Cheap Way to Add Weight

[Arco]

I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with a cheap, effective way to add weight. I don't like weight tubes, because no matter how many times you bend them, they always start rattling again. I tried rope, but it compacts down really bad and doesn't weigh enough. I finally found the solution, 3/16 poplar dowels. Trim them to length, wrap tape around them in five places to keep them from rattling, and viola, it added 130 grains to my 30" shafts. They don't affect spine, I'm still bare-shafting great, and they are like 30 cents each.

[AllenR]

I share your dislike of weight tubes, but for another reason.  The lot that I got was really bad for weight consistency.  Even when I cut them to precisely the same length, I got as much as 20 grains difference in weight.

I finally used weed wacker string.  Use the thickest stuff that you can find and put as many strands in as possible.  I don't remember the weight of three strands, but it was as good as the weight tubes and very consistent.

[Arco]

That's the neat thing about the dowels, you can fine tune the weight by adding and subtracting rolls of tape over the length of the shaft. You can have every arrow weigh exactly the same if you've got time to sit there and fiddle with it...

[MOstate]

Arco, what kind of arrows did you put these in?
And would these work in Carbon Express 250's?

[got1touchingcotton]

eat cornbread

[MOstate]

i just might

[Otto]

Ice cream works for me.

[knobby]

"Turn 40 years old". That's what I told my 20 year old son as he was complaining about not being able to put on any weight. It works for most of us.
    For my sons arrows,I use the tape wrapped around the weight tubes to silence them, then glue in the nocks so they don't pop out at all.
   I prefer the brass inserts, myself.

[DeerSpotter]

1 other way to add weight is to use, air pellets, I'm using them in my Axis 500's, just take a little epoxy on them, and use a 22 cal. cleaning rod to push them down to the front.  It works great.

You need to weigh each one to see how much weight you're using.


Carl

[VA Bowbender]

I use .22 cal bullets (not cartridge) in my Gold Tips. Each bullet is 40gr.  I carefully mash them in a vise to get a real tight fit then push them to the tip with a cleaning rod.

I like the formula G. Fred used in TMB, 100gr for every 10 lbs of bow weight.

45# bow = 450gr arrow
50# bow = 500gr arrow
55# bow = 550gr arrow
60# bow = 600gr arrow

[hunt it]

Why not just buy some 250gr field tips. I use them on all my carbons for bows from 53# up to 75#. You will be amazed at the arrow flight you get. For broadheads I use a 160gr STOS on a 125gr steel adaptor or 180gr Silver flame and a 100gr brass insert.

[wingnut]

Dang I'm trying to loose weight.  But Lil Debbies cream filled cookies will put on more then a few grains.  LOL

Mike

[BobW]

Originally posted by knobby:
"Turn 40 years old".  

There is a reason tha "40" is "XL" in Roman numerals....

BobW

[Rick McGowan]

Just adding a bunch of weight to the front of the shaft will reduce the dynamic spine of the shaft ANYTHING you add full length to the inside of the shaft, THAT DOSN'T HAVE ANY SPINE OF ITS OWN, will reduce the dynamic spine of the shaft. Weight tubes don't have a big effect, because they don't weigh all that much and they have some spine of their own. Dowels can work well to add weight, without changing the dynamic spine of the shaft, since they are adding some spine along with the extra weight. However, most dowels are not meant to be shafts and vary WIDELY in weight and spine and even the direction the grain faces will cause the spine to vary. If you sorted through lots of them, you could weight and spine match them.

[Kingwouldbe]

I went to home depot and bought some steel cable that fits perfect inside my carbon.

16 grains an inch, I just put some superglue on them and stuffed them inside.

They have never came loose or ever raddled.

I think its like 25 cents a foot, I bought 10 feet.

Just cut and weigh what you want.

David

[John Nail]

Interesting.  Why doesn't the shaft maker simply offer a HEAVIER SHAFT?

[hotfootTG]

I'm not sure that this will be enough weight for you fellas but I successfully used 1/4" dowels in my Vapor 3000's.

You will need a grain weight scale. Assemble the arrow. Determine how many grains you want to add. Pull the nock out. Put the end of a piece of dowel in an electric drill and sand a little off the diameter until a length of it fits snuggly down into the shaft. The length sized should be more than the length needed to create the weight. Cut a length of dowel off. Measure the weight, Cut pieces off until you get what you need. When it's there, rub bowstring wax over the length of the sized dowel. Slide the dowel down the shaft from the nock end and push it in, ram rod style with a piece of metal rod  (I use ~1/16" brass rod). Put the nock in and confirm the weight. If it's too much, use the rod to back the dowel out by poking it through hole in the point adapter and pushing it back out. Cut a piece of wood off to get the right weight. If you need more, just add a piece of dowel to what you already have in there. Note: the weight of wood varies from dowel to dowel, so if you need 80 grains for example, and 8” gives you 80 grains, don’t assume that you can just cut off a doz. 8” lengths of dowel and you’re good to go.

Cheap, pretty easy to do and I have never had a nock pop out on me. (I use 53# @ 28" Bob Lee)

Al (Als Decals)

[hotfootTG]

Oh - I also used this technique on some Easton Epics. Works good.

Al (Als Decals)

[Indie]

"Interesting. Why doesn't the shaft maker simply offer a HEAVIER SHAFT?"

This is exactly what I ask myself.
There seems to be a big market for heavy hunting shafts.

[hunt it]

Don't forget guys were are just a small drop in the bucket. Most shafts go to compound shooters. There are several companies making heavier shafts but since none of them are as rich as the big guys not likly we'll see big guys bother with heavier shafts unless the masses switch to them.