help making broadheads

[JDP12]

Hey all- I'm interested in making my own broadheads,  however I have some questions.

What type of steel is best to use?
What type of method is best to join the blade to the field point or ferrule?- Braze, solder, et cetera?

Thanks

[owlbait]

Check the how to forum. RGK may have a post on there or do a search.
Good luck.

[owlbait]

Sorry. See he has a knife build on there. I know he has made and shown photos of his broadheads. I have one!

[Owlmagnet]

"The Bower's Craft", an excellent book by the late Jay Massey, has a section on building broadheads out of field points and pieces of banding metal.  He joined the blade to the ferrule by drilling a hole through them and using a small nail to "brad" or rivet them together.  See pages 123-126.  Good luck.

[saltwatertom]

For the steel, try old used up files, some good steel in those! You may need a forge to work them tho, and some blacksmithing skills.

[sagebrush]

You can also use old circular saw blades. Gary

[JDP12]

OK- but would I have to heat treat old circular saw blades?

Also could there be a potential problem because that steel has already been tempered and such?

[frank bullitt]

Well, in todays cheap, manufacturing industry, China, alot of blade materials are only hardened or tempered on the cutting edge. I have used banding steel with field points set with J.B. weld withe good results. Probably wouldn't hold up to bricks, but I wasn't shootin' to kill a brick. It worked for Jay on Moose, so it was good enough for my Midwest whitetails. Go to the knife forum and ask, those guys are a world of knowledge. Good Shootin, Steve

[JDP12]

ok cool.

[JDP12]

just bumping this up to the top...

what kind of joining method would you use to join the blade to the ferrule?  Soldering?  If so, what type of solder?

[Slimpikins]

i just took an old plumbing saw blade and some 100 grain glue on field tips and had my dad tig weld the blade to the field point after grinding the shoulder down just a bit. they look like this.

 

the one on the right is a four blade head with two small bleeders.

[KyleAllen]

nothing cheap about only the cutting edge being tempered. That just allows the blade to flex slightly rather than shattering and killing you    

I have had goood luck using circular saw blades but you will have to temper them. I wouldnt advise using metal that is already tempered. Much harder to cut to shape.

[JDP12]

OK

did you find those blades to be too thick?  THe ones I got seem fairly thick, I'm going to try and find some thinner ones