Self-nock process

[PAWannabe]

Looking for some insight....
What process do you use to cut your self-nocks? Thanks!

[Hillbilly]

I mark the shaft at 3/8", then cut down the center to the mark with a fine-toothed hacksaw. Then I use a little round rasp or a tile-cutting blade to widen the slot, and finish it out with sandpaper. I trim the square ends of the shaft down with a knife and smooth and round them with sandpaper. Just be careful and keep your slot straight and centered or your arrow won't fly straight. With a little practice, only takes a couple minutes per arrow.

[Pat B]

I do similar to Hillbilly but use a band saw for the original cut.  Depending on whether you are using hardwood shoots and cane or split and sawn out shaft stock, the direction of the nock cut is a critical factor. With shoots and cane, you want the stiffest side perpendicular to the string and with split and sawn out stock you want your nock perpendicular to the annual ring grain(which is in fact the stiffest sine usually).
   Welcome to PA.       Pat

[Dustybaer]

same process as mentioned before, but i use a saw for ceramic tiles.  matches the thickness of my strings perfectly.

[Justin Snyder]

I use my table saw.  It takes about 3 seconds per arrow. I will post some pictures of my jig when I find it. I cleaned the garage, now I cant find anything.  Justin

[DBernier]

Like Justin I use my table saw. Can't remember where I saw this jug but thought?     Why not.

Dick

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[Justin Snyder]

Yes sir Dick, just like that. I use it to cut groves for nocks and reinforcing spines.  I never got around to putting the clamp on, I just hold the shaft in the groove. I figure since the jig is 6" tall and the blade only comes up 1 1/2" when I am cutting a grove for a reinforcing spine and 5/8" when I cut nocks, I am safe to hold the top 3". Justin

[Pat B]

Was that one that Nick(Ionian) came up with. He made a few different gigs for making and splining self nocks and a tapering gig.     Pat

[scattershot]

As above, but I use the tile blade as an intermediate cut and finish with a chainsaw file. The last few strokes with the file are done at an angle to round the corners of the slot. Then sandpaper to remove the rough spots inside the slot. I don't even measure the depth of the initial cut. I just saw until the back of the hacksaw blade is even with the shaft

[Sparrow]

First off I saw in 3/4 of an inch with a hacksaw blade,widen and square it with a flat needle file (Harbor freight has a set cheap) and glue in a strip of hardwood as a insert.trim and smooth that all up,cut another notch 1/2 inch deep crossways of my insert and use a round needle file to make it a nice width and dead down the center.I start fitting my bowstring into the eqaution now and round out the inside end of the knock so that the nock just grips the string(Like a modern plastic nock does) so my arrow does'nt fall out of the string while I am fumbling around getting set up for a shot.When I fletch the shaft,I wind the sinew from the back of the fletch up to the bottom of the notch. I do this on all my hunting arrows.It sounds like I am over-building my knocks(and I probably am) but I have never had a self-knock split yet that I've built this way. Frank

[Justin Snyder]

Frank, the hardwood insert is what I meant by a reinforcing spine.  Sometimes I use horn, sometimes hardwood. They are referred to as spined knocks. You must use the wrap with thread or sinew, or use the reinforcing insert, but you don't need both.  However on my hunting arrows I do both just because I like the look.  Justin

[DanaM]

Justin you still have all 10 fingers

[Justin Snyder]

Dana, yes I have all 10 and 2 eyes. Justin

[PAWannabe]

Thanks for the help guys. It is appreciated.

[ricktrojanowski]

I taped 3 fine hacksaw blades together offset so that at one end only 1 blade is exposed.  At the opposite end 2 blades are exposed.  In the center all three are together.  Mark end of shaft 5/8" centered on shaft cutting across the grain.  Cut first w/1 blade then widen with the 2 blades then 3.  Then take a small rattail file and make a "snap nock by twisting  like a drill at base of nock.  Then round off with some really small detail files and sandpaper.  Then finally wrap the shaft just below the nock w/sinew.