So here it is, not quit as glamorous as a beautiful self-bow, but I think im just as happy! :) Anyway here is my first self made arrow shaft. Started with a 1/2" billet of white pine and after 3-4 hours of planning, sanding and sizing I have an 11/32" shaft!!!! And I couldn't be happier!!! Now for a few questions... when I test the spine do I put the weight on it so it pulls against the stronger or weaker side of the spine? Also is there any way to increase or weaken the spine a little bit if need be? thanks again to all you on trad gang I couldn't have done this with out u all! Maybe for the the next dozen shafts I might even attempt a build along :)
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That's awesome! It sounds like you put a lot of work into perfecting it.
You should spine it with the rings vertical, and spine it on both sides. You should put the cock feather on so that when the arrow is put on the bow, it will bend around the handle in the direction of the strongest spine. Not sure if I'm explaining that clearly.
Yes, you can weaken the spine by sanding a little in the middle of the arrow. That's a good way to get your arrows matched. Sanding in the middle reduces the spine without giving up too much weight.
You can't add stiffness, but you can add effective stiffness by making the arrow shorter or by using a light weight tip. The will cause the arrow to behave as if it had a stiffer spine when you shoot it. It's called dynamic spine.
Yes I've probably put a little toooo much time into perfecting that shaft, the whole thing is with in about .010" diameter. its the machinist showing through in me :) anyway thanks for
Answering my question!
It looks very nice, but I wouldn't expect white pine to make a very stiff arrow. Let us know how it turns out.
Roy I was actually looking for a light spined arrow. I have a bow thats lighter weight. For my heavier bows I have Douglas fur and poplar that I plan on trying next :) does anyone know with poplar, if im looking for a 45-50 lbs spine should that be a 5/16 or 11/32" shaft???
I would go for 11/32 for poplar. You will love the Douglas fir.
I spine my arrows a little different than Sam. I rotate and test them in the spine tester and find the spine that is closest to what I want and that determines the orientation of the cock feather and nock.
Mark
Roy I was actually looking for a light spined arrow. I have a bow thats lighter weight. For my heavier bows I have Douglas fur and poplar that I plan on trying next :) does anyone know with poplar, if im looking for a 45-50 lbs spine should that be a 5/16 or 11/32" shaft???
Sorry for the double post there still learning how things work on my phone :)
QuoteOriginally posted by DelawareDave:
Roy I was actually looking for a light spined arrow. I have a bow thats lighter weight. For my heavier bows I have Douglas fur and poplar that I plan on trying next :) does anyone know with poplar, if im looking for a 45-50 lbs spine should that be a 5/16 or 11/32" shaft???
Why not just sand it until you get the spine you want regardless of what diameter that happens to be instead of shooting for a diameter and hoping, by luck, that it'll end up at the spine you want?
Thats a really good idea!!! I think I will :) as long as the very ends are the right diameter for my points and knocks the center really doesn't matter :)
When hand planing barrel tapering allows one to control grain and spine. There's info on my site so I won't repeat myself here. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html
One more thing. I've found that the tighter, straighter the rings the more the spine. Jawge
A little update date, I completed one arrow, just to try it out :) I shot it about 50 times and it worked great and best off it didn't blow up in my face! But it does have a little to much spine. The rings on the pine board I used did not have that tight of grain but very straight. When I first tested the spines after first sanding they were about 70 lbs! After a lot of sanding I got them down to 62lbs.... could of used to loose another ten pounds for my 42lbs bow :) I might have to start making them a little smaller then 11/32 or at less in the middle of the spine. Sam: I read your arrow build along and I saw u had trouble with the DF from home depot, cant say I had the same experiance, these shafts seem to be tough as $&#! I missed the target twice and hit rocks in my driveway and no damage to the arrow. :) any more advice, or constructive criticism would be great!
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My advice is go for it. It looks like your one arrow turned out great, so make six or twelve of them. Good luck!
I have found popular to spine about 57#..this of course depends on the wood. Every tree is different.
Thanks Dustin! With the popular do u all use the yellow heart wood or the lighter sap wood?
I'm surprised you got 70 pounds out of white pine. I always thought it was a weaker wood. The arrow looks great.. I tried poplar once and they came out at 30 pound spine. But I suppose every piece of wood is different.
Roy: I've made about 6 or 7 arrows from the same 2x8 that I picked up at Lowe's, and from the same piece of wood ive got spines all the way from 70lbs. To as low as 32lbs.... so much for consistency :)
you made that from wood from lowes? very nice :notworthy:
most consistent arrow wood i have found is sitka spruce- all within a few ponds of each other, want greater spine- just up the diameter!!
a bit tougher to make in a spin type doweller, as the interfiber strength is so high, that if your tool is not razor sharp, it will rip fibers up from underneath.
have seen nice dowels /shafts made with a router, and i am sure hand planing will be just fine!
chundoo, or lodgepole pine is beautiful, has a lovely colour and an awesome waxy feel to it that polishes /burnishes up really nicely- doesnt take stain very well though. can get good( higher) spines with it too!
I've used all the type shafts mentioned here, but for my use, day in and day out, I'll stay with poplar as long as I can. Wood is very durable with good hunting weight. But I'm getting to where I need lighter spined arrows and I can't get that with poplar. Very tough to find boards that spine under 50-55#. Most spine about 60-65# @ 11/32".............Art
I got lucky and found some Douglas fir in telephone pole cross ties that were being sold by the local utility as scrap.
can you use honey locust for arrows
make em skinnier Art!
But I'm getting to where I need lighter spined arrows and I can't get that with poplar.
That means your getting older, Arty:)
Not getting Roy, gotten!
I keep everything at 11/32's fujimo. Just for consistentcy's sake.
Keep sanding. Again you can walk the tightrope between sanding the ends and the middle as I have explained in a previous post above and on my site. Jawge