My first woodies....

[fish n chicks]

Talk about a learning experience. Nothing quite like making bows, but a must for sure. I can see myself making many more arrows, but hopefully it'll be from shafts i've turned in my dowel cutter instead of off the shelf. With that said, I went with 3/8 Cherry shafts from Woodcraft, to match my cherry/ebony/purpleheart board bow. Spines came in at 67#, 65, 61, 57, and 57 pounds for the 5 shafts I bought. You'll only see 4 arrows, and that's cause my practice arrow, the 67 pounder, is for my eyes only.      :rolleyes:    It's not really worth showing as it was my guinea pig for each facet of these shafts. I first started with linseed oil like on my board bow, and didn't like them one color. The grain was popping out beautifully, but I felt they were too blah. So I tried painting black caps to contrast my rit dyed feathers, but it was coming out like crap cause I was painting on oiled wood. So I wiped it off, and loved the fake staining! But I couldn't stop there. I had to make myself a crestor. I pretty much had to improvise, as i've been out of work for a couple of years now, but if this isn't the right hobby for broke/cheap guys, I don't know what is.

I used my dremel, and a bunch of scrap around the shop. I did buy a pulley set from an RC hobby shop for $7, (3) pipe cutters from harbor freight for $5 each, and replaced the cutters with nylon spacers from big box store of your choice. Those were about $3. I saw this on a post here on the bench, but can't remember who's it was. So for $25 in misc. parts, I got a half assed crestor. It works, but needs to be worked on.

Admittedly, it sucks. I don't know how the guy keeps his cutters from marring his shafts, but the metal rollers left black marring all over my practice shaft, so I modified the holders by using some 1/2" pvc as the guides. Trouble is, the inside diameter was too big, so I had to shim the inside with foam. It just wasn't working great, but it worked. I have since replaced the pipe with smaller stuff from the plumbing department, and haven't had a chance to try it, but it should prove to be far more stable.

   
 
     

     

So in the end, my first set of woodies (4 total) are 3/8" cherry, 28" to BOP, armed with 125 grain martin field points, classic nocks in red, and range from 556 to 604 grains over the 4 of them. Natural left wing fletching.

Thanks for the power to pull this off Gang. They shoot like they're rocket assisted, and feel great loosed from the bow for which they were created. Now if I can take a bunny with them this weekend at our annual bunny shoot...


     

     

     

     

[fish n chicks]

I did have some questions about the process though. Hopefully you guys can help steer me in the right direction.

First, what kind of paint should I use for capping? And for cresting? I picked up some acrylic, but is there anything wrong with using enamel? Like the stuff they use on model cars?

Second, my feather bases SUCK! I'm not sure what the proper method, or finish, the base should take when cutting naturals. Especially dyed ones. It's tough to shape them after cause the quill stays white. How do I do this correctly?

Why am I getting inconsistent cuts from my choppers? Some fletching came out about 1/4" longer than others. Is this cause of my feather base, or my method? I used mostly primaries, but found the secondaries were far easier to work with. What's the advantage of one over the other? Why are the primaries so coveted if they're so tough to work with?

Thanks for any help TG.

[okie64]

Hey fish those arrows look nice.I got some cherry layin around my shop and  was wandering how it would do for arrows. Ive only made em myself from hickory and maple boards and mine always end up around 700 grains which I think is a little heavy for huntin whitetails. Might have to give that cherry a try.

[fish n chicks]

Thanks Okie. It's very awesome to work with. You won't be disappointed. And they were straight "as an arrow" right out of the box. Excellent density. I bought a couple more the other day to give me a half dozen. But I doubt I'll get to them any time soon.

[KellyG]

fish I know there were some good arrow builds in the how to or build a long. every thing you could think of. I know I also just read a thread on POW WOW last night here on building arrows.
Hope this helps
I hope my first try turns out as nice.

[KellyG]

Do you think you could just drill out the rollers and replace them with the white spacers?

[fish n chicks]

Originally posted by KellyG:
Do you think you could just drill out the rollers and replace them with the white spacers?

