Team Tippit Broadhead...Torture Tested!!

[tippit]

Well it's that time of year again.  Bow season for deer in Massachusetts closed yesterday in a snow storm.  Today it's back to firing up the forge.  Last spring team tippit broadheads were successful on 3 bears and one doe in the fall...but those were all hafted on wood arrows.  I only shoot wood with my selfbows but I hunt mostly with my Griffin.  I've forged heads with a very narrow tang to fit inside a carbon arrow insert and I've slotted steel screw on adaptors to epoxy heads.  

   

Even though they have both worked, I wanted something easier.  So while trying to stay warm in my tree stand during the snow storm, I thought of forging the head with a tang that fit in a carbon shaft thus eliminating the the insert completely.  Not sure how well they will work but here goes--->

Flattened & thinned out a piece of 5160 high carbon steel.  Drew out a tang and ground in the back of the broadhead.

   

Rounded the tang to fit directly into a Beman ICS Hunter carbon shaft.

   

   

Then laid a Magnus on the steel to get an idea of what size I wanted and rough ground it out.

   

   

More to follow...Doc

[tippit]

Didn't think I could fit all the pictures on one post so this is the quenched/hardened broadhead.  I need to temper/soften it up in the oven around 425 degrees a bit softer than a knife so it is easy to sharpen.  Once we've had New Years dinner (meaning once Molly is done cooking and lets me use the oven   ...I'll torture test it into some wood to see if the head and/or the shaft pass.

 

 

Any suggestions are appreciated...Doc

[Bear Heart]

I am continually amazed but the handicraft on here.

[tippit]

Almost forgot, The forged head right now weighs about 300 Grains.  The magnus head, steel adaptor, and insert weighs about 250 grains.  Once the head is sharpened it will weigh in around 275 grains, just where I want it...Doc

[Huntrdfk]

Wow, pretty cool Jeff.  The only thing I see is where the back of the broadhead and shaft meet it seems like the shaft will have a tendency to split if the head hits something hard, maybe some type of beveled area there to distribute the shock equally around the shaft......I'll be interested to see your torture test


David

[tradtusker]

looks very good Jeff, as always.

How about once you epoxy it into the shaft you foot the bottom say 1 1/2" or 2" of the carbon with an aluminum shaft that should give it a lot of extra strength.

another thing is you could put a small washer (the size of the shaft) behind the head, for the problem mentioned above.

p.s. if you ever have a few of those lying around and need a field testers for them, im heading to ozz latter in the year and would be happy to put one through a big Howg.          

[sticshooter]

Very Interesting Doc. Hurry and eat LOL<><

[tippit]

David, I thought about that too...but no matter how the back is shaped, it will come in contact with shaft.  I was thinking of a small washer to distribute that pressure and I'll add that next if the shaft splits...that's assuming the head makes it through the test too  :eek:  Doc

[tippit]

Andy, I guess we think alike     I foot my carbons with aluminum shaft anyway.  The cool thing about these heads is:

1) You can make them any weight you want.

2) So far the heads have not bent or broken on impact.  They are much harder than a regular broadhead...so far anyway    Doc

PS--I'm hoping to put one thru a Big Hog too!

[d. ward]

Hey Doc if you threaded the tang you could have a one piece screw in.Hurry up and eat gee's I want to see  this thing in action.bd

[tippit]

Bowdoc, This is just a small version of your Bear Spear    the other Doc

[Bob L.]

cant wait to see the results

[RC]

Cool stuff.The aluminum footing and the washer should hold up to most anything the Magnus set-up would hold up to for sure.RC

[Tom Phillips]

Doctari,
 Nice going,looks like you have a dandy of a head.YOu planning on trsting them on Javies & Hogs ?

              Team Tippit Member

                   TMP

[Jason Jelinek]

There's no smooth transition from the broadhead to the shaft, so it will catch on flesh and impede penetration.  That transition from flat to round needs to occur outside of the shaft for optimum performance.  Much harder to do I'm sure.  Neat idea.

Jason

[Chris Surtees]

Best of luck with you field testing Doc. Heads are looking really good.

Let us see what it looks like with the footing and washer.

Chris

[tippit]

Test Results:

I tempered the head this morning at 425 degrees in the oven...yes we did have a nice dinner last night     The tang fits nicely into the carbon shaft so I decide to just hot melt glue it into and old Beman ICS hunter arrow.  I guessed it would probably split the shaft since I only used a 1 inch piece of aluminum arrow as my foot.  I did not add a washer between the the back of the head and the shaft.  Then I rough ground a LW single bevel on it.  No need to finish grind and sharpen if everything was going to blow apart!

 

Took 3 shots into a 1 inch pine board.

1)  Guess I was a little tentative on the first shot as I was close to the board...little fearful of what parts would fly where?  Got good penetration with probably short draw.  No damage to head but more importantly no splitting damage to shaft.

 

2) Now I was a bit more pumped, full draw blew thru edge of board...shooting 55#@28 Griffin with 27" draw.  OK so I missed the center of the board at 5 feet...I don't shoot like Terry or JC    

 

3) Third shot, I was now in a Zen Zone right in kill of board even the point was perpendicular to the wood grain.  Split the board and No Damage to head or shaft with three shots.

 

 

I accomplished my goal for this style forged head. I wanted an insert broadhead that would be easy to take out and replace the arrow shaft...thus the hot melt glue.  I know what you are going to say about hot melt but I always use it on my inserts and glue on broadheads.  Certainly epoxy would be stronger but hot melt is so easy to repair in the field. The shaft held up with just a aluminum arrow footing...again with hot melt. Lastly my head was strong enough.

The only issue I need to address is the taper from the shaft to the broadhead.  I could do this with epoxy if I decided to epoxy the head in or possibly with a wood taper like a hafted wood arrow.  Need some other ideas here.  Thanks for all your input.  Great to have such knowledgeable hunters at the tips of my fingers...ie keyboard.  Doc

[madness522]

That is very cool doc!  Goes to show that you do have a hard head after all.

[PV]

Perhaps use the other(swaged) end of your footing shaft for your arrow footing?

[pacopperhead]

that is cool!!!!!!!