So I am nearing the final stages of my first self-made bow.  It's a basic pyramid following many of the ideas shared on this forum.  My usual bow is a basic, no-nonsense Samick Sage and I can pick out shafts for that just fine.  But having to shoot around a wide shelf is a new ballgame entirely.  Just exercising the limbs at about 3/4 draw put me hitting about 6' to the left (shooting right handed) with some carbon arrows I've used with my Samick.  Playing around a bit with a dynamic spine calculator gave me the impression that I'm going to need some VERY weak shafts to get around the riser so I can use some help in figuring this out.

The bow is going to be intended for backyard shooting & maybe some roving on occasion.  At 70" it's a bit long for hunting in the deep woods & steep terrain I frequent.  But I may opt to build another shorter bow of the same basic design & draw weight if the mood strikes me later and it would be good to interchange the ammo.

I backed the bow with burlap/Titebond III last night so the dimensions/specs below were taken before applying the backing.  I still need to make a string for it (using poly rope to tiller).  Some finish sanding may lighten the limbs a bit, too.

46-47# @ 28", though I'm only pulling about 27".  Again, this is +/- at this point since I've now added a light backing and need to finish sanding.
Riser width = 1 3/16" (I may add a little leather on the handle for a strike plate so that may add 1/8 or more to each side.
Width at fades = 2"
Width at tips = 11/16"

According to the spine calculator, I'll need arrows spined at about 19# if shooting at 32" with 125 gr tips.  Is that accurate?  Sounds like kid arrows & if they're coming out of a 45# bow, will these even hold up?  Any guidelines out there for how to select a spine weight once I get the bow ready to shoot?

It's pretty hard to tell what is going to work.  If you are lucky enough to have a decent shop nearby you could go in and test shoot.  The word that comes to my mind is "wood"  

An archery shop that deals with traditional gear nearby would be nice but it's a tall order.  There must be greater profit margins for compounds & all the associated gear because the 2 shops out here barely know what to do with recurves & carbons, let alone selfbows and wood shafts.  Overheard the owner of one shop bragging to another customer about his 80-yard shot at a deer...  I called the other shop to ask if they had anybody on staff that can help me with traditional gear.  They just told me "No, sorry."

Wood or bamboo.  I've been real happy with bamboo arrows out of China for about $3 each (under $40 the dozen, shipped).

I would get some wood shafts spined 40-45 pounds. Spinetested with a two pound weight on 26" centers. They can be bought, do not cost much. That spine should get you in the ballpark.

I had the same problem with one of my bows.  I raised the brace height 1/2" and that helped quite a bit.  I shoot carbons, too.  I love the look and smell of cedar shafts, but I just don't have the patience to straighten them.

How deep is the handle, back to belly?

Boo or cane shafts fly awesome.

Mad Max - the handle section is 1.5".

35 - 40 # spine, 100 grain points, leave them 2 inches over your drawlength. Then shorten 1/4 at a time if necessary.  Easy when you know how  

To be honest I wouldn't recommend wood arrows. The reason is simple. They are more of a pain to tune because they break (which can happen if you're shooting 6' left), and because it can take forever to glue and unglued 5 different point weights and then cut them down 1-4" at a time. I e done it, but I don't love it.

I would start with 600 spine carbons left full length and add point weight until they tuned. I would recommend buying a field point test kit with 125 as the lowest weight. I think that will get you there.

Ben I think tuning wood arrows is fun.. Ya only need to tune one arrow, then cut the others to the same length.

I agree Roy, it is fun. After building and tuning 8dozen wood shafts over the last 2 years or so I guess I'm just taking a break.

Well Ben, if ya knew how to shoot, ya wouldn't lose or break so many..    LOL

QuoteOriginally posted by Roy from Pa:
Well Ben, if ya knew how to shoot, ya wouldn't lose or break so many..       LOL

Trust me I feel the same way sometimes.

I never loose an arrow  

Me neither Monty, I can keep em all in the foam..

You could try 40-45 with a 125 grain point but leave them 30" long. That would leave them 29" to the back of the point.

If you need a weaker spine you can change to 100 grain. That would increase the dynamic spine by 5#

I wrote this several years ago.

http://traditionalarchery101.com/selfbowcare.html

Jawge

Well, thanks for all the advice.  Unfortunately, the bow busted on me earlier this week.  The lower limb just gave way after the 3rd or 4th shot that morning.  So it's back to the bench to carve out another one.  Doing another pyramid design but a little more narrow handle & will try to be a little smarter about my tillering.  Hopefully I can build it to last more than a couple weeks.  In the meantime, I appreciate the info.  I'm pretty new at this selfbow thing.

And my arrow shafts just came in...  Guess I'll see if I can still use them.