Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: swamp monkey on July 15, 2012, 07:21:23 pm
-
I am working on a bison horn composite bow. The process of cutting out the belly strips from horn leaves you with all kinds of extra raw material. So I marked out some arrow heads in pencil and cut them out with a band saw.
I cut out a matching set of plains style arrowheads, and then took the smaller scraps to make a hap hazard batch of Cahokian style heads to practice on. Sizes did not match at all. I fit what I could. The first picture has all of the blanks. The Cahokian points are flattened and sanded while the plains style are lightly sanded and have not been flattened yet. I am experimenting with what process I like best. I take the plains style out of water today.
I took the Cahokian points and put them in a bucket of water and placed it in the sun. Air temps were 109 degrees with NO heat index. The horn was pretty pliable after five hours. These blanks were placed between wooden blocks and clamped. I let these dry and cool for two days. They were reasonably flat when I took them out.
I spent time sanding and filing these and have to say as simple as this is - there is a lot to it. Mostly elbow grease. If you plan to do this at home, then do it outside or in a shop. The ground horn smells. Family members may not thank you for doing this, but they are sure to fuss if you don’t.
I used a dremel to polish the product. I may use a dremel to do some of the sanding next time as well.
Here are my results. These points are wicked sharp. They are smooth as the dickens, but I notice the irregular surface is not the craftsmanship I prefer to provide. So the next batch will get a longer dose of various sanding grits. I am glad I experimented before doing a matched set.
Thanks for looking.
-
SWEETTTTTTTTTT
If you but them between two peices of flat metal and straighten them out with a vise.
Bones a little light but I've raped lead wire on ther shaft behind the head before. Then super glue to get the weight you want.
I'm a trader at heart and trade all the time for ANYTHING. So if you'd like to trade a few let me know I might have something you need or want.
-
How about just some of your scrap I'd rather make my own or you just cut out the blands. Never made BISON heads before.
PM ME I COULD FORGET TO REREAD
-
Pretty badass. :)
-
Very cool! Thanks for going through the work and then posting the pictures!
-
been something i've been wanting to mess with for a little while. great job on them!
-
Swamp Mokey, so what kind of weight did you get for those heads. They look awesome and deadly!
-
I do not know about the weight. I have access to a small postal scale. I can get weight in grams and convert to grains but it will be crude. I will report back.
-
The points average in at 2.5 grams on a postal scale, but I want to use a finer calibrated scale just in case. That seems awful high for something that feels so light. So to convert to grams I multiply by 0.035 to get 0.0875 ounces. Anyone know the conversion from grams or OZ to grains? I'll hunt some more for that unless someone beats me to it.
I am also experimenting with methods for getting a superior luster. Tips and suggestions are welcome. Whatever works on these points will be used on my bison horn composite bow. How do they get a shine on thumb rings and horn overlays?
Swamp monkey is learning . . . :D
-
7000 grains in a pound. 7000 divided by 16 oz = 437.5 grains. 437.5 divided by .0875 = 38.28 grains.
According to this conversion chart
http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/grams-to-grains-table.htm
2.5 grams = 38.576 so the two methods of measuring is close.
Those make for very pretty but extremely light heads. Good work, though.
-
Those look great. I've made a few from regular cow horn and used the dremel and big carving bit to "run flakes" and giving them a knapped look.
-
nice stuff! rub in some oil once they're glued in place. these will make awesome arrows.