Hunting Arrows

[roofus]

I am researching building a new longbow for hunting. I also want to build my own arrows.
Are there any instructional materials out there that you would recommend. I am new to building for primitive archery but I am a serviceable craftsman so I don't necessarily need overly elementary material.
Thanks for any feedback. Knowledge from real experience is priceless!!!

[JackCrafty]

If you are researching medieval style equipment, then the following videos may be of interest:

---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxeFvDgXE54
---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pffhKIuuQX8&feature=related
---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtTyOf8OCKg&feature=related
---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB0jkfI27Ew&feature=related

In the last video (above) the same technique can be used for making a broadhead (7/8" wide is legal for hunting in most states) instead of the bodkin.

If you are making modern equipment, then a google search will lead you to all sorts of info on the subject of building arrows.  Three Rivers Archery may be a good place to start.

If you are a craftsman...then most material on the subject will seem elementary.

[Auggie]

I would like to recommend the book,Bows&Arrows of the Native Americans by Jim Hamm. Its a good guide for arrows,bows quivers,strings,backings,just about covers it all. I believe horsefeathers has it,you can find them here on PA.

[Kegan]

You can make wonderfully servicabel hunting arrows from birch or maple dowels. You'll just need to make a spine tester. You buy a stock of 3/8" dowels, taper the nock ends for 10", and spine them to your weight by sanding them down. After that, any of the several aforementioned resourves could help you finish, fletch, and put a point on your meat-maker.

Below are a set made from birch dowels, but untapered. They were made before I discovered how helpful tapering was. I hand fletched them, and nocked them by cutting across the nock end with a hacksaw. Simple matter, but very effective.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[roofus]

Hey thanks! I found a good source for Maple and Birch and it is alot more affordable than Cedar.
Have you used cedar? I have 6 that a buddy gave me, He uses carbon and did not need them they are 55# spine wieght
I shoot them out of my 50# recurve and they fly right as far as I can tell. But i don't think I want to spend $100 for a dozen shafts so the Maple and Birch is very attractive to me.

[Ian Johnson]

you dont have to spend $100 on a doz cedar shafts, 3rivers archery has them for around $30 already spined

[roofus]

Oh. That's not bad. I can get Birch for .50 each and Maple for 1.00 each but I have to spine them.
What would be the major difference if they are all spined the same?

[Ian Johnson]

if you get the 3rivers shafts, you dont have to spine them and they will all fly the same(if they are straight), find a spine that shoots good out of your bow and order that spine

[Kegan]

I have used cedar ut of fiberlgass traditional bows. Never again. They couldn't take much abuse and cost too much for me. For a little more than I would pay for a dozen spined shafts, I can get 100 birch. Since i like to taper mine, the little extra working sanding them down to the desired spine (as birch is rahter stiff for its weight) isn't a big issue. Cedar recovers very well, and flies beautifully, but the durability is lacking compared to some other woods. Since I don't have a really good target, I do alot of stumping.

As for differences, there really is none. Maple doesn't seem as prone to warpage as birch is, but regular hand straightenning every once in a while eliminates this. Weight varies between wood species, but maple and birch aren't that different. If you can get both spine and weight to match pretty closely, then you might not be able to tell the difference.

I get my birch for about $0.33 a piece, which is reasonable since shafts do get broken.

[Justin Snyder]

I would suggest reading George's site.  http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/archer.html
Also make yourself familiar with the search option here.   

[roofus]

Anyone ever try oak?

[Kegan]

Anyone ever try oak?

Yup- heavy and great for bows around 50-60#, and finish out around 700 grains. Not sturdy enough for stronger bows though. Tends to snap after a little bit of abuse.

[Shooter_G22]

Roofus,

   There was an article in the oct/nov Traditional Bowhunter Magazine about making shafts by: Tom Ireland.  it was a pretty good informative article and got me wanting to go all out and make good modern traditional arrows from scratch and i mean making the shafts from a plank of wood... and cutting feathers or burning to shap and fletching, dipping,  cresting the whole nine yards...  i still want to be able to achieve this but im still trying to learn and do other projects at the same time and between working two jobs sometimes and volunteering for a youth outdoors team.. i seem to be lacking on getting any projects done... not to mention all the time i spend picking at this keybaord and reading and posting on this site.. ;

   but if you are a really good wood working craftsman and have alot of the wood working tools like table saw,  bandsaw, planers, drills or press and sanders, then you would probably do good by buying the dowel rod cutter and go to town making your own shafts from cedar or pine they say pine makes a good substitute for cedar and i always pick up scrape 2x4's and 2x6's at my job site that could easily become a whole bunch of arrow shafts at no cost but a little time and energy...

i have plans on doing this myself...

it just depends on how many arrows your wanting to make...

for me i would be making a whole dump load for they kids on the outdoors team that love traditional and primitive archery and not to found of the modern compound archery thank god!!!  i guess they are more like me and more survival minded but still like the look and feel of modern traditional... i think alot of there preferance is the actual fact of them being able to make or help make the equiptment them selfs...  and its a whole lot moe enjoyable to have the hands on projects for them too...

anyway,  the dowel cutter im talking about is simple and all you do is cut your wood down to 1/2"x1/2"  square stock and chuck it into a drill useing the drill bit adapter and drill the squer stock through this dowel cutter gadget and out comes a round shaft through the other side...  then you can also by a compression block from 3river s and compress the wood dowel into a compressed wood arrow shaft and whalahh!!! you have a pretty nice arrow shaft...  make a whole batch spine test them cutt them to size and wieght match them and you got some pretty good shaft material that you made all by yourself at almost no cost... thats if you start with scrap 2x4's like i would... 

but..!   of coarse  i havnt done any of this yet soo its all research and theiry and hot air im blabbing off...  but it is the plan...!!!

hell i even have an old electric can opener that i have all openened up to try and figure out how im going to use the moter for a self made cresting jig...   another one of those i'll get to it projects just sitting there half way started...
lol..
but it will happing for me with do time
just thought  id let you know of some of the options that are out there and im sure that somebody that allready has this setup up and runing might chim in on it...

however if your just looking to make a dozen or two then be careful and i wouldnt suggest going through all the hassle of getting extra jigs and tools to do a couple of dozen...   hell if you cant or dont want to go through the cost of ordering shafts pr-spinned i bet you could get somebody her to send you a set through the trade post... just another option...

i know iknow i can type for ever..lol..
ok i'll stop...
 

[roofus]

Well, That was a mouth full.
Yes I am seviceable wood worker I've built two bows, several guitars, a couple mandolines, and a bunch of other trivial stuff.  And I have all kinds of tools.
I figured out a way to make a dowler with some wood, a drill motor, and a router table.
When I finish building it I will post some step by step pics.
I was also thinking that you could build planning forms much like those used for Bamboo fly rods and plane down segments and glue them up. You could make perfectly straight shafts that way and leave the power tools in the box. I think I saw some shafts built that way online somewhere. Canada I think.

For now I bought some Oak and some Birch dowels and I built a spine tester (I'll post some pics on that later too)and I am in the process of spinning the shafts down to 52#
I came to that weight by testing a cedar arrow that works great with my bow.

[Cromm]

Thats the way i've done it, find my best wooden arrow and match all the other ones to that one......