Making your own arrows

[NigelT]

For those who are interested - I've written an article on making your own arrows (combat and target), and included photos.

http://www.gatheringdarkness.co.nz/wiki/index.php/MakeYourOwnArrows

If you spot any mistakes or see anything that needs clarification please let me know.

Cheers,
Nigel

[Black Jack]

Hey Nigel, great article, very clear and well written. The only thing I would have added was the importance of positioning the nock on the shaft so that the grain of the wood is at right angles to the bow. This way the strongest part of the arrow is always flexing against the bow on release.
( there is also the issue of the way the grain fibres slant up through the shaft, but it's a bit hard to explain and I don't have the facility to add pictures).
As an aside, have you tried using heat shrink on the arrows instead of tape? I've recently bought a few lengths of the clear variety but haven't got 'round to trying it yet.(I hate the look of the tape, and it adds a lot of weight to the arrow).

regards, John

[NigelT]

Hi Blackjack.

A couple of very good points about nocks - I shall amend the article and include those.

No I haven't tried heat shrink. I would have thought it would add just as much weight to the arrow as tape. The only thing wrong with heatshrink is that it's not reinforced. It's the same reason we don't allow just any old tape or an extra thick helping of varnish - they don't contain the splinters when the arrow breaks against a shield or helmet. If you can show me that heat-shrink is tear resistant then I'd personally be happy for you to use it, but I'll reserve opinion for the timebeing. Keep in mind that there can be a terrific amount of leverage on a breaking arrow in flight - the fibre reinforced tape is under considerable stress for a fraction of a second. 50% of the arrows I've seen broken have broken the tape too, but due to the tape it's been a clean right-angle break and not a splintering break as you'd get with a bare shaft.

Perhaps if you're willing to experiment, and will be at Easter Camp, you could bring a heat-shrinked disposable shaft with you and do some test breaking.

Nigel

[Black Jack]

Hi Nigel. There may be something in the heatshrink idea. I just covered an arrow (one of the POC shafts you supplied) 1/2 with Scotch reinforced fibre tape, the other 1/2 with clear heatshrink, and broke it. Twice each half. The tape resisted puncturing until the shaft was bent to a right angle, then tore. The heatshrink stayed intact even when the shaft was bent back over on itself!
The heatshrink is slightly heavier (10 grains for the same length, allowing for the tape to be doubled to cover the shaft), but it is virtually invisible. It would also be a little dearer, probably about $1.30 per shaft. I'm confident it would work, and possibly be even better than tape. I'd encourage you to try it yourself. I'll see if I can get one of my kids to help me post some pictures! ( technologically challenged!!)

Regards, John.

[NigelT]

John,

That sounds very encouraging. If you can preserve a clear wood finish on the shaft so that it at least looks the part, I'm sure that will appeal to a lot of people.

I'm not sure of the brand of tape I'm using. I don't think it's scotch, but it's probably similar. The fibres in the tape I'm using are litereally fibreglass or similar and are a lot stronger than the fibres in cloth tape. That said, the test you're talking about with the heatshrink sounds like it would probably do the job quite well. I think it's worth trying myself. If it looks like it's a go, we may be able to purchase in bulk to bring down the cost, although I have no idea where from.

Cheers,
Nigel

[Black Jack]

Hi Nigel. I got the heatshrink (10mm) from Jaycar Electronics. They have a store in upper Taranaki St. in Wellington.
If I can find someone from this area who is going to the Easter camp I'll ask them to bring down the broken arrow for you to evaluate.

Regards, John