exploding arrows?? help me!

[ahouse55]

hey guys,
I'm Alec and i am 15, i am almost finished making my first self bow out of rock maple. and today while i was shooting it in(only at 20" draw) the arrow broke. right in front of me, it broke just below the fletching and i think it could be because my arrow shelf is not in the center of my bow so the arrow is on an angle when shot. i got some pics of the arrow here.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=1142362&imageID=12251140

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=1142362&imageID=12251147

Hope you can help

[sailordad]

your links arent working

[ahouse55]

Try them now.

[medicinewheel]

The exact same happend to a guy at the club the other day; it broke twice right in the fletching! - Turned out it was POC, and others said it's normal for aged POC, that's why they don't use it anymore.
I personally never experienced that because I never used it, and I never heard that before.
Was it POC??

PS: your links still don't work!

[AKAPK]

ya gotta have an account with my space to view myspace links

[markinengland]

Any arrow can break like that if it is too weak for the bow. The arrow bends and because it is too weak bends too much and breaks.
It could have been because of a grain flaw in the shaft or because of previous damage there.
An arrow in good condition and of enough stiffness can be shot around quite a wide handle with no problem.

[medicinewheel]

All that is true, Mark. But in my experience  - I never had any of my arrows to break in shot since day one -  it's sort of rare that an arrow braeks, except when it is dramatically under-spined or there is a problem with grain orientation.
But it seems with POC there happens a material fatique!?
Again: I don't know whether this is true; I was told so by several expierienced archers!

[Pat B]

The only arrows I have had break(only one or 2) when shot were either damaged or had bad grain run off. If your arrow is spined correctly it will get around the bow(archers paradox). None of my bows are center shot. None even have shelves.
   What materials are your arrows? Are they spined correctly for the draw weight and draw length? Do you inspect your arrows occasionally for damage?

[Justin Snyder]

ya gotta have an account with my space to view myspace links

Exactly  Alec, most guys wont follow links and hunt for your pictures, try posting your pictures using a meathod that will show up here. Photobucket works great and this site has photo capability also.

[sailordad]

ya gotta have an account with my space to view myspace links

well that explains it,but i wont start an acount just to look at someones pics,sorry

[Kegan]

I even have a mysapce and the pictures wouldn't come up .

But As for a bow "not being centershot enough", that's not a reason an arrow would break. Wood bends. Whenever I've had arrows break it was due to run offs, and it was when they hit something. But POC is more brittle than the heavy birch I use.

[Pat B]

Can you show us pics of the broken arrow(s)? That will tell us why it broke(probably)!

[woodstick]

i broke a few arrows when i missed and hit rocks, or something else. but when you shoot if you hit that arrow with another it could have damaged it. i have shot 50 55 up to 60 65 in all different poundage bows with no problem. so i cant really help you, just make sure your arrows are in good shape it could be bad on you if it was to get ya so be aware of all your gear.

[recurve shooter]

dude your myspace account is set to privet. it wont let anyone c it if they aint on your friends. get a photobucket acound (not hard, trust me) then post pics from there. pm me if you need instructions.

[ahouse55]

cool, thanks for the advice will do that now.
The arrows are made of cedar and i think it broke because the arrow is rated to 25# and my bow is 45# @ 23".