JEB

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2018, 06:13:15 pm »
Tracker gave you some very good advise and gave you a very generous offer. Take him upon it.

Offline bjrogg

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2018, 09:01:23 pm »
Tracker gave you some very good advise and gave you a very generous offer. Take him upon it.

All good advice but especially what Jeb said. Ive heard it said anyone can learn to make a bow but arrows heap big trouble. Getting arrows made that are  tuned to your bow takes some time but it's really makes it all work.
Bjrogg
A hot cup of coffee and a beautiful sunrise

Offline JesseBeaux

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2018, 11:21:37 pm »
Awesome info! Exactly what I was hoping for from this site!!

Offline Hawkdancer

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2018, 11:36:30 am »
Don't want to steal the thread, but what is a good, safe way to get the bottom off a more or less square bottle?  I have a number of them getting ready for recycle, or chipping, if I can get the bottoms off.  Also, are the side panels thick enough to use?  Thanks
Hawkdancer
Life is far too serious to be taken that way!
Jerry

Offline bjrogg

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2018, 12:00:37 pm »
Jerry I take a spike put it in bottle with nailhead down. Then put something over bottle opening to keep your thumb from getting stabbed by point end of nail and shake well up and down rotating around so nail hits bottom of bottle all the way around. Works for round ones anyway not sure about square.
Bjrogg
A hot cup of coffee and a beautiful sunrise

Offline jeffp51

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2018, 12:37:04 pm »
I fill a bottle up to the neck with water, then, while holding the neck, hit the top with a rubber mallet.  If you get a five-gallon bucket also half full of water, you can submerge the bottom of the bottle  when you hit it. then no shards fly anywhere. no splash of water either.  just pick up the bottom piece out of the bucket.  the flat sides also work well  to knapp.

Offline JEB

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #9 on: March 06, 2018, 01:38:25 pm »
I do it like BJ. Put a 16 penny nail in it and give it three or four good hard shakes up and down and the bottom will fall out.  I just stick my thumb over the top but I was in the Marines and I think BJ was in the Navy, lol

Offline Hawkdancer

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2018, 07:54:22 pm »
Sounds like Jeff has the safest idea :KN. I think I will try both methods as well as scoring with my glass cutter and tapping with a small mallet.  Always jump with 2 parachutes and land only 1 time!  Spent 16 years in Special Forces.  Safety first
Thanks, Hawkdancer
Life is far too serious to be taken that way!
Jerry

Offline JEB

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2018, 08:05:58 pm »
My dad made wine. When he died he left us 3 cases of wine but none of us drank so I emptied the bottles on the ground and I broke the bottoms out of every one of them without incident. Youtube has a female flintknapper that shows you how to do it. It's really not a big deal and the bottles won't blow up on you, the bottom just dropped to the ground.

Offline bjrogg

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Re: Head weight
« Reply #12 on: March 10, 2018, 09:14:23 pm »
Like Jeb said the nail method works good. Usually only have to shake about 5 times and bottom pops right off.
Bjrogg
A hot cup of coffee and a beautiful sunrise