rear taper jig question

[Pack]

For those of you who have built one the rear taper jigs using corner stock with the sandpaper attached, I was wondering what grit sandpaper I should use?  People seem to recommend the cloth-backed sandpaper for durability, but I will have to order that because it is not available in my area.  

Thanks

[Green]

While not metal, I use a 120 grit belt sanding belt sliced in 1/2 lengthwise and cut to 3" beyond length of the jig and then use spray adhesive to secure it.

 

[m midd]

I used  1.5" aluminum angle and a 1x4. I used 120 grit adhesive backed sand paper. I have tapered about 3 dozen shafts and hadnt changed paper yet.

[Sockrsblur]

Huh... I've been reading about this today too. I guess great minds think a like  

 www.archeryinterchange.com/f138/arrow-tapering-jig-28419/

  http://www.tradgang.com/taper/  

looks very interesting. What are some of the problems with these jigs? are they problematic in any ways other than sawdust build up?
Any one try replacing the sandpaper with 10" mill files clamped to the taper walls?

[Pack]

I had some 80 grit standard sand paper I tried.  It worked fine, I just hit it with some finer grit by hand afterward.  I may try some 120 to begin with.  

I initially had tried to use adhesive on the aluminum.  It was kind of a pain.  I then hot melted some files to the metal, but they didn't cut the wood very easily (a double cut file might have worked better).  

There was a clip of a guy using a jig on another site who just put the sandpaper underneath the corner stock and tightened it down.  It works really well.  The piece of sandpaper that is against the arrow is loose, but it doesn't seem to matter.  

Getting the jigs set correctly is kind of a pain, but if m midd can do 3 dozen shafts on one piece of sandpaper, I guess it won't have to be done very often.

[Sockrsblur]

I thought set up might be as simple using a previously tapered shaft to set up the jig taper? not so huh?

[Pack]

I sometimes need to nudge it in a little closer to get the taper right even if I use an arrow to get it close.  It seems to work better just to stick an untapered shaft in one end and adjust it.  Then I take the nock end of one that is had been tapered and insert it perpendicular to the jig and squeeze the jig together and tighten it.  Otherwise, it doesn't seen to take enough wood off.

[m midd]

I glue a point on the shaft and chuck it in a hand drill and run it through until it measure 5/16 then run the shaft on steel wool until smooth

[Green]

Drill holes along the center line of your base to relieve the saw dust that accumulates.  I use a 5/16" shaft piece for a stop and I put either a 23/64 or 11/32 shaft in the first hole and adjust my jig to fit prior to tapering.

 

[Bjorn]

I use the same or similar made from aluminum and 100 grit paper works fine.

[heartlandbowyer]

That kind of weight do you guys loose in the spine on average after the taper? 5 to10 lb or not enough to worry about?

Thanks Cory

[Pat B]

Mine is similar to Green's. I probably got the idea and design from him. I use two sided carpet tape from ACE Hardware to hold the 120grit sanding belt material.

[Bjorn]

You lose about 1.5-2# tapering the back 9 " the bending takes place mid arrow.

[Green]

I agree.....you'll lose 2# at the most.  Make sure your shafts are super straight before tapering, and once you're done with one, leave it in the drill and put 200 grit paper inside of a 3M sanding pad (for padding) and fold that in half around the shaft then spin it with the drill while running your sandpaper from the drill collar to the nock and back.  Sanding the shaft by hand lengthwise after this is optional, but if you have any sanding rings on the shaft from your tapering/sanding work, they'll show up real nice when you stain 'em.     :D

[heartlandbowyer]

Thanks Green & Bjorn, I've been wanting to try this also, the jig looks effective and simple enough to build.

Cory

[Green]

I used to have a pic of the underside of my jig....the infeed end and the middle bolts/wing nuts are mounted through "slots" that I cut with a cutting bit. The arms can be pivoted in/out with the end bolts mounted through only a hole drilled to size.  Good luck....it's easy once you get running.  Be careful of heat build up which will loosen the glue bond of your sand paper to whatever material you use.

[Sockrsblur]

Great advice! Thanks guys

[TKO]

Can a shaft be full length tapered? Is there a reason most tapered shafts are only tapered on the rear 9 or 10 inches?

[Pack]

There is a video of a guy doing a 1/2" shaft I think down to 3/8" on another site.  He does a full 32" taper.  You definitely had better have holes in the bottom of the jig on that one.  There is going to be a lot of dust.

[Pack]

There is a video of a guy doing a 1/2" shaft I think down to 3/8" on another site.  He does a full 32" taper.  You definitely had better have holes in the bottom of the jig on that one.  There is going to be a lot of dust.