Cutting Shafts For Points

[hillbilly61]

 How do you cut the shafts for the stone points. Seems like I have to cut the boo shaft notch to long for the shaft to fold/compress onto the point befor I wrap it with the sinew

[mullet]

 You can take the end of the reed and boil it and it will get soft. Press it around the point and squeeze the notch with some pliers till it cools.

[Pat B]

With cane or hardwood shoots I generally make a single saw cut about 3/4" long(depending on point). Then I open the cut with a thin bladed knife and sandpaper(folded and refolded to increase thickness) until the stone point fits and is fairly straight. Then I drip hot pitch glue into the slot, warm up the point and bed it in the warm pitch glue. I spin check and adjust as needed. If it doesn't spin true heat the head a bit and readjust it and spin test...until it is true.
  While the pitch glue is still warm I chew sinew until soft and wrap around and below the head. When the sinew is dry I spin test again. If all is good Seal the sinew...if not, reheat the head a bit, re-adjust, spin test, etc.

[sailordad]

i do pretty much as PatB does
i make each chaft fit the head thats going on it.
i also make sure the head gets fitted in the shaft the same way each time(so that the same side of the head is on the same side of the notch each time)

[Knocker]

Question - Is pitch glue commercially available, or does one need to make their own?
Thanks,
Keith

[DanaM]

Most make their own but I think 3 Rivers sells it

[hillbilly61]

  The pitch glue looks easy enogh to make.  With the sap starting to flow now is thier a way to cut the tree to get the sap coming out w/o killing the tree?  Making my own bows, making my own points now want to bring it all together and kill my first true trad dear.

[AncientArcher76]

I know if you look real hard on braches or sometimes on trunks of pine trees you will see clumps of sap.  With some time and possibly climbing a little you can collect enough.  Also if you look it up you can make birch pitch,  Good luck

AA

[Pat B]

For pitch glue and pitch varnish I like to use hard, brittle pitch clods found on the tree wound or the ground next to a tree. Most of what I use is pine. If you use oozy pitch it takes forever to set up because the volatile oils have to evaporate. The volatile oils have already evaporated from the hard pitch so the pitch glue hardens as it cools and the varnish dried hard when the alcohol evaporates.

[hillbilly61]

I'm gonna contradict myself here. Will 5 min epoxy work too

[DanaM]

Yup epoxy works just fine, wipe the stone with acetone first

[hillbilly61]

 Cool. Gonna try and build one or 2 today.

[DanaM]

Add a drop or two of Fieblings black dye to the epxy and it will look like pitch

[sailordad]

hillbilly61    pitch is super easy to make,especially once youve learned how.
use the epoxy if you must,but still give the pitch a try
once i did i never went back on my primitive stuff(i.e. knive and point hafting)
if i make an arrow that is getting a modern point weather its a target tip or hunting tip then i use epoxy