cedar shafts

[Florida bowhunter]

Okay guys I know nothing about building cedar arrows but have always wanted to kill me a white tail with one so can anyone give me some good advice on building woodies from scratch would be much appreciated.... thanks

[AkDan]

first, buy a test pack from a reputable arrow smith....shafts or fletched depending on how you want to go about things.  IF you're building from scratch I'd build your test shafts.  Make 100% sure you get what you need once or you'll have a lifetime supply of shafts you'll never use lol.  

Shoot them hard figure out what you need. BEFORE you go buying anything!!!!

Find HAND spined AND weighed you're not saving a penny buying 100 counts of spined only.  Or factory spined junk!  

you're going to need a way to taper points and nock ends (or pay to have it done).  I prefer any disc style sander and don't believe any are really better than the next.  You can make one or buy one here.   You could do the same thing with a strip sander if you had one using a simple jig.  The pencil sharpeners are ok.  If you do use one chuck the shaft in a drill and power turn it in the pencil style..works like a champ.  

Fletching jig/jig (I like bpe pro or a bitz and run both).  

Glues and paints will be determined by what you want to use.  There's tons of ideas here, compatablilty is your only issue.  If you're not pressed for time and one a seriously hard core durable finish, its hard to beat the massey finish.   Use fletch tape for the feathers with a dot of glue at the ends, do this regardless of how you secure your fletchings.  Duco for the nocks.

And a stick of hotmelt for the points, or you could epoxy here as well but they're heck to get off if you ever choose to swap points.

Buy your shafts from ONE place!!!  I cant say that enough!!!  Make sure they are hand spining them...not spined from the factory..hand spined.   I found over the years some places spine testors were off.   It really doesn't matter if you buy from the same place.  Once you go bouncing around you'll find shafts are not sorted as thoroughly as most people would like.  Maybe I'm just OCD in this department. dunno.

I prefer a tapered shaft but a parallel is easier to start if you're he!! bent on doing everything yourself.   A properly spined parallel will fly just fine.   If you want to run your own taper shafting, tims taper tool has a tapering jig that works well.  you can build a jig as well on your own.  They don't work as well but they do work for smaller jobs.

Make a drying rack for dipping caps and sealing shafts.  1x4 stand with some cloths pins with nails run through the springs...it aint pretty but it works well.  Add some form of catch basin at the bottom.  I redneck a piece of cardboard with some rags in it and periodically throw the rags out.  Stuffs going to drip.  

For a sealer I really like profin.  I don't seal my caps with it (or under my caps either) which means you can run any paint/stain setup you choose here.  Stained caps are nice as well as painted...personal pref with endless options.  Again compatibility is your only issue.

I have used the Massey finish and its extremely impressive.  Its slow to dry like profin...my issue is I hate fletch tape!  I've thought about epoxying feathers on and may consider that route again.  The epoxy is that good!

There's a recipe using krylon spray paint for a cap and the massey finish over it.  You'll need to over coat with a waterbased acrylic before going over with the epoxy or risk burning your cresting lines.  The thinner the lines or metallic (silver and gold), will run every time if you don't!  I do like to over coat with a coat or two of waterbased mostly just to even out the shine from the last cap to the nock taper...it evens the shaft out and blends everything nicely.

A cresting machine if you choose to crest of some sorts.  I run an arrow specialities and don't believe there is one on the market better that I've run anyways.  true perfect pin stripe lines every time where ever I want them!

if you cant tell I've got a small case of ocd when it comes to arrows.  The better the arrow the better shot you'll be!   You don't need anything fancy here, some basic woods stains is enough to get going, you'll find some great looking arrows around here using just that.  it would save you a LOT of headache when it comes to paints.   use some Waterbased poly...testers for cresting if you so desire and fletch away with duco.  done.  Or you can get crazy and make some breasted tapered footed hollow tail spliced fletching arrows you don't dare shoot LOL!  Pick your poison here.....  

[timbermoose]

yup, Dan got you covered. agree 110% on everything stated and 200% on the test kit. since i started turning my own shafts, i have 5-10 bare shafts in every spine up to 120#. all are 31"bop(30" draw) so i change out the tips and play around until something flies straight. for big game, moose & elk, i drill out the shaft and insert a cut nail for weight forward and glue on a tip. long process but well worth it for perfect flight.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Excellent advice above. I can recommend Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear for excellent hand spined and weighed shafts. They can supply everything you need for the build, too.

[1Longbow]

bought some from Braveheart Archery ,excellent quality ,service ,very fast shipping

[Sam McMichael]

Get on-line and find the TBOF officers. I am sure they can give you the names of several woody shooters in your area who will be glad to help you get started. on August 7th - 9th the TBOF Fall Rendezvous will be held at the Hunter Education facility near Silver Springs. They conduct a good shoot. There will be plenty of us there to share what we know. You won't regret coming. TBOF is full of good folks.

[Terry Lightle]

It has pretty much been covered above.We sell a lot of cedar shafts,sometimes by the single shaft so people can figure out exactly what spine they need.

[Florida bowhunter]

Thanks guys, when buying cedar shafts do I need to stay within my bow poundage or go up, I am shooting 50# @ 26 inch draw so would I get 50-55 or 55/60 shafts...?

[Jim Brennen]

That is why you need a test kit, you can get 4 in 50-55,4 in 55-60 and 4 in 60-65. you should be able to find what flies right.

[ForrestGator]

I think that's where the test kit is going to come handy. The longer you leave your arrows the more there going to flex. I get my shafts about ten pounds heavy and run a hunting taper down the back and leave them about an inch longer then in need. With good weight in the front this is a good system for me, but your going to have to play with many different styles and lengths before you get the flight you want. I love building mine, it's a great hobbie to have. Good luck!

