Easiest Arrow Making Jig you'll ever make (Pic HEAVY)

[SamIAm]

This is the best design I've seen yet......I think I'll build me one by golly.  Got a few redwood 2x6's left over from a project, begging' me to run them through the bandsaw.  Thanks a bunch.

[Wooden Spring]

Thesquirrelslinger
"but....... what if the wood is different densities and bending strengths along the length of the bow?"

After building over a dozen of the exact same bow with the same materials and the same dimensions, I've found that the poundages can vary by about 5 pounds +/-...

When I change materials but keep the dimensions the same, obviously the poundages are different, but still, within the new construction, the quality of wood (grain orientation, density of grain, etc) have given a tolerance of about 5 pounds +/-...  I've not built thousands of bows like some on here, but in the samples that I have built, it's rare for me to get a tolerance greater than 5 pounds due to the quality of wood.

[Badger]

  I usually insert a metal drill in my output hole and then adjust until I touch for a rough initial setting.

[Wooden Spring]

  I usually insert a metal drill in my output hole and then adjust until I touch for a rough initial setting.

Yup. That's exactly what I did. And I then adjusted it until I started burnishing the dowels.

For what it's worth, I just got back from a machine shop in town who said they could make me one of these out of stainless steel for around $100 bucks. I can't WAIT to get this! What a bargain... I'm still beating myself up over that Lee Valley tool. Oh, well, I suppose that's what ebay is for. Someone somewhere is bound to want the thing.

[willie]

drill bushings are fairly cheap and could even be installed in a block of hardwood.
they are made from hardened steel (quite a bit harder than most stainless) and come in a variety of styles and can be replaced when worn or the jig need a different size

http://www.reidsupply.com/products/metalworking/drill-busings/


woodenspring
I have built a number of bows the same way with good results. I also use a spreadsheet for design.

When I change materials but keep the dimensions the same, obviously the poundages are different,

would you care to quantify some of the poundage changes you see using different woods in the same design?

willie

[toomanyknots]

toomanyknots,
Nah, don't let anyone bring ya' down. I'm one of those folks who buck trends on a regular basis just to find out for myself WHY things happen the way they do.

The biggest way that I buck trends these days is that I build backed board bows to exacting dimensions - exacting to the point that they hold tolerances to within the thickness of a pen line. And they produce outstanding, predictable, and repeatable results... I was an architect, so I guess I come by it honestly.

The name of the game is trial and error, and the only WRONG way to do anything is just not to do anything at all!

Heck yeah. 

[toomanyknots]

I have built a number of bows the same way with good results. I use a spreadsheet for design also.

I have too, mostly bows with pyramid tapers, but also some thickness tapered reflex deflexs.

[Wooden Spring]

drill bushings are fairly cheap and could even be installed in a block of hardwood.
they are made from hardened steel (quite a bit harder than most stainless) and come in a variety of styles and can be replaced when worn or the jig need a different size

http://www.reidsupply.com/products/metalworking/drill-busings/


woodenspring
I have built a number of bows the same way with good results. I also use a spreadsheet for design.

When I change materials but keep the dimensions the same, obviously the poundages are different,

would you care to quantify some of the poundage changes you see using different woods in the same design?

willie

Willie,
I make my bows 68" long with a 4" handle and 2" fades...  They are always 1/2" thick at the fades, and taper to 7/16" at the tips. (by doing this, you'll have very little wood to remove during tillering). Also, all of my bows have pin nocks.
 
I then start with a 2" wide fade and see where that poundage winds up.

(Note, I never build a bow to an arbitrary size and then tiller it to a certain poundage, I do just the opposite, I build a bow to a certain set of dimensions, and the bow's poundage is what it winds up being.)

This is always a starting point for me when I try a new wood. In the plan below, I have listed the bow wood and dimensions that I have built LOTS of bows to. There's not more listed just because I haven't made a large enough sample yet to call it "repeatable." But the bows listed are fairly repeatable, and easy to make!

Now, keep in mind, if you're using quarter sawn lumber for your belly wood, it's going to be a slightly higher draw weight. If you are using any other cut of wood where the grain is not perfectly vertical as seen from the end view, it's going to be a slightly lower draw weight.

1/8" hickory backing over quarter sawn red oak
> 2" @ fades - 40-45 pounds
> 1 1/2" @ fades - 30-35 pounds

1/8" hickory backing over jatoba
> 2" @ fades - 60-65 pounds

1/8" hickory backing over ipe
> 1 1/4" @ fades - 35 pounds

Let me know if you've got any questions...

[nclonghunter]

what type of router bit are you using for making arrows?

[Wooden Spring]

I use a 1/2" diameter flush trim bit. Available at any hardware store... You really can use whatever diameter bit that you want though.

[SamIAm]

Where does the sawdust exit and have you had any problems regarding a sawdust jam?

[Wooden Spring]

Where does the sawdust exit and have you had any problems regarding a sawdust jam?

The hole in the bottom of the jig is 5/8" diameter, and my router bit is 1/2" diameter. It sounds like a tight tolerance, but in actuality, it isn't really. There's plenty of room for the dust to fall out the bottom of the jig. I've not had the slightest problem with dust or chip buildup, but if you do, it wouldn't be a big deal to attach a shop vac to your router table.

[willie]

Wooden spring
Thanks for the specs on the different belly woods that you have used. Now that I see your design, I must apologize , as I may have asked the same question earlier. I do not recall our previous discussion, but I do remember putting your design into the spreadsheet a few months back, just out of curiosity. It seems to me that by using the same taper on all of your bows, it is easy to predict fade width for the needed poundage. Have you been measuring densities of the various species you use? Some bowyers maintain that density is a better predictor of draw weight than specie.

Willie

[Wooden Spring]

Wooden spring
Thanks for the specs on the different belly woods that you have used. Now that I see your design, I must apologize , as I may have asked the same question earlier. I do not recall our previous discussion, but I do remember putting your design into the spreadsheet a few months back, just out of curiosity. It seems to me that by using the same taper on all of your bows, it is easy to predict fade width for the needed poundage. Have you been measuring densities of the various species you use? Some bowyers maintain that density is a better predictor of draw weight than specie.

Willie

I haven't kept track of densities to be honest. I love reading about the technical aspects of bow building, but when it comes down to my own building, I'm more of a "learn by doing" kind of guy, and unfortunately that doesn't lend itself very well to data gathering...

I make a bow (ok, LOTS of bows) of a certain set of dimensions and materials, then based on the average performance of those bows, I can say with a reasonable amount of certaintly that, a certain dimensions with a certain wood will have a given tolerance of poundage and performance.

To me, that seems a bit more tangable than a spreadsheet of wood properties to try to determine performance. NOT THAT SPREADSHEETS ARE BAD!!!  Like I said, I love reading them, I'm just not fond of making them, because inevitably that's going to involve math somewhere, and admittedly, at heart, I'm just too lazy for all that. ;o)

[Badger]

  Willie, density is a fair predictor when working woods that fall into average elasticity range, most do. When elasticity and design are the same in two bows the thickness will be the same. The actual draw weight adjustment will come in the width.  The more elastic a wood is the lighter mass you can potentialy build a bow most of the time.
If woodshavin is using woods similar in density they will likley come out very close in weight. The denser woods would be proportionaly narrower to make the same weight.