Trad Gang

Looking for others who hand plain their own arrows. I have just begun after reading an article in TBM. Made the jig out of a 8x1/2x36 in cedar board and the tracks out of scrap pieces left from the innitial cutting down of the arrows. Gotten pretty good at it and I can have a rough square cut from the 1x2 thick hardwood boards made into a rather nice arrow in about 10 minutes or less. I self knock all of my arrows using a clamped down angle grinder with two cut off blades and use the flat side of my grinding wheel to taper the ends to fit points and make the nocks pretty. What I do from there is up to my latest whim whether it be dark stained hunting arrows or colorfully painted target arrows. I have no Idea what spine they are but I do know that they shoot out of my 50lb longbow true enough to raise an eyebrow on the local squirrles around here. I do notice the arrows are a little slower but they are quieter then the factory arrows I shoot.

I would be pretty interested to see your jig. I am currently doing it freehand and boy is it a pain.

I often do my own arrows by hand. I have a jig I made on the table saw for holding the shafts while I remove corners.

Basically it is a 45 degree notch cut lengthwise in a 36 inch lenght of pine and the whole thing glued down to a 8 inch wide length of birch plywood. It is stable and flat and the plywood gives me a storage area for shafts while I am working.

it takes time but it is fun. I also sometimes use a lee valley dowel cutter. they both work, it depends on what I want to do.

Several years ago I was working part time in a furniture shop and I made some out of white pine.

I just sawed some strips a little over 1/2 inch square, laid them onto a board I had routed a groove in and went at 'em with a plane. only took a few minutes, then I chucked them in a drill and smoothed and tapered them with fine grit sand paper.

Dipped and painted the real purty and gave a couple of 'em to a buddy that killed a turkey with one of 'em.

Never did it again.

John Strunk make a jig and plane for doing this. I believe Raptor Archery(a sponsor here) sells them.Frank

I cheat

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=53

These  arrow shafts are made  from old  salavaged yellow  pine wainscoting.

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d72/Reparrow/arrowswainscotting.jpg)

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d72/Reparrow/nockwalnut2.jpg)

Haven't  bought a shaft in  10 years.

I use a Strunk plane. My favorite so far is Douglas Fir. Lodgepole pine works but is a little tough to plane. I plan on trying Western Larch as soon as I get a bolt thats not windshook. I made a couple outa yew wood just goofing around,spine is way low on it. Should call it noodle wood.

If you figure labour, hand planed arrows are only bout $86.56 a half dozen. Worth every sliver though.

Thanks for the input, I really love that router jig but if they come out looking too perfect then I don't know what I would do. I kinda like the rough cut look of my arrows and they seem to shoot suprisingly well. I dig the old waynesboard shafts, I love takeing the "trash" and turning (no pun intended) it into a treasure.

Bill

I have begun planing my own. Used straight grain fir board I got from Lowes. Bought the planing jig from Three Rivers. I love it and I agree with the roughness and the fact that they are not perfect but fly great.

Jim In Maine I like that walnut knock....how do you do that? (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e359/Islandlongbow/nockwalnut2.jpg)

Jerry

Here is a set of hand planed



Bill

try that again

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c317/oldstickbow/032small.jpg

Bill

one last time

(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c317/oldstickbow/032small.jpg)

omg! it worked! it worked! yeaaaaa!

I've just started to get into furniture making with handtools. Why didn't it occur to me to make arrows? Thanks for the links. I'll have to give that a try.

Jim....nice looking arrows  :thumbsup: