How did people spine arrows back in the day???

[koan]

I would think, just my opinion cuz i aint studied it out.. that most arrows from really early times would have pretty tall fletching to help correct otherwise eratic flight. Makes for accurate, albeit slower arrows... Brian

[mullet]

Actually, when you look at pictures of old arrows, they were cut short and long.

[Chad]

Arrows would be tested at targets and the accurate shooters would be culled and kept. The ones that weren't accurate served another purpose. As long as they would land within a four foot circle of thereabouts, you could wrap the heads of these in tow and keep for fire arrows. If you're going to launch them into the thatch roofs of an enemy village, you're going to lose that arrow obviously. So you don't need your best for that, just the ones that will hit a circle the size of a hut roof.

Well I bet I'll have a big pile of those when I'm done so look out enemy village!

[koan]

Eddie, would the longer length shorter heighth fletching have the same effect of correcting quicker?

[Pat B]

Brian, I think it is surface area. Ideally you want to use the least amount of fletching as possible and still get good arrow flight. Feathers slow the arrow down. That's how they work...drag. I don't know if anyone has studied a comparison of different styles of fletching. It would be interesting to find out.  I think basically it is personal preference.

[agd68]

I believe that primitive arrow makers had a concept of spine , they just may not have understood all the science behind it. making an arrow completely primitive, even with steel tools takes too much work to just hope for the best when it's done. I think  early fletchers became their own spine tester, learning through experience how stiff , thick or heavy needed to be.  English fletcher used shaft weight as a means to match shafts to a bow. Perhaps there is a coloration between a shafts weight and relative spine.

[bow101]

I have not spined any arrows yet.  Will get around to making a spine jig but not a priority.  I started using 3/8" and they were all flying off to the left.  Made 11/32" shafts and now I have no excuse other than bad aim and poor fletching work........

[Danzn Bar]

Arrow spine is only a short cut to good arrow flight...............not accuracy
DBar

[Dharma]

Hooah!  Excellent point!

[JackCrafty]

They spined their arrows by shooting them at a close-range target and without fletching.  Arrows that shot straight into the target were spined correctly.  The ones that shot sideways into the target were either too stiff or too limber.  The stiff ones were shaved down and shot again until they flew correctly and the limber ones were not used.

[PrimitiveTim]

I make a lot of arrows that shoot well and I don't use any kind of spine tester.  I use cane and bamboo, which are known to be forgiving but I just use the ones that feel about right.  After shooting bad shafts you'll know the ones that are good and about how long they need to be.  My approach has mostly been to get as many materials as possible and experiment and play with it.  I think afterwards you'll have a better understanding. 

[Pappy]

They probably didn't call it spine but you can be sure they knew the difference between to stiff and to weak, I am sure they done it by feel but knew longer or shorter made them better or worse,same as you can do without a spine tester,I have 3 or 4 spine testers and use them regurally but as Jawges said just to get me in the ball park,then tune each from there,especially when using Cain or shoot shafts ,I make them 1 at a time.
  Pappy

[Prarie Bowyer]

Brian, I think it is surface area. Ideally you want to use the least amount of fletching as possible and still get good arrow flight. Feathers slow the arrow down. That's how they work...drag. I don't know if anyone has studied a comparison of different styles of fletching. It would be interesting to find out.  I think basically it is personal preference.

I'm guessing the modern archery industry has done....thinking of those tint fletches on the market.

[Dharma]

Well, I ain't got a spine tester. Shoot fire, those jokers cost over a hundred duckets! Some are dang near two hundred clams or more. I can get a lot of arrow building supplies for that and even when I cull the flyers, I still come out ahead. I give the flyers to Navajo folks here who hang them above the threshold of their doors. They ain't gonna be shootin' 'em.

I got plenty of time out here on the rez to sit on my front porch stoop and make arrows. Ain't much else to do. Two and a half hours to the nearest town of appreciable size. Flip a coin, we going to Flagstaff, AZ or Farmington, NM? But the more I'm sittin' here making shafts, the more I'm learning by "feel" what shafts are going to be right.

Talked to an older Navajo guy yesterday who saw my arrows and was curious. He shared with me that the way the Navajo straightened their shafts was building a fire over sand. Then they shoved the shafts into the hot sand and straightened them while they were hot. They had a shaft diameter sizing tool and straightening wrench made out of ram horn. The hole was of the diameter of shafts that shot best from that particular bow so it was matched to the bow. They grooved the shafts with zig-zag lines to represent lightning. They used some type of shoots that grow someplace but so far, I haven't seen any that would work. One other Navajo guy told me Mountain Mahogany is what was used. He said the bows were sinew-backed Gambel's Oak. This dude showed me a bow he made like this, plus the arrows. The arrows had flared nocks and fletching was about 5.5" long and cut low and straight. The usual Navajo crest is black-red-black-red bands about 3/4" wide.  But the zig-zag grooves cut into the shafts are the most important thing. Every Navajo I've talked to about arrows brings this up as being very important. Grooves help keep the shaft straight, but the fact is, it represents lightning and this is the reason put forth. Lightning and arrows are related to one another here.

There's a lot of archery-related lore still here. There's an article of jewelry here called a "ketoh" or "bow guard" which is a bracer. Thick leather bracer to which has been added silver and turquoise. I have two of these. The Hopi wear these also. Arrowheads are commonly worn or carried on the person for protection. A gift of an arrow or an arrowhead is very deeply appreciated.   

[JackCrafty]

Dharma, excellent info!!  Can you ask on of those fellows what type of targets they use for target practice, if any?  I've heard that most target practice was simply shooting at a mound of dirt.