How To build some pretty cool looking arrows. Motor City Machete style

[Mike Vines]

Yes, I clean the water after each arrow and after every few, I change the water out.

[Bob at Work]

cool...thanks!
Bob

[Mike Vines]

I asked my wife to take a picture and send it to me so you all can see the finished product before I get to fletching them.

Here they are crested and drip drying...

   

[Rick Moss]

very informative and exciting! thanks for this thread Mike. one of the things that also draws me to traditional is all the awesome arrows I see. dave, sorry...I guess I should just call him dirtybird...made some once with orange and blue and some other colors and they blew me away...I think arrow building is a process I must learn! thanks again, your arrows are AWESOME! And I cannot wait to see the finished product. great stuff brother! and most importantly, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!

[Lone Ranger]

Really good thread. I see purple marbling on my wife's shafts in the near future!

[Bladepeek]

Really nice job, Mike. I haven't gotten around to building my first set of woodies, but think it may soon be time once the season is over here.

Just a question on target burn. Would a wax or something like Armor All help reduce the friction? I'd probably actually cry if I managed to make a nice set and saw them getting wiped out by target burn.

Ron

[Flying Dutchman]

Okay, I couldn't stand this. Since I was busy making some new arras and all my tools and paint was on the table, I thought " oh hell, let's give this a try...."    :cool:  
So I took some old broken woodies. Stripped the fletching. Filled a small can with water. I mixed some red paint with white spirit to make it more fluid. Dipped a few drops in the water, YES, it floats! Stirred as described. Dipped the first shaft a few  times and here was the first result:    :eek:    

 

Defenitely too much paint, but hey, this seems to work.....

Throwed the water away filled a new can, and this time just one small drop of paint. Carefully now..... I spread the drop with a small stick as described over the surface. Dipping another old shaft, and here we go     :D   :  

 

 

This is very close how it should look I think. Still have to experiment with how much white spirit I have to add to have the right mix, but I think it will be a piece of a cake.

Very easy to do and I think very addictive!

The paint I use is just normal cheap anemal, as always. My guess is as long as the drop floats on the water, you are good to go!

Thanks for a great Tutorial Mike, I have an idea now how my next arrows will look like    

[Mike Vines]

That right there is EXACTLY why I did the "How To".  I'm pleased you decjded to tinker around with it and see how much fun, and addicting, it can be.  Your arrows will forever be changed.

Life is way to short to shoot bland or ugly arrows, UNLESS that is your preference.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Flying Dutchman]

Well thank you Mike. Those are old damaged shafts, but I think with new freshly painted shafts and a little tinkering around I think I can make them as pretty as I want to.
I just think the marble effect needs an extra transparent coating to protect it, because I can pretty easy whipe it off. But I will let it dry for 24 hours and then see how well it holds.
I am just in the process of making 24 carbon arrows, so I will see where this ends       have to find out which transparent coating is right for my enemal paint. And accepts glue without dissolving.
Thanks again bro!

[Gator1]

Great thread.

Mike you are awesome with woodies.

           

[Flying Dutchman]

Here is another one i' ve done. Not the perfection  yet, but getting there.


 

[Mike Vines]

Very nice.  Put a nock taper on there before you dip, abd you will be surprised how much nicer it will turn out.

[Flying Dutchman]

Mike,

Those are carbons , so no need for a taper    

It is really interesting stuff. I found out that thinning the paint is important for the pattern you want. How thinner you make the paint, how finer you can get the pattern when swirling around in the water. But: the paler it will be.
I still have to find out the right mixture, counting drops here....

Also, what you see is what you get. So the pattern you see on the water surface, is the pattern you will get on your shaft after dipping.

I finally found the carpet lacquer I want, and it doesnt seem to eat my cresting. Also white spirit based. And it doesn't seem to color the white crown. So far, so good.

Tomorrow I will experiment with getting a nice dar brown color which matches nicely with my wild turkey feathers.... Can't wait!

[Mike Vines]

I have found that when results are less than desired, a cloth with some Acetone will erase it.  I have not tried it on a finished shaft because I dont want to ruin the coats below, but I have done it successfully on test shafts, just not worth risking it ro me.  I learn to like the finished priduct or make more.

[Flying Dutchman]

That's right Mike. I also found out that "dipping speed" is important. Not to slow, not to quick. When you dip to slow, you get to much paint collected on some spots, which can result in dripping. When you dip to fast, you get too less paint, so no or  a very vague pattern. Rotating the shaft when dipping gives a more swirling pattern if that is what you like. And you dip only once, in and out.

If I don't like what I see, I wipe the pattern immediately away with a cloth damped with white spirit and start again. That is very easy to do and no harm done to the already painted crown. I can use white spirit because I use alkyd based enamel, which can be thinned with white spirit.

Those are all the secrets I found till sofar....

[HOWITZER]

That's pretty cool, i always wondered how that marbling was done.

[Mike Vines]

And done...

 

A good friend of mine saw them and I could tell he liked them, so as a surpise he is going home with them the next time he is over.  I told him and he couldn't believe it.  

That's what friends are for.

[Flying Dutchman]

They look great Mike! I also like the way how the fletching fits between the nocks and the cresting. Not much coincidence  here I guess...

[caligator]

This thread is awesome. I just had to try it and I'm addicted, even though I've only done 6 arrows. Learning from mistakes, have the proper dipping vase, a little paint is better than more and paper your carpet if inside!!!! Played around with a few colors and they came out better than I expected for the first time. These will get some real turkey feathers from Magnus after a clear coat.

 

[Mike Vines]

Here is the finished yellow set, now to get onto the red set...