Footing

[DC]

In TBB3 in the "Custom Arrow" chapter he says that the joint should be 5.25" long. Wikipedia says a scarf joint should 8-10 times as long as wide. For a 3/8" arrow that's 3.75" long. I made a couple with a 3" joint and they seem to work. Why the long joint and why so precise a measurement? I think I would have said "about 5" long" rather than 5.25". It makes me think that there is something magical or special about 5.25".

[Puha Ekapi]

With a short splice your footing is more likely to split when you shove the main shaft into the slot. Even with a 6" splice, some footing woods are hard to keep from splitting.

[Puha Ekapi]

To note, you should always clamp the head of the slot when gluing up a footing, but if it is highly stressed by a short splice, it can split out after the glue is cured and you take the clamp off.

[Stefan]

If you use footings which has a slot sawn in you want a longer joint, that reduces the chance of the footing splitting.

A longer joint also looks better. All my footings on 5/16 or 11/32 shafts have about 4 inch joints (4 splice footings sold by 3rivers archery)

Hope this makes sence since english is not my native langauge. Some of my footed arrows can by seen on this forum. Greetings stefan

[DC]

I am footing bamboo arrows so I have to drill the end to glue in a bamboo skewer so I have a nice wedge. My drill is only 3" long so I was hedging a bit so I didn't uncover the end of the skewer when making the wedge part. I should make a test piece to see how long a wedge I can make with a 3" insert.