Home Depot Garden Stake Bamboo Arrow Build-A-Long (Pic Heavy)

[SA]

i would have never though to use garden stakes, very detailed thanks for posting.

[tenbrook]

well I got one arrow done 'cept the point, thinking about puting a stone one on it
thank's for the build-a-long, helped alot, Bub

Sweet.......That looks great!

Glad you liked the buildalong and your welcome.

Tenbrook

[tenbrook]

Great post!

I do almost the exactly same thing with my arrows, but I don't seal them (for no particular good reason).

One thing that I do that is a bit different is that I actually weigh all the shafts, select those that are in the ballpark for grains/inch (for my final shaft length), straighten them, rough spine them, cut them to the length that I want, then weigh each shaft (and mark with a piece of tape)-----then create my point on the duplex nails, then figure out how much to cut off each nail so that the total shaft + shortened nail = my desired arrow weight.

It's pretty easy to allocate a certain number of grains per 1/4" of nail (depending on your nails), and then you can just cut off 1/2", 1/4", etc...or more to create arrows that are more or less weight matched.

Cheers,
J

Seems like a great idea and you are getting matched weight shafts, but.......

IMO.  When you cut the nail you are changing your point weight, therefore changing the spine of your arrow.  The more of the nail you cut off, the lighter you are making your point weight and the stiffer your arrow becomes.  Making it so you no longer have matched spined arrows.

Like I said this is just my opinion and I am no expert.

Hope this helps. 

Tenbrook

[FAW]

Tenbrook

You have presented a very thorough and detailed account for preparing bamboo arrows from some available supplies and for those of us that like creating our own, it should prove a great benefit. Thank you.

[bowsandroses]

Thanks a million for this post. I am taking my little baby Juniper bow and my Osage, for a back up, bow to the West side late hunt in a couple of weeks. ( Western Or,) I am short on Arrows and was afraid of commiting the ultimate crime, next to poeching, and use modern arrows. But thanks to your post my spirit is rekendled and I went straight to home depot and got me some Bamboo now I don't have to worry about the Taboo. OOOOHHH! THANKS! I normaly use Goose feathered Wild rose but no time for cureing. Now all I need is Goose feathers and I think I found those Yeah. The good spirits once again with me.

[hedgeapple]

Great thread!  I've been making tomato stake arrows since I finished my first bow about 3 years ago.  I love them.  They are tough as nails.  But, I'm not too old to learn new tricks   I never thought of using a razor blade to split to a predrilled hole for the nocks.  I'll give that a try.  Lately, I've been using a Dremel tool with a cutting wheel.  The cutting wheel is a bit thinner than needed for the string to slide on, but this allow me to correct a bit if I don't get the cut dead center because I use the cutting wheel to sand the gap wider anyhow.

I've not used the Gorilla glue.  Got to give it a try.

Is the hot melt glue you use the same stuff as you can buy anywhere for the hot melt glue guns?  Or is it specially formulated for archery purposes?

A couple note:
Lowes sells the bamboo stakes individually so you can pre-sort them before you buy them.
When I cut the stakes I tape them with a clear scotch tape.  I find this helps prevent splitter.  You still have to go slowly, though.

[tenbrook]

Thanks a million for this post. I am taking my little baby Juniper bow and my Osage, for a back up, bow to the West side late hunt in a couple of weeks. ( Western Or,) I am short on Arrows and was afraid of commiting the ultimate crime, next to poeching, and use modern arrows. But thanks to your post my spirit is rekendled and I went straight to home depot and got me some Bamboo now I don't have to worry about the Taboo. OOOOHHH! THANKS! I normaly use Goose feathered Wild rose but no time for cureing. Now all I need is Goose feathers and I think I found those Yeah. The good spirits once again with me.

I'm glad you liked the tutorial.

Post some pictures of your finished arrows here.  Can't wait to see them!!!

[tenbrook]

Great thread!  I've been making tomato stake arrows since I finished my first bow about 3 years ago.  I love them.  They are tough as nails.  But, I'm not too old to learn new tricks   I never thought of using a razor blade to split to a predrilled hole for the nocks.  I'll give that a try.  Lately, I've been using a Dremel tool with a cutting wheel.  The cutting wheel is a bit thinner than needed for the string to slide on, but this allow me to correct a bit if I don't get the cut dead center because I use the cutting wheel to sand the gap wider anyhow.

I've not used the Gorilla glue.  Got to give it a try.

Is the hot melt glue you use the same stuff as you can buy anywhere for the hot melt glue guns?  Or is it specially formulated for archery purposes?

A couple note:
Lowes sells the bamboo stakes individually so you can pre-sort them before you buy them.
When I cut the stakes I tape them with a clear scotch tape.  I find this helps prevent splitter.  You still have to go slowly, though.

Try the Gorilla Gule I think you'll like it! 

The hot melt glue is just some stuff of the shelf.  I used to use "Ferr-L-Tite" but found regular Hot Melt Glue works better for me.

Thanks for the Lowes tip.  We don't have one around here or I might have to make a trip.  I also like the Scotch Tape idea.  Great thinking!

Thanks again!

Tenbrook

[hedgeapple]

Thanks Tenbrook for all the info.

[youngbowyer]

great buildalong! Just went to home depot and picked up 3 bags of bamboo. So far i have 6 ready for straightening. Bye bye port orford cedar!

[brick]

Meant to get these up sooner but kept getting sidetracked with other jobs and just got a chance to finish them up today. I started with two fletched with chicken feathers and one that I used a turkey feather that I found and tried a couple different styles to see what I prefer. I need to find a source of better feathers before I make more, but overall I'm pretty happy with these. They definitely shoot better than the carbon ones they sold me with the bow at Bass Pro. Both the arrows and the quiver are made with switch cane that grows all over the place around here. Thanks again for the great guide.
Brick

[tenbrook]

great buildalong! Just went to home depot and picked up 3 bags of bamboo. So far i have 6 ready for straightening. Bye bye port orford cedar!

NICE!  Post some pictures when you finish em' up. 

[tenbrook]

Meant to get these up sooner but kept getting sidetracked with other jobs and just got a chance to finish them up today. I started with two fletched with chicken feathers and one that I used a turkey feather that I found and tried a couple different styles to see what I prefer. I need to find a source of better feathers before I make more, but overall I'm pretty happy with these. They definitely shoot better than the carbon ones they sold me with the bow at Bass Pro. Both the arrows and the quiver are made with switch cane that grows all over the place around here. Thanks again for the great guide.
Brick

Those arrows look awesome.........Fantastic job!!!

[SA]

here are a couple i made , the top one is a 3 fletch with an abowyer point made from a spoon,the bottom one is a 2 fletch w/a  trade point. they fly pretty well and i do plan on making more.

[tenbrook]

here are a couple i made , the top one is a 3 fletch with an abowyer point made from a spoon,the bottom one is a 2 fletch w/a  trade point. they fly pretty well and i do plan on making more.

Those points look deadly.

Great work!!!