Cresting test run. Whatcha think?

[madness522]

I have been working for about a week on making my first batch of woodies and thought it would be wise to make a test run of the cresting step before applying to my real arrows.  

Here are a couple pics of a crest I did on some old arrows I had laying around.  The arrow in the left of the very first one and the one on the right the last.  They are in order.  Looks like I got a little better as I went.  Any suggestions on how to improve this before I do it for real?

 

 

[Luke Vander Vennen]

Looking very nice    


Make sure your arrow is spinning true in the crestor before you put paint to arrow. A little bit of wobble can give you some funky lines.

[3dmuzzy]

Looks like your ready to go,very nice  

[aromakr]

You are asking for comments, so here goes. The one thing that seperates cresting from really good cresting is being uniform from crest to crest. Each line placed in the same location and of the same width. You should be able to line up a dozen crested arrows and place a straight edge across the 12 and each line should fall on the straight edge. Of course the more lines you make the more difficult it is to do, but keep at it. You've got a good start. It takes a lot of pratice and a steady hand.
Bob

[Ray Hammond]

You might also think about laying down a white base coat first under your bands of the darker cresting- the white base will make those colors 'snap' real bright.

Looks way better than my first attempt, I tell you!

[snag]

I like the cresting without the white...so there you go...we are all different in our tastes.  I love the look of wood and cresting as just an accent. If you are going to crown the arrow I would paint it white as a base coat as some have suggested.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Lookin' good for the first attempt. My only suggestion is to use a very fine brush for the fine lines, and thin your paint so it flows well, and work out all the wobble from the shaft when it's spinning. The closer to the crest you put your v block support, the less wobble you'll get.

[Kevin Lawler]

I agree about the white and being uniform from arrow to arrow. I also like that you have chosen to make them symmetrical. If you cut the arrow in half at the middle of the cresting it's the same on both sides. If I was to suggest anything else it would be to maybe make it smaller. The other thing that will really make them stand out is to use metallic colors like gold, silver, copper to partition your colors. Here's an example.

 

[pointy sticks]

I agree with the uniformity statement. One of the things I have done is use a carpenters slide rule/square. I tapper the nock end, then I can measure and mark each line on the shafts using a very fine light pencil. I find it truly help get them uniform. There are other methods, but this one works for me.

   As for your cresting you did a fine job. here is a pic of one of my first attempts. Good fine brushes will help make the line much neater.  I was quite proud of these at the time, even though the lines are uneven and they really were quite ugly. I had nobody around to ask question to, so it was trial and error. The more you do the better you'll get.

   


It all just a matter of time and a steady hand. After a while it becomes more of a chore to figure out what they should look like.

   

[madness522]

I was using some Testors model paint that wasn't thinned. Good idea to thin it a little for better flow.  I wish I could say I have a cresting machine but I just built an arrow roller and blocked off one end to act as a stop and the other end I screwed a scrap block of wood to use to mark the crest lines and steady the brush.  I did find several metalic markers with very thin lines to try some additional practice with before doing it for real.  I have a dozen shafts ready to be crested and I am having a really hard time waiting until I get the technique and right equipment to do a good job with the crest.  

I have a couple motors from various places that I want to use to turn the shafts.  The problem I'm having now is finding a power supply that I can adjust the turning speed.  There aren't any hobby shops that sell used trains and equipment near by and a new transformer from Hobby Lobby is like 30 bucks.  Does any of you guys have power supply/transformer just sitting around collecting dust that I might could buy from you?

I tried taking pics of the jig I have now but my camera is on the blink and the flash isn't working so the pics are really hard to see the detail and are kinda blurry.

All in all in the pursuit of doing the job right the first I am learning patience.  Because I realy, really want to finish these arrows and start shooting them.

Thanks for all the advice so far!!

Barry

[SCATTERSHOT]

All the more impressive since you don't have a cresting lathe. You could try a variable speed electric drill strapped to your work surface, with a piece of surgical tubing to attach the arrow, or go to Goodwill and buy a junk hand mixer for a couple of bucks.

Good luck!

[madness522]

Does anyone ever use Morse code in their crests?  I was thinking about this and layed out my initials and the pattern looked kinda cool.  Then use an initial in the upper part of the arrow under the fletch to denote the type of shaft like P=POC F=fir B=birch S=spruce.  Just another thought I had.

[Big Dave]

Looks good to me          :D    :D

[snag]

I have been making some spruce arrows today. I just tapered the nock and stained them today. Tomorrow I will crown. Boy when I started this I found it hard to think I had to wait in between coats! For not having a cresting machine I'd say you did fine!

[Dryrot]

To control your motor speed you can get an inexpensive rotory dimmer switch at the hardware store. I set up mine that way with an old sewing machine motor and got one of the actual commercial cresting machine chucks.