[Scott E]

Originally posted by SCATTERSHOT:
Excellent advice above. I can recommend Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear for excellent hand spined and weighed shafts. They can supply everything you need for the build, too.

They are my choice for a quality supplier of cedar shafts. Give them a call and they'll get you set up. There are some good YouTube videos on building wood arrows. Jimmy Blackmon has a good one on his YouTube channel.

[AkDan]

arrow spine is that specific arrows deflection.  It has nothing to do with what arrow to shoot out of your bow...ie shooting a 50lb bow needs a 50lb arrow.  Its just a reference number if you will.  

The art to shooting woods is learning to tune. This is really an art regardless of what shafts you shoot out of any stickbow.   Its not a very simple process for most.  Charts will get you close, sometimes!!!  But every individual does things just a skosh different than the next guy which means I might night 55-60 out of your bow, and you need 65-70s.   Things like bow design, draw length, point weight, string material, brace height even silencer weight and placement, and how you grip and release the string will all have an effect on arrow spine.  As does how the shelf is built and if you've done any mods too it or how much mods you've done.  

As far as point weight the starting point is 125's with woods. Specifically adding weight or taking it off of the front end of any shafting material, if you go over that you're weaking the dyanimc spine of the arrow..if you decrease the point weight your stiffening the dynamic spine but reducing your FOC over all.  I believe the difference is 35 or 40 grains is around 5lbs of spine...but don't quote me here.  

So to say start with X spine woody, your supplier is going to ask for more information....I'd call whoever you choose for the test shafts, tell them what you got and they're going to send you 3 or 4 different spines, hopefully marked in a fashion that WONT come off..if its penciled on mark it with markers some how or paint in a place that wont get rubbed off.   I used to send out test shafts with different nock colors and refunded the cost of the shafts if they returned them.   I did it this way more for me than them honestly..i have too much stuff and organization isn't my forte.  So if John Doe called and said the arrows with the orange nocks flew right, I knew what spine those were he didn't have to ship them back if he wanted to keep them.  Whatever you do find a system here you wont forget!  It saves you some shipping if you plan on keeping the test shafts (which I would do!)  If you keep these you WILL use them again!  Either for yourself or for someone else.

woodies are spined at 28"es back of point to the throat of your knock.  Even though the shafts will be longer than 28 and with out knocks or point tapers when spined though they could have them. If the needle reads say 50lbs, its a 50lb spine if its cut to 28"es back of point as a finish arrow.  Ever 1" past 28 decreases the DYNAMIC spine of the shaft by 5lbs.  Every 1"inch shorter than 28 BOP increases the dynamic spine by 5lbs.  The reading (static spine) is set at 28 there is no change so if its marked at 55 its a 55 till its dead or lost.  Only dynamic spine changes and this is more of a swag style formula than a black and white measured number.  By changing things like arrow length draw length, point weights, heck even  the paint on the nock end, string materials, string weight, moving pressure points on the shelf forward or back, silencers etc, will all effect dynamic spine, or it a nut shell how that in this case 50lb spine shaft ACTS...its still a 50lb spine shaft even though it may give you a weak reading.  These are the differences that give arrowsmiths headaches at times.  This is where your test pack of arrows will shine. Go slow, make one adjustment at a time.  This is why I mentioned if you plan on building from shafts, buy your test shafts bare and finish them.  Paint them if you're going to run paint.  It will add weight at the nock end which makes the shaft act stiffer. (dynamic spine is how a shaft acts based on given circumstances, static spine is its deflection in pounds or .000" on a spine tester nothing more).  

Once you figure things out...WRITE IT ON YOUR BOW.   I never do it, though I keep telling myself I should it would save some grief.  I do have a piece of tape on a bow square with the info on it...bh point weight arrow specifics so you can reproduce them later on down the road.  Better yet is to keep a shaft and write right on it.  

Lastly spend some time reading this.   Learning to figure out what spined arrow is as much as a science as it is an art. Learning to tune is no different and obviously the two go hand in hand.

I do bareshaft and really prefer it but I don't recommend you start with it unless you are REALLY close LOL!  I don't buy the kick back or bounce people talk about.  It doesn't happen in a block style target.  It can happen in a bag target stuffed with used shrink wrap in a shot out target...but you'll see what way it hit.  You're standing feet away from the thing.  If your spine is way off and you shoot too far you can kiss that arrow good bye LOL!  people talk about how safe it isn't...I've never seen one do a u turn and come back at us or even a 90 though I'm sure goofy things happen.  Again you're shooting feet away.

Ol likes the group testing method..it works as well.  Google 'tuning traditional bows and you'll blow your mind with everything out there.  Most follow a basic principle.   I believe using multiple methods will narrow down how accurate your tuning is...not that one cant get you there.

  http://www.acsbows.com/bowtuning.html

[cahaba]

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000119

This tutorial helped me get started crafting my own woodies.

[Florida bowhunter]

Is there Amy advantage to using tapered shafts, I was told that they were more forgiving than paralel shafting and that tapered shafts carried broad heads better......

[ddauler]

I love tapered shafts mostly becuase they look better with 5/16 mercury speed nocks! It also make the shat a little more front of center. I tapered 5 dozen with a drill this weeked.
 http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,32556.0.html

[AkDan]

It does two things.  Moves the foc a bit forward.

And more importantly it gets the back end straightened out faster.  Faster recovery means better potential accuracy.  

You can only shoot as good as your shaft!