Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: ahouse55 on August 08, 2009, 12:16:52 am
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hey guys,
I'm Alec and i am 15, i am almost finished making my first self bow out of rock maple. and today while i was shooting it in(only at 20" draw) the arrow broke. right in front of me, it broke just below the fletching and i think it could be because my arrow shelf is not in the center of my bow so the arrow is on an angle when shot. i got some pics of the arrow here.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=1142362&imageID=12251140 (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=1142362&imageID=12251140)
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=1142362&imageID=12251147 (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=1142362&imageID=12251147)
Hope you can help ;D
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your links arent working
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Try them now.
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The exact same happend to a guy at the club the other day; it broke twice right in the fletching! - Turned out it was POC, and others said it's normal for aged POC, that's why they don't use it anymore.
I personally never experienced that because I never used it, and I never heard that before.
Was it POC??
PS: your links still don't work!
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ya gotta have an account with my space to view myspace links :)
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Any arrow can break like that if it is too weak for the bow. The arrow bends and because it is too weak bends too much and breaks.
It could have been because of a grain flaw in the shaft or because of previous damage there.
An arrow in good condition and of enough stiffness can be shot around quite a wide handle with no problem.
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All that is true, Mark. But in my experience - I never had any of my arrows to break in shot since day one - it's sort of rare that an arrow braeks, except when it is dramatically under-spined or there is a problem with grain orientation.
But it seems with POC there happens a material fatique!?
Again: I don't know whether this is true; I was told so by several expierienced archers!
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The only arrows I have had break(only one or 2) when shot were either damaged or had bad grain run off. If your arrow is spined correctly it will get around the bow(archers paradox). None of my bows are center shot. None even have shelves.
What materials are your arrows? Are they spined correctly for the draw weight and draw length? Do you inspect your arrows occasionally for damage?
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ya gotta have an account with my space to view myspace links :)
Exactly ::) Alec, most guys wont follow links and hunt for your pictures, try posting your pictures using a meathod that will show up here. Photobucket works great and this site has photo capability also.
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ya gotta have an account with my space to view myspace links :)
well that explains it,but i wont start an acount just to look at someones pics,sorry
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I even have a mysapce and the pictures wouldn't come up ???.
But As for a bow "not being centershot enough", that's not a reason an arrow would break. Wood bends. Whenever I've had arrows break it was due to run offs, and it was when they hit something. But POC is more brittle than the heavy birch I use.
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Can you show us pics of the broken arrow(s)? That will tell us why it broke(probably)!
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i broke a few arrows when i missed and hit rocks, or something else. but when you shoot if you hit that arrow with another it could have damaged it. i have shot 50 55 up to 60 65 in all different poundage bows with no problem. so i cant really help you, just make sure your arrows are in good shape it could be bad on you if it was to get ya so be aware of all your gear.
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dude your myspace account is set to privet. it wont let anyone c it if they aint on your friends. get a photobucket acound (not hard, trust me) then post pics from there. pm me if you need instructions.
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cool, thanks for the advice will do that now.
The arrows are made of cedar and i think it broke because the arrow is rated to 25# and my bow is 45# @ 23".
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http://s736.photobucket.com/albums/xx6/Ahouse55/?action=view¤t=brokenarrow2.jpg (http://s736.photobucket.com/albums/xx6/Ahouse55/?action=view¤t=brokenarrow2.jpg)
http://s736.photobucket.com/albums/xx6/Ahouse55/?action=view¤t=brokenarrow.jpg (http://s736.photobucket.com/albums/xx6/Ahouse55/?action=view¤t=brokenarrow.jpg)
hows that?
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The spine of an arrow relates to 28" draw, which means if you make it an inch shorter it will be automatically stiffer by up to 5#. If your pull is 23" and your arrow is 23" with 25# spine it is not so critical, if at all!
Anyone here can say something about that problem (or not) of material fatigue of cedar??? - I would be really interested to hear about that!
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That doesn't look like grain run off to me, it almost looks like a transverse fracture. And I shoot dozens of premium POC arrows from the 60s and early 70s and never had a problem. I don't think it would have caused a fracture but why shoot vanes especially with a bow not center shot. I could be wrong but those arrows look like they are the ones for youth bows (very lite spine even for a 20" draw). That crest and pressed on point just remind me of them.
Just my 2 cents
Bill
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The arrows that exploded on me were POC and had been shoot many times. From looking at the breaks, they were damaged at sometime and finally gave up under the pressure of the shot. Now, when I miss a target and hit something hard(tree, rock) or deflect an arrow off of another object, I flex the shaft beyond what it would normally flex just to see if there in an unseen fracture in the wood. If the arrow is sound, it should be able to handle the extreme flex I give them. I would rather break a few arrows in a controlled way than have the emergency room doctor remove the splinters from my hand or arm.
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Interesting break there. I have to agree it looks like it was damaged before the shot. I have had a few break like that, although mine are usually at the other end. Mine came from missing the intended target like Pat said. How long are the arrows from tip to nock?
Just as a side note. If you use the bottom IMG code link from photobucket it will show the picture here.
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx6/Ahouse55/brokenarrow2.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx6/Ahouse55/brokenarrow.jpg)
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This is one of my POC arrows that broke. It is 28 1/2" t/t, spine weight is 45# to 50# for my 50# to 55# self bows. The physical weight of the finished arrow was 525gr with a 125gr field point. This arrow had been shot hundreds of times before it broke. The arrow broke at release and the string hit high up on my left(bow) arm just below my shoulder. I found the back portions of the arrow at my feet but didn't find the forward end until the next day...behind the target...15 yds away.
After studying the arrow I could see it broke across the shaft in 2 locations; at about mid shaft and about 1" behind the forward end of the fletching. I believe this was from an unseen crack(s) from past damage. ....and no one was injured during this incident! ;D
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Pat, the one I saw break looked just like this one, but the two fractures where both in the fletching area.
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Frank, I believe this kind of break to be from unseen damage. Why else would it break across the shaft?
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well yes that would be a very good reason for them to break. :D
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Don't mean to hi-jack, but what's wrong with using vanes?
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Don't mean to hi-jack, but what's wrong with using vanes?
There is nothing wrong with vanes if that is what floats your boat. Most of us spend a lot of time building our wood bows and wood arrows, avoiding most man made materials while we are doing it. You can use whatever you want and it wont bother me, but I for one am not going to ruin a pretty wood bow and arrow set by putting plastic vanes on my arrows. And I sure as heck not going to use carbons. ;)
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...and not only what Justin said but vanes don't seem to fly well off of a stick bow(primitive or trad). If you use an elevated rest, they work better.
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I have to agree with Pat, that break looks like it started from a crack from previouse damage. The one that broke and cost me $7 grand hit a fence and came apart with a straight break like that. On top of the emergency room visit, there was 4 nights in the hospital and surgery. If I think one might have a hairline break, I go ahead and break it.
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Just to let yuo all know, I've been shooting POC almost exclusivly for 15 years and never had an issue with older shafts breaking. I oil them regularly and weed em out if they look too worn.