First self arrows

[nabiul]

Some 5/16th dowels I got from michaels and old goose feathers I found at the beach, a little bit of gel superglue and a ball of hot glue on the tip of each feather to protect my hand. About 240 grains each and right hand feathers with a right hand twist. It's amazing how your understanding of archery and the physics involved change once you get away from the mechanized gadgets and manufacturer recommended spine charts. These arrows feel like floppy pool noodles when you flex them, maybe 1000 spine or even weaker, but because they have no tips/ concentrated mass at the front they do not flex and shoot like stiff 500 spine arrows. I see now that's not a problem though, too stiff an arrow? Just cant your bow 30 degrees and aim a little lower and to the right.

I was actually worried about them breaking because of how weak they feel so I wore a glove while shooting; one of the dowels snapped in my hand as I was straightening it because the grain ran right off the shaft, it's a good thing that one didn't make it to the field. The rest performed better than my wildest expectations, even hit the wood target frames a bunch of times without any serious damage. I love the woosh the big feathers make; they feel alive, nothing like silent carbon shafts and neatly trimmed industrially made feathers.

[Hawkdancer]

The "whoosh" is all right on the range, but not so neat hunting!  Nice job for the first time out!  Keep an eye on that Grain "run out"!  Try some shoots of cane next!
Hawkdancer

[Trapper Rob]

Nice arrows if you don't have the nocks wrapped you might want to they could split on you

[nabiul]

I was making some more today and I took a closer look at the feathers, is it just me or are the feathers curling in the wrong direction for a right hand twist? They're right hand feathers I'm fairly sure as their natural curve matched the curve of my right hand jig but the way they curl over should make them 'catch' the air and impede clockwise rotation.

[Hawkdancer]

I think as long as they all Match twist, you should be good to go!  If they laid in the right hand jig evenly, that should be good.  When you start working your feathers from scratch, then you need to take care to separate left and right wing twist.  Takes a few mistakes, but you learn to see the difference quickly.  Keep on  Trucking!
Hawkdancer