Arrow Sizing or Not?

[Dictionary]

Ok a quick question here. I've read in multiple places that it isn't necessary to get the entire shaft sized to a certain diameter say like 5/16 but instead the natural taper of the shoot is just fine to use. Is this correct?


For example: Jim Hamms book and i think in TTBB they use a peice of wood or metal with a drilled in hole the size of like 5/16, 3/8 or the size they wish and used this to run up and down the shaft to size it.

But then i've heard of some just scraping the bark off and maybe doing a tad bit of scraping on the larger end of the shoot then going directly to the straightening process.

[Pat B]

I don't make my shoot arrows parallel. I like the advantage I get from the natural taper and the weight I get for my hunting arrows. I do reduce the butt end some but my arrows are basically 5/16" at the nock and 3/8" at the point.

[TRACY]

With any of the natural material I have I only use specified diameters as a rough gauge when harvesting green material. Like Pat said w/ natural taper, you would be surprised how well these arrows will fly. Good luck and have fun!

Tracy

[crooketarrow]

  I see no reason not to shoot taper arrows.

[Dictionary]

So i can just scrape a little off the butt end and there is my shaft sized and ready?

I thought this might throw off the balance as its in the air. What if i'm using the arrows for small game and only have the point of the shaft sharpened instead of attaching a point. I'm assuming you guys put a point on the smaller end of the shaft to balance the shaft in the air.

Sorry if these are dumb questions, just wrapping my mind around ALL of it.

[bowtarist]

You want 10 to 15% of your arrow weight front of center, (FOC).  By putting the bigger end @ the point you are helping your FOC ratio out.  I wouldn't use just a sharpened stick to hunt w/, but @least a blunt or hex or homemade smallgame point.  Don't use just field points for small game either.  They tend to shoot thru w/ little damage and cause a lost and wounded animal.  And that's no good.  Check out the "sticky" at the top of the page for ideas on homemade small game points.  I'd say always put the heavy end forward on your arrows, you want the tapper to go from point to nock.  Good luck and post pics when you get em.  dpgratz

[Pat B]

Although some primitive folks used the small end for the point end, most didn't.  I use the big(heavy) end for the point end. A weight-forward arrow flies better and the natural taper makes the arrow less spine sensative. You can just sharpen the heavy end or make it bulbous to use as a blunt.
  This is a set of red osier Plains type arrows I made a few years ago...


The 2 center arrows in this set are sourwood shoot arrows. The 2 outside ones are hill cane arrows. Same weight-forward set up for both materials...


...and these are full tapered ash arrows. They were doweled shafts that bI had tapered full lengtyh to mimic the natural shafting arrows. The same principles apply here too.


 A full tapered shaft is not as spine sensative as straight doweled arrows plus the weight-forward aids in the arrows flight.

  Here are a few ideas for target/field points for cane and hardwood shoots. For the cane a 16d common nail with a cone shaped  blob of braising and for the hardwood shafts a small piece of steel fitted and glued into a slot cut in the tapered point end of the shaft with a sinew wrap to help secure it.
A duplex nail with the second head ground into a point is another option for cane shafts. I don't have any pics of the duplex nail heads.

[Dictionary]

Thank you Pat and bowtartist, this has helped me greatly.

I will definitiely post pics when i can.

[Pat B]

Dictionary, you can see that not only primary and secondary wing feathers or tail feathers can be used for arrow fletching. The gray, non-barred feathers on the one arrow are smaller wing feathers from a Canada goose. I think almost any feather over about 4" long can be used for this tangential 3 fletch style and they fly just as well as any fletching style if done right.

[Dictionary]

I looked up that tangential fletch you were talking about and stumbled upon this old thread https://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=27005.0.

Just to clarify. You can take whole feathers without splitting them and lay them AROUND the shaft in no particular order and tie them and glue them to the shaft that way thus utilizing smaller feathers.


Also Pat i was thinking that i thought shafts had to be sized so the arrowmaker knows the spine of all of them since they are practically the same dimensions and thus shooting them they would all shoot similarly. While using a natural taper, well...shoots grow differently and they would not all be made the same. If you get what im saying?

[Pat B]

For arrow makers yes. They have to be more precise with what they sell. With primitive arrows I don't worry about it. I make arrows one at a time. I try to start with shafts(cane or hardwood shoots) that are at least close in size. I do use a thumb plane to reduce the point end on some if they are too big.
  I'll straighten a few shafts at a time just because there is so much cooling down time before I mess with a particular shaft again. Once all the shafting is straight I use my spine tester to find the stiff side of the shaft and set the arrow up so that stiff side goes against the bow. I cut in the self nock and finish it, wrap behind it, mount the point(whether it be a target/field point, stone or trade point(even commercial glue on arrowheads) and spin test the shaft on my finger tip so I can feel if there is any wobble in the shaft. If the shaft spins well I fletch it and test it out. If it flies well I put it in my quiver. If not, I remove the fletching and make a fluflu out of it for squirrel hunting, etc. My fluflus have the spiral fletching...




These 4 arrows were in my hunting quiver when I went to Colorado this past September.

[Pat B]

The 2 arrows on the left are black walnut shafts(parrallel shafts) that Ken75 sent me.  The fletching on all four of these arrows are not glued to the shaft. I wrap(with real sinew) the rear first
 then a partial wrap on the front. I pull each feather tight against the shaft and continue the wrap to secure the fletching. Be sure to make this forward wrap as smooth as possible with no quill exposed to protect your hand while shooting.

[Dictionary]

Hey thanks Pat. bevan said he might send me some turkey feathers maybe in the upcoming weeks but i may have to try some chicken feathers using the tangential fletching. Is it possible to do the tangential with just 2 whole feathers?  i may have to give that a try. That would probably be a really quick fletch but i don't know about accuracy.

I need to stop asking questions and get to trying some of this out. Just need to get the feathers, couple of hacksaws, and the shoots seasoned.