well that went a lot better

[jeffp51]

Thanks for the compliments. Crooked Arrow, I think making a good set of arrows may be tougher making a good bow. But how can you shoot one without the other? I make mine for a few reasons:

-when I looked at buying good arrows, the sticker shock about gave me a heart attack. Too much for something designed to break eventually.
- it tickles my OCD buttons in a good way. I know if I work it long enough, I can get it just right.
-home made arrows seem to match a home made bow

--but I don't care all that much about pure primitive-ness. I like to make beautiful, useful (functional) things.  These are hardware store bamboo shafts. I would rather save my wild feathers for the self harvested shoots I have drying.

Thanks again.

These

[Ruddy Darter]

Very nice arrows, the spliced fletchings look ace 

Ruddy Darter.

[Mounter]

Wow, beautiful job all around.. Tips, cresting and fletch job...

[loon]

haha I thought you died the feathers, not spliced
Do you use a spine tester?
Man I can't wait to make a matched set. Nice job. Being able to make a matched set is awesome, I hear it is much harder than just making one.

[jeffp51]

My spine tester is a digital caliper (from harbor freight) and a chart downloaded from the internet. I found several examples in Google, and it is a cheap and accurate setup. It is fairly easy to sand a shaft to match spine, or to match weight, but harder to do both at the same time.

[DC]

To match spine, sand in the middle, to match weight, sand the ends.

[DC]

What diameter of boo do you look for for 75# spine?

I was spining some shafts and remembered this post. These are all just under 3/8" and spine 50,60,70 and 80 left to right. It's impossible to tell just by diameter. I think the wall thickness and age at harvest have more to do with it. I just stockpile them and pick out the spine I want. If it's not there I sand or scrape down a heavier one. The actual weight of them is all over the map too.

[jeffp51]

Just an update--I have been shooting these four arrows for a bit now, and while I still miss plenty, I also have hit some really nice groups on a far more consistent basis than ever before.  I am now confident that when I miss, it is my fault and not the equipment.  It is also nice to see just the nock and the spinning fletchings going down range. 

Of course the down side is now I am getting a soft spot in the middle of my target and since the arrows are flying straight, they sometimes penetrate up to the fletchings. . .


DC, I have noticed the same thing about bamboo thickness and spine.

[JoJoDapyro]

Just an update--I have been shooting these four arrows for a bit now, and while I still miss plenty, I also have hit some really nice groups on a far more consistent basis than ever before.  I am now confident that when I miss, it is my fault and not the equipment.  It is also nice to see just the nock and the spinning fletchings going down range. 

Of course the down side is now I am getting a soft spot in the middle of my target and since the arrows are flying straight, they sometimes penetrate up to the fletchings. . .


DC, I have noticed the same thing about bamboo thickness and spine.

Tape some cardboard over the front and back.

[DC]

Of course the down side is now I am getting a soft spot in the middle of my target and since the arrows are flying straight, they sometimes penetrate up to the fletchings. . .

I guess that's one advantage to being a lousy shot

[Lumberman]

Ooh la la those look nice