Making arrows

[B4NZ41]

Been thinking about switching from carbons to home made dowel rod wooden arrows because 1.in the long run they should be cheaper 2.wood arrows are heavier than carbons, and my carbons are a little light for my bow 3.I need a summer hobby.

Basically I'm going for dowel rod shafts, 4 fletch feathers, and 125gr heads.

Before I get serious about it, and start buying I thought I'd post out here and see how you guys like to do it. Do you guys have any suggestions about what kind of arrow making stuff to buy, and what different methods of  tapering, straightening, finishing, etc should I use?

Thanks in advance.

[smilinicon]

Hello, great hobby to have.

There is a fine how-to in the resources section on straightening shafts that was very helpful. It was about burnishing with a screwdriver, but I like an antler as my tool.

I like using a belt or sanding disc to do the tapers with jigs I made.

There will be more answers soon.

Cary

[Asafan]

The detailed description of variants of home manufacturing of shafts is on page  http://bowmania.ru/forum/index.php?topic=912.0  . If you will be confused with Russian letters - there is a pictures and the links.

[longstiks]

Making woodies may turn into an addiction, just a warning! Unless you already have a splne tester you might want to buy some pre spined shafts to make your first ones. What part of Ohio are you from?
Denny

[Osagetree]

Asafan,

What is the cutter tool on the tool that is making the squares round shafts??

[Gray Wolf]

Looks like a die wired on a board with a groove in it. But the spelling of the words are to much for this old Hillbilly.

[chrisg]

yep, I think it's a pipe threading or cutting die. The Russians are inventive and practical. Cool idea!
chrisg

[SCATTERSHOT]

If you want to make cheapies, American Woodcrafters Supply has birch dowels for around $25.00/100. Doesn't get any cheaper than that, unless you cut shoots for arrows. You will need a spine tester, though. They are dowels, not arrow shafts.

Fun hobby, and addicting!

Good luck!

[Fletcher]

IMO you would be way ahead buying arrow shafts rather than dowels.  Most of the hardware store dowels I see anymore are poplar, and I haven't found one yet that was anywhere close to being straight or good enuf wood to even try to make an arrow with.  I've made a bunch with ramin dowels, but rarely find ramin anymore.

[B4NZ41]

Thanks for all the input so far, good stuff.  :D

longstiks - I responded to your email

SCATTERSHOT - good to know, I'll look em up, thanks.  

Fletcher - yeah I figured that, but my dad used to make arrows out of dowel rods, and they shoot just fine. I want to at least start out with dowel rods to learn on, and to see if I like making my own. Will probably attempt a nice batch of arrows when I have some more experience.

[George Tsoukalas]

There's some arrow stuff on my site. Jawge
 http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/

[SCATTERSHOT]

As for the birch dowels, be aware that the spines are all over the place, but the 5/16" will generally run around 40-45#, and the 3/8" about 70-80+. Here's the link:
 http://www.americanwoodcrafterssupply.com/