Tapering your own shafts

[JNewman]

Hey There everyone
I'm new to trad gang and am quite enjoying it.  I've found alot of great info i've never seen before.  One thing I am curious about in particular is tapering your own shafts (the whole shaft not just point ends)  I've seen the jig and am quite impressed.  What kind of effect does this have on spine weight.  Is the shaft still stiff enough with the lack of material to maintain it's original wieght or does it drop 5-10lbs.   Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[Orion]

I don't know of any taper jigs that taper the entire wood shaft, though I suppose someone might have built one.  If you're talking about the 9-inch or so taper on the nock end of the arrow, it has very little effect on spine; reduces it about 3# give or take a little. Some folks taper each end of the shaft.  That's called a breasted or barrel taper depending on how much the shaft is tapered on the point end.  Effect on spine is about the same.   If you know you're going to taper your own shafts, just order them about 5# heavier than you normally would.  If you buy them tapered, order the spine you normally would.  The supplier has already accounted for any decreased spine by starting with heavier spined shafts before tapering.

[Fletcher]

Wood removed from the ends of the shaft won't affect spine very much.  Wood removed from the middle of the shaft will lower the spine quickly.  How much you lose will depend on the length of taper, shaft diameter and starting spine.  I put a ten inch taper on my shafts to 5/16, and with a 50-60 lb, 11/32 shaft I will lose 2 lb spine.  I spine, weigh and match the shafts after they are tapered.

Yes, IMO tapered shafts shoot better and I feel it is worth the effort.

[Don Stokes]

My tests agree with Orion and Fletcher.

[Arrow4Christ]

I prefer a barrel taper on my shafts. I put a 10 inch taper on the nock end to 5/16" and a 5 inch taper on the point end to 11/32" typically. I find in my process, the Surewood Douglas Fir shafts I start with (23/64") lose 1.4% of their spine with pretty good consistency....so a 65# shaft will still lose less than a pound in spine. Most of this is lost from the rear taper with a negligible amount of spine being lost from the fairly short point end taper. I also find that it's worth it for me to do this. The shafts seem to recover quicker from paradox and be more forgiving than a parallel, or even single tapered shaft.

Craig

[LostNation_Larry]

I don't test every shaft I taper, but I tested a couple of dozen some time back.  Losing 1 or 2 pounds was the norm.  Many had no noticeable spine loss.  When people order tapered shafts from me I do not change the spine recommendations.  One of the advatages of tapered shafts is they recover quicker, therefore they work on a wider range of draw weights.

[Bjorn]

Hunting taper (Breasted taper) is what I use all the time-they fly oh so fine!

[Ground Hunter]

Bjorn, I'm looking into giving the hunting taper a try.  Are you using spruce? or POC??  I see that Hildebrand has spruce in a hunting taper.  H

[Arrow4Christ]

Ground Hunter,
I'm pretty sure the breasted taper Bjorn is talking about is the exact opposite taper of the Hildebrand Hunter Taper (which is very similar to the taper I use). A breasted taper, I believe, would be a shorter taper on the nock end, and a longer taper on the point end, bringing the fat section of the shaft backwards of center.
This is Bob Burton from Whispering Wind's description of a breast taper:

"You need to read "Target Archery" By Dr. Robert Elmer,1946. A breasted taper is similar to a barreled shaft, the difference being the parallel (or fat)section of the arrow is moved towards the nock end. In other words you have a shorter taper on the nock end than you do on the point end. Lengths of those tapers can vary quite a lot. I have arrows in my collection where the nock end taper is only 4-5 inches to as much as 8-9". The "Breast" is so named because thats the portion of the arrow that rests against the strike plate, when the arrow is nocked and before the string is drawn."

Craig

[Ground Hunter]

A4C thanks.  So, you are using a Hildebrand type of taper?  Does it help with FOC?  I've used a standard taper for years - but thinking about trying something else.  H

[jcar315]

Good thread. I bought some POC tapered shafts here and they shot fantastic. I would love to learn how to taper my own shafts. What tool(s) do you need? Any book for guidance? Thanks.

[Arrow4Christ]

Ground Hunter,
Yes, my taper is very close to the Hildebrand Taper, but I use Douglas Fir shafts...I've used a true barrel taper (10" on the point and nock ends) on my own arrows (not much lately), but prefer the Hunter Taper when I build arrows for others, unless otherwise requested (can do any taper desired) because I think it's a better compromise between the advantageous flight characteristics of the barrel taper and the strength and good FOC of a single taper. It helps some with FOC when compared to a parallel shaft, but not a ton....best way to get higher FOC is to foot the arrows either internally or externally and use heavy points.
jcar315,
My tapers are very consistent (checked with a caliper) and all I use is a belt sander, 2 guide blocks clamped to the bar over the belt sander, and a cordless drill. I chuck my shafts up in a drill with some shrink tubing over the area that goes into the drill so it doesn't damage the shaft, then insert the point or nock taper into whichever guide block applies. I put a mark on the shaft where I want to taper down to then spin the shaft with the drill with the sander on and slowly lower the shaft onto the sander diagonally until the pencil mark begins to get sanded off, then I'm done. Easiest way to check the tapers to determine the position of your guide blocks is to start with your block clamped higher than you're going to need and go down until your 5/16" nocks fit on the nock end perfectly, and your 11/32" points fit on the point end perfectly.
Craig

[flint kemper]

Craig, can you post some pictures of your set-up and of how you use the shrink tubing? Thanks Flint

[Arrow4Christ]

Flint, I'll try to post up some pics as soon as I can. The shrink tubing is only on the part of the arrow that goes into the drill so that chucking the shaft up in the drill doesn't mar the shaft.

Craig