Arrow building

[Paxton2208]

Do most of you guys build your own arrows? If so do you use cedar shafts, or graphite? Weighted inserts etc? Gimme the low down, I'm just getting started!

 

[Rob5589]

Carbons for me right now. Although woodies do interest me. Same as compound really; find the right spine by cutting, adding/subtracting point weight, fletch, shoot. It is more difficult to find the right combo than for a compound. So be prepared for some initial frustration.

 

[Paxton2208]

That's what I've heard, kinda excited to experiment. My uncle says he only shoots cedar shafts and loves em I'll be interested to try!

 

[Sapcut]

I remember in 1989 when one of my college professors shot a 70 recurve, "because I can" he said, and he shot the first "graphite" arrows I ever saw. Now they are referred to as carbon arrows, of which I shoot with my 71# recurve.

 

[Paxton2208]

That's awesome. You shoot 71#? That's heavy! How long have you been shooting traditional?

 

[Btaylor]

Order a couple dozen doug fir shafts from Surewood this morning. Time to build new bullets.

 

[mattflint]

Much of the allure for me in archery is self reliance. I can make much bigger strides having all my own gear .
A bitz and a saw/spinner, squaring tool bore brush and adhesives (feather chopper soon) is all Im working with. That and lots of extra nocks, inserts and field points sets me up to be able to build pretty well whatever I dream up.
I shoot carbons and aluminum now as its all I know but would love to build some wood arrows eventually.
Building arrows is pretty constant. There is something incredibly soothing about building that last dozen or so before September.

 

[smoke]

I'm an old guy - been shooting trad since the early 70s so I've tried all kinds of arrows. Cedar, Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, Maple, Birch, Ash, Hickory, Larch, Chundoo. The only wood I did not like was Larch - very brittle. I'm using Sitka and Fir these days. Sitka is tough and light while the Fir is physically heavy stuff - both really good and easy to work with. I would recommend that you buy them from a reputable seller - the quality can vary a lot. I got my last batch of Fir from Surewood and they are excellent. I also buy my shafts in a spine much heavier than the recommendations and cut them down as I test them with the desired head weight. I also shoot carbon but I don't make those - they are a tough arrow and seem to have a much wider spine tolerance than the wood shafts - which is good because I shoot about 15 different bows. In the past I also used aluminum which I think are also good. Making arrows is good fun . . . almost as fun as making a bow! Let us know how you do!

 

[Sapcut]

That's awesome. You shoot 71#? That's heavy! How long have you been shooting traditional?

I have been shooting trad since 1983 but shooting 70+#s since 1991.

 

[PatrickW]

Much of the allure for me in archery is self reliance. I can make much bigger strides having all my own gear .
A bitz and a saw/spinner, squaring tool bore brush and adhesives (feather chopper soon) is all Im working with. That and lots of extra nocks, inserts and field points sets me up to be able to build pretty well whatever I dream up.
I shoot carbons and aluminum now as its all I know but would love to build some wood arrows eventually.
Building arrows is pretty constant. There is something incredibly soothing about building that last dozen or so before September.

You might want to consider a feather burner over the chopper. They’re a lot more consistent and versatile. The cost is more up front, but you can burn any length or shape feather you’d ever want.

 

[mattflint]

You might want to consider a feather burner over the chopper. They’re a lot more consistent and versatile. The cost is more up front, but you can burn any length or shape feather you’d ever want.

Definitely not super happy with my chopper. Need to build a grinding jig too as Im not too consistent in my grinding thus far