Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: anasazi on August 27, 2012, 11:15:05 pm
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Just wondering if any one uses a shaft abrader or if you just trim your shaft to the diameter you want and deal with the little branches
i have a bunch of choke cherry shoots i have been meaning to try are they any good? Has any one ever tried rose?
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Rose makes great shafts but don't remove the bark until they are dry or they will check.
I don't know what a shaft abraiter is. I do use a thumb plane, fine wood rasp, scraper and sand paper on shoot shafts.
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A shaft abraider is essentially a grooved sanding block. Originally made of stone but one made of wood using sandpaper would probably work as well.
Using the plane and scraper do you just check it often for shape and size or is there another way you keep it even andround
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I do use a abraider but I did'nt know it was called that. If were talking about the same thing. I think we are. You don't use to many tools to build a arrow.
I cut mine (2 1/2" x 3" x1") out of a old hand cranked sanding wheel used for sharpening knives,ax's hatchets etc. I used a 1/2" drill bit to grove 1/2 deep the lenth(3"). But any size will work as long as you have the grove cut down the lenth.
I cut mine out of sand stone to sand my primitive arrows in the round grove. With out sand paper and did a few primite arrows like this. But a 2x2 block will work.
But found out it's a lot better (quicker) to lay (cover the block) 60 to 80 grit sand over the groved top. And sand away holding your hand on top to hold down the shaft as you (sand) move the shaft through the grove. It rounds your shafts and takes the high spots off the shaft as you sand. This helps in getting the shaft straight.
Maybe HUNTINFOOL will post pic's. of the one I have. I posted to him. So you can see what I mean. ANYONE THAT BUILDS SHOOT ARROW NEEDS ONE. Realy speeds the sanding up and rounds off the high spots on your shoots as you go. Where if you only sand holding the sand paper in your hand you also sand the low spots the the higher spots.
I've been useing mine from the first year I started(a long while back and have sanded lots of dozzens of shafts.
I was going to say something when I posted on IOWA'S dog wood build along. But forgot about it.
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I didnt think of using sand stone i have some of that lying around i started using a poris piece of basalt i think it is but that stuff is pretty hard to put a groove in.
You make your shafts a 1/2 in or are they smaller and thats just the size of the groove?
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Most of my shafts are smaller than half inch. But I made my grove 1/2 so my shaft sets down in the grove whille sanding.
With sand stone you can use a grider to shape.
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I have been scraping down a shoot the last couple of weeks (ya i know i am slow) i will have to get a abraider put together over the next week