Thanks for the props Kelly. Unfortunately, the white spacers weren't all that great either. They needed to be sanded down width wise to fit the cutter's opening, and even then they didn't spin like i'd liked. My other thought was to drill out some solid stock, and cut to correct width, but then i'm worried about drilling a truely centered hole. Truthfully, after using the pvc, they started spinning way better, and I was still able to get some good cresting in. Just had some trouble by the nocks.

[magnus]

Fish. As far as chopping goes your bases should be as consistent as possible. If you use a disc grinder or belt it's just a matter if practice. You can also touch up the bases or even do the whole feather by hand using sand paper or for a few bucks the sanding blocks used in drywall finishing work great and last. Another thing that helps is to get a Popsicle stick and shape it to your chopper but a little smaller. When you put your feather in just put the stick on the feather and hold it down. Next use a razor and cut the quill on the back side of the blade so the quill won't roll when you chop. This isn't my concept only learned from a master chopper on this site. The consistent feathers you'll get will impress you.
  As far as primaries versus secondaires goes the primaries will last longer as they are a stronger feather with a stiffer quill and feather fiber. They both work. For stumping and small game where arrow loss is common I use my seconds. For deer and such I use my primaries. Sorry for the long read but I hope this helps.

Keeping the Faith!
Magnus

[fish n chicks]

Originally posted by magnus:
Fish. As far as chopping goes your bases should be as consistent as possible. If you use a disc grinder or belt it's just a matter if practice. You can also touch up the bases or even do the whole feather by hand using sand paper or for a few bucks the sanding blocks used in drywall finishing work great and last. Another thing that helps is to get a Popsicle stick and shape it to your chopper but a little smaller. When you put your feather in just put the stick on the feather and hold it down. Next use a razor and cut the quill on the back side of the blade so the quill won't roll when you chop. This isn't my concept only learned from a master chopper on this site. The consistent feathers you'll get will impress you.
  As far as primaries versus secondaires goes the primaries will last longer as they are a stronger feather with a stiffer quill and feather fiber. They both work. For stumping and small game where arrow loss is common I use my seconds. For deer and such I use my primaries. Sorry for the long read but I hope this helps.

Keeping the Faith!
Magnus

Nothing to be sorry about! The information you've shared was well worth it. I never thought of the popsicle stick idea. That WOULD help big time. I use a drum sander I made for carving duck decoys to grind my bases. And while it works great for many things, I'm seeing that I desperately need a belt sander.

Thank you again for passing on the torch.

[Andy Cooper]

You may not think much of those arrows now, (which is a mistake, because they rock!); however, the first time one of them passes through a deer, you'll feel differently because they're your handiwork! Congrats!!    

[magnus]

One more thing. Watch your fingers. I use a Popsicle stick to hold the other one down sometimes. Depends on what chopper I'm using. I use  both a belt and disk sander. I'm still not as good as Stringstretcher. He has the best feathers I've seen at a great price. That's why I only use my own grind feathers on my own arrows. I use his if I make them for others. That's where the chopper tricks came from as well.
Good luck and more importantly. Have fun!
Keeping the Faith!
Magnus

[fish n chicks]

Originally posted by Andy Cooper:
You may not think much of those arrows now, (which is a mistake, because they rock!); however, the first time one of them passes through a deer, you'll feel differently because they're your handiwork! Congrats!!      

That's why I put red in em!!      


We'll see if they can stand up to some rabbit shootin this weekend.

[iaduckhntr]

A thought for your cresting machine, instead of fighting a roller setup, how about a V notched board lined with felt or somthing soft? Possibly some of thoes slick plastic strips used on boat trailer bunks? Shorten the drive bands to pull down keeping the shaft in the notches? Just a simpler thought I had as I looked at it.
Dennis

[fish n chicks]

That's a good call Dennis. The setup needs to be simplified without a doubt, and that's a great way to do that. Thanks for looking and suggesting!

[KellyG]

What if you just turn your cutters upside down and then do as dennis suggest move the motor. The top of the cutters two wheels from a V.
Kelly

[fish n chicks]

Originally posted by KellyG:
What if you just turn your cutters upside down and then do as dennis suggest move the motor. The top of the cutters two wheels from a V.
Kelly

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm..... I'll have to see if that is possible. I don't want 3 pipe cutters to go to waste. Thanks for the suggestion Kelly.