General Trad Questions for everyone...

[Paul Cataldo]

Gentlemen,
  I'm at home for lunch today, and I wanted to take a second to ask if anyone can tell me what type of arrow I might use with my new recurve?
  Is it just like the compound bow, where I want at least 5 grains of arrow weight per pound of draw weight?  IOW, I'm shooting a 50lb recurve, so I need about a 250gr arrow?  I know, I know, I doubt I could even get an arrow this light.
  I need some QUALITY arrows soon, so if anyone can help me determine what type of arrow to use, that would be great.  Are most of you guys shooting aluminums or wood arrows?  I suppose the other option is carbon arrows with the woodgrain color??
  I'm just trying to find a good QUALITY arrow that I'll want to keep and use for a long time, and something that might be a little more "traditional" than a black carbon arrow???
  Do I figure arrow LENGTH, by drawing the bow back and trying to get the arrow to hang over the shelf about 1 full inch, when I'm at full draw???
  Thanks guys.

[deerfly]

no, you're gonna want something closer to 8-10 gr per lb.

Your draw length is what the arrow length is at the back of the bow. Anything over that is finger protection against broad heads and somewhat of a personal preference, but does affect the dynamic spine of the arrow. So its important to realize the effects of how much extra length you want. Most guys use about an inch though. Hope this helps. -eric

[Paul Cataldo]

Ok deerfly,
  You say "most guys use about an inch though".

Does this mean most guys are using about an inch hanging over the risers shelf at full draw???
  Just want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly.
  Thanks buddy.

[Shawn Leonard]

Get some industrial Velcro at Wally World and make a new rest and strike plate. It wears like iron. Shawn

[Paul Cataldo]

Well, I was just looking at the Seal Skin from 3Rivers, and was planning on buying some of that stuff to use.
  I keep reading about "arrow plates", and "strike plates", etc, and I really don't know if this is something I will need to do or what?
  I mean, the bow currently had some old fleece on it, on the shelf, and on the riser wall.  There is not really any type of "strike plate" on the bow.  Still a little confused about this aspect, and what I need to do.
  I just spent a couple hours cruising the 3RiversArchery site, in a major ATTEMPT at determining what arrow lenght I need.
  I think my head is spinning now.  I am trying to determine how to figure what arrow type/length I need to go with.  I just wish I knew for sure what to order.  I really like the look of the cedar arrows 3Rivers sells, but I just don't know what size/spine/length to go with.  It looks like the Tru Flight "Shield" fletchings will be what I need.  They offer 4", 5", and 5.5" I think, and I am also trying to determine what size fletching to order as well.  Man it sure would be nice to get with someone who could help me get an arrow set up, and get this bow set up.
  Other issues are glove vs finger tab.  Guess I'll just pick out one of each and see which works best.  I kind of like the idea of a glove, but then I keep reading a lot of guys switched to a tab and obtained tighter groups.  
  I always thought compounds were the harder bows to set up, but those are much easier (IMO) than traditionals.  I know it will all be easy once I get started down the right path though.  I just don't want to drive you guys crazy with tons of questions..
  Thank you guys for everything.

[McDave]

I think you can get test shafts from Three Rivers in various spines.  You might want to order some test shafts, and learn to tune bare shafts using the links provided in earlier posts.  Then you will know what spine of shafts to order for your bow.

Generally, you will want to cut arrows so they overhang about 1" beyond the bow at full draw.  However, this is not as easy as it sounds if you plan to use wood arrows, since part of the tuning is to trim the shafts bit by bit as you shoot them until you arrive at the correct spine.  But eventually you will arrive at a shaft of the correct spine that overhangs enough that a broadhead can be safely drawn to full draw.  If all you intend to shoot are field points, then you don't need much overhang.

Don't worry too much about strike plates, etc.  Your idea of radiusing the shelf to minimize fletch contact is probably a good one, but beyond that, you just tune the arrow to fit the bow.  Just get something, like calf's hair or velcro that the arrow will slide over without too much friction.

I've always used 5" feathers, maybe for no other reason than they are in the middle of the sizes.  But they have always worked fine.

[Paul Cataldo]

Thanks McDave!
  That helps me out, and give me a bit of relief here!
  Maybe I will just go the carbon arrow route.  I have worked with carbons for years too.
  I was hoping there was some way to determine arrow length while sitting here at home, but I guess I'll try to visit my local pro shop to see if they can get my arrow length right.
  I'll order some white arrow wraps, and white Tru Flight 5" "Shield" feathers, and hopefully I'll be on my way.  I am super relieved that I might be able to just put the seal skin on the shelf and be good to go.
  Now however, I'm second guessing the seal skin, as they 3Rivers site says to use "Barge Cement", and that does not look like something that will come off in the future without harming my bows finish.  I was hoping seal skin just had an adhesive backing, and could be easily removed, without harming my bows finish.
  Guess I'll have to go with something else that won't require an permanenent adhesive that will hurt my bows finish.
  Thanks guys.

[kennym]

On the arra length,with carbons,start long and trim one a little at a time. They get too stiff fast! JMHO  
And I'm with Shawn,use industrial velcro for the sideplate  and shelf.......